Proofs are awful...

[miraclesrule]

considering my daughter is about the most photogenic person in the world, I am so sad. I''m not even going to post the link.

I completely feel for you Haven, now that I know exactly how you feel when you saw your proofs. I know that the ugly tiny room we had to get ready in didn''t make for good photos, but the lens and angle''s are awful and the fact that her''s are all in black and white and the most unflattering poses for just about everyone. The guys are better, the posed photos are he best right after the ceremony and the ones they took of my daughter and groom after the ceremony, before the reception, I probably like 10, if that. I want to cry. You can''t photoshoot really wierd angles.

I don''t know how she is going to fill up that album I purchased. I hope they do some amazing photoshop, because I gave up my diamond earrings for this book.

Even I have better pictures. Boo. I''m cranky now.

My daughter likes a lot of them, but doesn''t know why they didn''t post some of the ones we know they took. ::sigh::

I don''t need any advice or woes, I read Haven''s thread. I just wanted to get one woe to me. Beside''s I look like crap in nearly every photo except maybe 4. I am making an appt. to put my hair back blond tomorrow.


700+ photos and I think I

30.

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Oh hun - don''t worry. If they are good photographers and know how to work photoshop they can make just about anything look amazing. Ask them to edit and crop until you are happy with the photos. Most photographers include this in their packages.

 

[Linda W]

Janice, maybe they aren''t as bad as you think they are???? I''m probably wrong huh???? I hope they can crop them for you. I am sorry they didn''t turn out well.

Linda

 

[WishfulThinking]

I just wanted to pop in and give you a big *HUG*, Miracles. I hope you feel better about it soon, or at least get a chance to talk to the photographer.

Good luck with your hair appointment tomorrow! You are a beautiful brunette, and I bet you are a beautiful blond as well.

 

[FrekeChild]

(((((Huggies)))) (NOT THE DIAPER!!!!)

I''m so sorry hon....(I still like your hair dark BTW)

 

[ladyciel]

Oh, miracles, I''m so sorry to hear this!! I assume these are from the hired pro? Have you gotten any more from the I''m-a-pro-and-I''ll-shoot-as-your-gift friend with the watch me twirl photo? Is there maybe still hope???

 

[SarahLovesJS]

First, I love your hair and I don''t think you should change it!

Second, I am so sorry you are disappointed. Being disappointed is one of the worst feelings in the world ESPECIALLY when it involves something that can''t be changed and something that cost money and your time. Are there any really good non-pro photos that you could put into an album? ((HUGE HUGS)) I am sorry.

 

[miraclesrule]

ladyciel,

That is was I am hoping for. So far, I like our friends photos much better, but the problem there is that I highly doubt we will be able to put any of his photos in the ridiculously expensive album I purchased from the pros. I knew that me and the MOG shuld have done our own hair and makeup and that I should have gone with them when they went with the pros to take pics. I am just really discouraged. I just pray that I can conjure up a miracle.

Hopefully, the videographer will make up for it with an awesome video. I could kick myself for not having gone with the crazy photo booth. Seriously kick myself. there aren't very many pictures of the guests and that is really troublesome for me.

 

[buttercup80]

I''m so sorry! I hope editing makes them somewhat better - and I''m glad your daughter likes them. . . I also wanted to chime in that I think you look beautiful with your dark hair!

 

[Pandora II]

I''m doing a ring round all our friends as nearly everyone there had a camera and putting my own album together with a mix of pro and amateur shots.

Also, remember proofs aren''t the finished item. You don''t want to spend hours editing a photo that people don''t like to start with. Often only part of a photograph is used in the final picture so don''t look at all of them as a whole picture.

Fingers crossed that it all comes out beautifully!

 

[anchor31]

Oh no! I can only imagine what it''s like to have awful photos... How devastating!

Maybe the finished product will be better? *hugs*

 

[Livinthedream]

Just sendin some

. I hope in the end they turn out great... try to think positive (after your ''woe'' moment though; we are all entitled to those sometimes)!

 

[decodelighted]

I meant to weigh in on Haven's thread but not too late I guess .... we did our own casual wedding album on IPhoto (though there are many other options for non-Mac users, Snapfish? maybe). We used *some* pro shots but many candids from family & friends. Everyone emailed us their shots - we put them all in Iphoto & then dragged & dropped into a virtual album. You can change cropping & enhance & stuff. Then they mail you as many books as you want. We gave copies to our parents & kept one for ourselves. Its not "fancy" but it is REALLY COOL LOOKING. More like daily life yanno? Kind of a yearbook of the wedding. Much easier for carrying around & showing folks.

