Post # 1
Member
104 posts
Blushing bee
At first, she seemed like a professional, talented photographer, this is not so much my opinion of her now. When I recieved our engagement pictures back, two were acceptable for use, TWO. She offered to do another session for free, so we went back, but it wasn’t any better. Long story short, judging her work from our engagement session, I don’t want her to shoot our wedding.
Also, (1) she took two months to get us our proofs from each session when she said it would only be two weeks. (2) I have emailed her and called to tell her which pictures we wanted on the CD she was supposed to send us, but she hasn’t done that yet. It’s been almost 4 months. (3) For the last month I have been trying to get ahold of her by phone and email. She won’t respond to emails, and her phone is disconnected.
I want to fire her because I have (hopefully) found a better one. The problem is that I have already sent her $600 bucks as a deposit. I want that money back…she can keep the crappy pictures (the engagement sessions were free in the package anyways).
So after all of that, do you bees think that I can fire this photographer AND ask for my $600 back (letting her keep all of the pictures). What would you suggest?
Post # 3
Member
471 posts
Helper bee
I would fire her. If she has already done that much wrong with just an engagement session, I’m afraid the wedding photo process would be a nightmare!
As far as the money goes, I’m not sure how much of that you can get back since you are paying for time, not just pictures alone. But, it would be worth a shot.
Post # 4
Member
1870 posts
Buzzing bee
I dont’ know the terms of your contract, but I think it’s fine to ask for your deposit back. However, I wouldn’t necessarily EXPECT it back unless that’s covered in your contract–some photogs say that the deposit is nonrefundable. The worst that happens though is she says no and you’re out $600. Personally, I’d rather be out the money and sell lemonade to make up for it than have a photog I dont’ like shooting my wedding.
EDIT: Oooh, I just reread too and the phone/email disconnect is NOT a good sign. Definitely send written communication expressing your concerns and asking for $ back and telling her you won’t be needing her services. But again, I wouldn’t keep my hopes up on getting that money back.
Post # 5
Member
10844 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I would email her a pointed message about the issues you’ve been having, and let her know you’d like a refund on your deposit. I don’t think you’ll have a lot of luck getting it back though. If she can’t even send you your photos, something tells me she’s not going to jump to put a cheque in the mail for you either. Sorry you’re dealing with all this, but I’m glad you’ve found someone you like better!
Sorry, I just re-read that and saw that her phone’s been disconnected. Not such a good sign. Have you poked around on the interwebs to see if there are any other dissatisfied brides out there?
Post # 6
Member
2395 posts
Buzzing bee
Wow. Well, I would definitely fire her! Did she sign a contract with you? Has she broken any agreements within that contract? That would definitely be a way to convince her to give you the deposit back… though it sounds like contacting her is the main problem!
We fired a photographer because we didn’t like our E-pics, and we ended up forefeiting a our deposit. Best decision ever, because the person we decided to go with was amazing!
I guess I’d rather forfeit the deposit (though in your case, that really stinks since you can’t even contact her!), and hire someone who you really click with.
Post # 7
Member
10283 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
Considering the way she’s handling your e-pics I would NEVER allow her to shoot your wedding. While in a perfect world you would get your deposit back, if you have a contract in place (which I assume you do) there is probably a clause in there about the deposit being non-refundable. Although, if the contract stated that it would take 2 weeks for you to get the pictures and it took four months you would have grounds for demanding your money back.
Does she have a studio you could visit in person? Her phone being disconnected is a MAJOR red flag. Somethings not right there.
While $600 is alot of money (that would just about cover our DJ), its a small price to pay to not have deal with the anxiety of her ruining your wedding pictures. Considering she doesn’t even have a working phone, who knows if she would show up on your wedding day.
If it were me, I would just review review review! Let other brides know what you went through. While some may see this as bitchy, I see it as doing a service to future brides who could potentially go through the same thing you are. Good luck!
Post # 8
Member
3125 posts
Sugar bee
I would fire her either way, and try to get your money back. If you can’t, I would let it go. I personally dont think its worth it to sue her, but mostly because I wouldnt want the added stress while planning a wedding. Id be willing to just take the hit.
Post # 9
Member
967 posts
Busy bee
Couple of questions — did you look at her portfolio before you hired her? What did you think of it then? What drew you to choosing her? I mean, how can she have a remarkable portfolio and mess your photos up 2x?
You NEVER mentioned what you didn’t like about the photos. Just that you didn’t like them. What weren’t you happy about in regard to the photographs? Were they out of focus or blurry? Did you not like the backgrounds? Were they cropped funny? I’m confused since you didn’t offer an explanation of why you didn’t like them.
Or do you just not like the way you look in them? Because if you don’t like how you came off looking in them, that’s not he photographer’s fault. She can’t make you into something you’re not. And if you envisioned that your photos would look identical to someone else’s, then that’s not fair either, as you can’t capture the same feel for everyone.
Before I would pass judgement on what to do w/the photographer, I’d like to know what SHE did that was wrong photography wise. I agree that the long wait is unconscionable but aside from the wait, what made the photos so bad?
Post # 10
Member
4544 posts
Honey bee
Fire her. Try to get your deposit back, but even if you can’t it is most likely going to be well worth the additional cost to get pictures you love and a photographer you can trust.
Post # 11
Member
606 posts
Busy bee
I would fire her. You cannot redue your big day. I would ask for my money back and itemized why(very specific) and if she refused I would file in small claims. 600 is nothing to sneeze at.
Post # 12
Member
106 posts
Blushing bee
Definitely fire her if it’s not what you want. But I wonder about the money situation. Did you have a contract? If so–what did it say about lengths of time? Like how soon you should get them back? If you threatened to sue you would definitely need written proof about those situations… even an email?
Post # 13
Member
399 posts
Helper bee
I would fire her and ask for my money back. I wouldn’t expect it back, because it is a deposit and they take them for a reason, but if she truly did a terrible job with the photographs then I’d at least try! If she says she can’t give it back to you I’d try to reason with her and see if you can at least get some of it back. You need to love your wedding pictures, because they’re the only things you’ll have to look back on. You also don’t need the added stress on your wedding day, worrying about what your pictures are going to look like. I’d definitely find a new photographer and deal with losing the money if you have to. It’s either that or you risk having no good pictures. Good luck!
Post # 14
Member
1756 posts
Buzzing bee
I love our wedding pics. Love love love them. I gladly would have paid another $600 for them.
Fire your photographer. Ask for the $600 back, but if she says no, just consider it the price you’re going to have to pay to get a good photographer you can trust.
Post # 15
Member
317 posts
Helper bee
Two good pics out of an engagment session isn’t good at all. The engagement session is really a preliminary test for the both of you. The fact that you’re not happy with TWO sessions is a bad sign.
I voted for firing and taking the $600 loss. They put it in the contract that it’s not refundable that both parties agree upon. You can ask about the deposit but be prepared if you don’t get it back.
Post # 16
Member
232 posts
Helper bee
yeah, I agree with everyone above… fire her. It’s much better to be out $600 and salvage your opportunity for wedding photos that make you happy rather than carry forward with your current photographer largely because of the deposit.