Wedding HELP! Not sure what to do about wedding album

[robbie3982]

Alright, I was a bit of a slacker when it came to picking out shots for my wedding album (got married back in september), but in my defense I had a lot going on post wedding like job searching, moving to a new state, buying a house, etc. I finally got a shot list over the the photographer and told her that there was no rush and I knew that she was busy since it''s the peak of wedding season. I definitely didn''t want her to feel rushed because I wanted her to take her time and do an amazing job.

A few weeks before Sabine''s wedding she sent me proofs of the pages (I''m doing a coffee table book so all pictures will be printed directly on the page), but I was so busy being Sabine''s MOH, travelling for work and dealing with my medical issue (turned out to be nothing, but the whole process was really stressful) that I only got to sit down and REALLY look at the proofs today and, well, I''m less than thrilled. Don''t get me wrong, I LOVE my pictures, but not so much how they''ve been put together for the book.

She made a comment to me (can''t remember if it was at Sabine''s wedding or when I saw her after) that she''d had her brother help her out with it so that she could get it to me sooner. I really didn''t care that she was taking a while. Her brother, while he might be a great aspiring photographer/graphic designer (no idea if he actually is, but I think she''s been training him) just graduated from high school and while he may be awesome some day, not so much right now. It''s not like the layout flat out sucks. In fact, I''m sure if I showed it to my parents or my in laws they''d think it was awesome, but I kind of feel like the layouts I created for the photobooks that I made for our parents on snapfish looked better and that the pictures were in a better order.

I always have a hard time telling people that I want to make changes to things/don''t like what they''re doing/did, but I feel like this situation is further complicated by the fact that I''ve known her for about 9 years AND the fact that she''s asked me to 2nd shoot a wedding for her (I made a thread about it in hangout a few days ago if anyone wants to read more on that). I''m really excited about the chance to get to work with her, but I want to love my album too!

What would you do? Send the proofs back to her with a million things that need to be changed? Just suck it up and pretend like you love it and then create your own album on something like snapfish? I''m kind of leaning towards doing this, but I feel like I''d be throwing away $ to buy the album she created and then I''d still have to spend more to get one I like and money is kind of tight right now

.

HELP!

 

[Stephanie]

Honestly, I''d send it back. This is your wedding album and if it''s not what you want then she should change it. Hopefully, she wouldn''t let this effect any relationship that you have with her. Maybe you could sit down (when it''s a bit less stressful for the both of you) and work on it together.

 

[CJ2008]

Date: 7/18/2008 2:01:18 PM
Author:robbie3982
Alright, I was a bit of a slacker when it came to picking out shots for my wedding album (got married back in september), but in my defense I had a lot going on post wedding like job searching, moving to a new state, buying a house, etc. I finally got a shot list over the the photographer and told her that there was no rush and I knew that she was busy since it's the peak of wedding season. I definitely didn't want her to feel rushed because I wanted her to take her time and do an amazing job.

A few weeks before Sabine's wedding she sent me proofs of the pages (I'm doing a coffee table book so all pictures will be printed directly on the page), but I was so busy being Sabine's MOH, travelling for work and dealing with my medical issue (turned out to be nothing, but the whole process was really stressful) that I only got to sit down and REALLY look at the proofs today and, well, I'm less than thrilled. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my pictures, but not so much how they've been put together for the book.

She made a comment to me (can't remember if it was at Sabine's wedding or when I saw her after) that she'd had her brother help her out with it so that she could get it to me sooner. I really didn't care that she was taking a while. Her brother, while he might be a great aspiring photographer/graphic designer (no idea if he actually is, but I think she's been training him) just graduated from high school and while he may be awesome some day, not so much right now. It's not like the layout flat out sucks. In fact, I'm sure if I showed it to my parents or my in laws they'd think it was awesome, but I kind of feel like the layouts I created for the photobooks that I made for our parents on snapfish looked better and that the pictures were in a better order.

I always have a hard time telling people that I want to make changes to things/don't like what they're doing/did, but I feel like this situation is further complicated by the fact that I've known her for about 9 years AND the fact that she's asked me to 2nd shoot a wedding for her (I made a thread about it in hangout a few days ago if anyone wants to read more on that). I'm really excited about the chance to get to work with her, but I want to love my album too!

What would you do? Send the proofs back to her with a million things that need to be changed? Just suck it up and pretend like you love it and then create your own album on something like snapfish? I'm kind of leaning towards doing this, but I feel like I'd be throwing away $ to buy the album she created and then I'd still have to spend more to get one I like and money is kind of tight right now

.

HELP!

I think you should be able to be honest with her, as difficult and uncomfortable as it may feel. If you approach it tactfully, and professionally, she should have no problem making the changes to make you happy/satisfied. Maybe your compromise could be that instead of picking a million things to change, you could concentrate on the 50 that bother you most? I'm sure that some of the changes will be more impactful than others.

I read the other thread a few days back (congrats, by the way!) but I don't think working with her in the future should influence this situation.

 

[swimmer]

R, I''m in exactly the same boat.
I called my photographer and asked how I should communicate the changes to him and he said "I expect every bride to have a million changes, that is the norm, just give them all to me at once and not a million changes one by one."

Fair enough.
I''m even picking some layouts that worked on say, pg 5-6 that I want the pictures from 11-12 and in specific order. You are allowed to ask for whatever you want. You paid for the book, she just wanted you to be able to see it, don''t feel badly about asking her to do that part of the service you paid for, she probably expects to get a ton of feedback from you.

 

[loverocks]

I really think they are used to it. Actually, I asked my photographer that very thing when we were interviewing. I loved his work and artistic eye, but wanted to ensure he was flexable. This is your one "professional" wedding book.....you will later regret letting it slide, I bet.