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Shady!
It really would have been nice if he disclosed this beforehand. We'll presume he wasn't wheeled from the hospital to your reception, and he knew his knee acted up and he'd have an issue completing the job himself.
How you proceed is going to depend on a determination of what you're hoping the end result to be. Are you looking for a refund or just looking for a way to voice your displeasure?
I'm not sure, I mean the pictures I saw were good but they were all ones he took so i'm so nervous about the other guys shots. I just feel like we kinda got screwed a little. I mean maybe they are amazing, I wish i could see a few more.. Also the ones he sent me were not too clear so I don't know if he fudged with them on purpose instead of watermarking them or what.
He did tell us he had surgery but never said anything about it effecting his ability to do his job
Assistant = second shooter or just someone helping him out?
If it was a 2nd shooter you got screwed out of what you paid for, and I would bring it up.
Otherwise... wait until after you get the book and then I'd write him an email about how unprofessional that was.
Shady. Agree with pp that there's a distinction between an assistant and second shooter. If this was a second shooter, then your photog didn't meet his obligations. If it was an assistant, he may be correct that this shooter was just his backup. Regardless, you hired your photographer and not his assistant and therefore you deserve more of an explanation than you got.
I would ask to see some of the other pictures taken by the assistant. I would not issue final payment until you see your pictures. You can say it nicely to him, though. Just say you are looking forward to receiving all of your pictures and that you will issue final payment once you do. At the end of the day, you'll have to decide what your end goal is - reduced payment, you just want to mention that you were surprised by his absence, etc.
PS jealous you have teasers! I don't have any yet : (
I just feel nervous i'm trying not to freak out, but it's really hard. Ok here's the e-mail i'm going to send him back.
I think that sounds plenty nice and addresses at least some of your concerns.
GREAT email.
although pet peeve... lastly isn't a word :/ Sorry I'm a freak about that stuff.
That sounds fine to start dialogue on the matter. I agree with just about everything Erindesmar said. And definitely ask to see all the photographs in an online album (and he can watermark them or whatev) before you issue final payment. You need to see the finished work to determine if the contract was executed as outlined. It'd be like a home contractor asking for full payment and only showing you one or two tiles he laid or half of a wall in an entire room he painted.
i think that sounds good, and not too harsh or anything--you have legitimate concerns!
I modified it, I just asked how do I pick pictures for my album. I was talking it over with my mom, (gotta love moms) and she said that since the pictures are done there's nothing you can do about that, you should just focus on protecting yourself from getting screwed out of the album.
I agreed so I just asked about the pictures being put online.
You have some very legitimate concerns, and you're handling them appropriately, as your end-goal is to get your pictures!
If I had to leave a wedding/session/whatever mid-shoot, I'd be mortified. I would apologize every which way, and I can't imagine not offering some sort of reimbursement.
When someone hires me and pays me for that time, included in that time are all the pictures I take and the processing of those pictures. Hire me for an hour, and I'll take and process as many good pics as I can get. Hire me for two hours, and I'll do twice the work. So, if your photog was gone for that much time, you did not get those pictures, and he did not do any of the work on the back end.
You paid for an additional photographer--and you paid for *extra* photos and processing. You will be getting a fraction of the photos that you paid for--not to mention that assistants typically aren't as experienced as the main photog (although, at my wedding, I actually liked the assistant's photos better!).
I would take a slightly stronger stance. You can still be kind about it, but the photog is *not* holding up his end of your contract (which you might want to re-read and see if there's some sort of "emergency" clause). Maybe something like:
Dear Photographer,
Thank you so much for the pictures--we love them, and are very excited to see all of the shots and our album!
I understand that you are waiting for the final payment but, under the circumstances, I would feel much more comfortable seeing all the images first. I understand that emergencies happen, and I do hope your knee is feeling better. However, we did pay for x hours of your services, plus extra for additional photos from your assistant. As we will not be receiving your photos from x hours that you were unable to shoot, would it be possible to either send us a low-res, watermarked DVD or post the pictures in a protected online gallery? I expect that the assistant took excellent pictures, and that there will be no issues. However, I am doing my best to protect our investment in a way that is fair to both us and you.
-AND/OR-
Would you be willing to forgive the final payment, and/or reimburse us for an appropriate portion of our payment, prorated based on the time and number of pictures we expected vs. the number we will receive because of your emergency?
Thank you very much for working with us on this. Again, we hope to find an amicable resolution that is fair to both us and you.
Good luck--that's a tough situation!
Thanks Alicia you made me feel a lot better. He didn't even tell me he was leaving, did he think I wouldn't notice? I mean really. And that was the only thing he's said to me was the e-mail I posted originally. So he never actually apologized. Which actually annoys me more than him leaving.
I'm glad I made you feel a bit better--I wish I could do more! Honestly, my friend who just got married told me about this board, and I'm just starting to build my business. It is *such* a labor of love for me, and people's reactions to their photos and *their* happiness are so much more important than the money. I won't even officially do weddings until I can save up for my next camera, so I can shoot most of a wedding without a flash (a bride's wedding pics should be *perfect*). I'm horrified by some of the stories I've seen on here! Maybe some day I'll be all mean and crusty and jaded... but you should *never* be put into a situation like this! And no apology? Ugh. I really hope the pictures are gorgeous, and that you love them. :)
Wow, what an unfortunate situation. Thank goodness you are happy with the pictures you've received so far! I don't have any good advice (aliciareneephotography's is great), but I do hope you'll let us know how it turns out!
@aliciareneephotography -- that is great advice.
I agree it's a horrible situation and your photographer should never have put you in that situation. He sounds like he's trying to avoid you asking for a refund by blowing it off as if it's normal behaviour. He doesn't know you have a whole board of brides telling you his behaviour is completely out of the ordinary and well below what's acceptable!
I agree with other posters and think that you should be getting what you paid for...I really liked what aliciareneephotography had to say
I had a friend of mine who this happened to! The main photographer shot with her mom (as the 2nd/assistant). THe main photographer came up to us RIGHT before the ceremony--her canary heirloom engagement ring had just slipped off her finger at some point. So she was like "omg i need to go look for it"
She was gone for hours. Came back, all upset (obviously), crying, bad mood, etc. I figured it probably translated to poor work quality, also.
I told my friend she should ask for compensation since she PAID for 2 photographers and only had one for hours.
He should eat the cost of, say, another album or something. Something that'll make you feel better. Those albums typically have a significant markup on them, so he shoudl just eat a few hundred bucks because he didn't provide the service he promised you. I mean, if a photographer is $3,000 for the night, if he's gone for an hour....that, to me, is $1,000 worth of service you paid for that he missed out on.
Is there a clause in the contract anywhere that talks about his inability to perform?
I think you need to give him some more time to get all of your photos uploaded. You've only been married a few weeks and most photographers take a couple months to go through the images and upload them for previews. The albums take a lot longer to process. My brother got married in April and they got their teaser photos within the two weeks after. They got the online proofs and disc two months later and they are still working with the photographer on the album. So don't be to hard on him just yet. If you don't get something say by months end then I'd start playing hardball and wheeling-dealing with him.
Good luck!
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During my reception my photographer disappeared leaving his assistant to cover. We notcied and the assistant said he needed to ice his knee since he had surgery on it a few months early. Ok fine, we asked him back to come take pics of cake cutting. Assistant called and he never came back.
We paid for him and an assistant so I think this is totally unprofessional.
Also, the assistant wound up taking most of our formals, he was very good and stayed with me the whole night.
Photographer e-mailed me and sent me teasers. They were all pictures he took himself, none from the assistant. The pictures were awesome, i've posted some.
We are supposed to get a book with our package, and a cd of all the images. He e-mailed me saying he needs the last payment and then he'll mail me the disc.
He didn't mention anything about the book, and the only thing he said about him being absant from most of the reception was and I quote