Here's the deal -- most folks don't wanna look at 200+ pictures of an event ANYWAY. They want to see the best 30. A "summary" of the event. Then its happy & fun for all. (I edit stuff down for a living & am BIG on, um, brevity). Its just so much more impactful.

Hope that idea helps!

 

[ChinaCat]

Miracles-

If it gives you any hope, I felt similarly to my wedding proofs when I got them. My photographer is amazing, and I really was expecting all of the photos to be WOW. I was pretty disappointed- thought that he took some weird angles that made me look like I had a double chin, there are virturally NO photos with my mom and me, etc.

A year later, I am finally picking out photos for my album- and I LOVE them now. Especially when you pick out the best ones, the book is going to look really amazing.

Sometimes you need a little distance. I think I had such high expectations that I was bound to be disappointed. Also, my memory of the day was sheer perfection, and I don't think any photos can match that! But taking a bit of time, I realized the photos are really beautiful and the good ones he got are great.

Oh, and my video is unbelievable! I love love love it, and am soo glad I got it.

Your daughter is GORGEOUS, as are you. I bet the photos will turn out much better than you think. Hugs to you- I know how disappointing this is. But I have a feeling in a year you will look back and think your album is beautiful.

ETA: Deco, that is a great idea! I don't know why I didn't think about that. We have some really great non-pro pics that I wanted to do something with. Thanks!!!

 

[Courtneylub]

Miracles....I am sorry you aren''t happy with the proofs. I think you are handling it well though and looking at the bright side. You''re right...maybe the video will be spectaular! Will you be getting the proofs electronically? You can always edit them yourself if you can.

 

[AsscherGirl]

I had the same experience as you Miracles, but in the end had an experience like ChinaCat. I was so upset when I first got my proofs and spent months obsessing about it.

After a while, I guess I just realized that I only needed 60 or so pictures for our album, and when I went to pick my favorites, I had over 100! Then I started focusing only on the pictures I did like, and the final layout for the album is beautiful!

For whatever reason, I had trouble asking the photog. to edit things that I didn''t really like (like cropping or size or reducing shinyness, etc, etc), but in the end I put on my big girl pants and got what I wanted

I now try my hardest to not even look at the proofs as a whole, and ignore the pictures that I do not like. It''s pretty hard as we have electronic copies and they are mixed in with all my other photos, but it''s gotten easier over time. The wedding is so emotional, it''s easy to get caught up in everything being perfect, and disappointment is always a very high possibility!

So I really hope everything works out in the end, but I just wanted to share my experience! I hope it helps and gives you some faith it will work out in the end!

 

[jcarlylew]

Date: 8/22/2008 12:19:02 AM
Author: FrekeChild
(((((Huggies)))) (NOT THE DIAPER!!!!)

I''m so sorry hon....(I still like your hair dark BTW)

I agree, you are stunning with dark hair!

No advice for you, but i bet everything will turn out wonderful! From the pictures that you posted awhile ago, i bet the final products are going to be stunning!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

another vote for the dark hair!

miracles, i feel for you. i too wasn''t "totally" wowed by my pics during the first look-see. i took a step back and checked them out again after a couple of days and THEN really liked what I saw.

i also second deco''s suggestion about going with a DIY photo-book. you can design some that rival pro albums over at MyPublisher.com

Good luck, hun!

 

[bee*]

Aww sorry to hear that. Hopefully the main photos will be better than the proofs and as others have said, I''m sure that other people will have great photos of the day also.

 

[Linda W]

Yet another vote for keeping your dark hair. I love it on you!!!!!


Linda

 

[modernsparkler]

Oh no Miracles I am so sorry. Could you ask to see ALL of the pics they took - perhaps there are some gems that you will like that they for some reason diddn''t post. You and your daughter looked amazing on her big day and there must be some pics that capture that! I will think good thoughts for you. Hopefully with some photo shop and careful digging you can have enough pics to display in that album.

 

[MaggieB]

I am so sorry about this miraclesrule. You are always so helpful and supportive to everyone on this thread. I''m sorry that your beautiful daughter did not get pictures worthy of her, but I''ll keep my fingers crossed that things work out somehow.

 

[decodelighted]

I think there are so many misconceptions about wedding pictures. When we see OTHER people's wedding pix, we're seeing the very very best 10-20 of them that are carefully selected for maximum beauty & significance. It's perfectly natural to see 700 photos and be overwhelmed with the overall meh-ness. Even $10K a day photographers shoot a bunch of bunk. You HAVE to shoot a bunch of bunk to get SOME good ones. Sometimes I think its less a matter of how good the actual photos are but more of how high one's expectations were going in. If you've thrown a lot of $$ at something obviously your expectations are high. Temper that with realism though. You don't really *NEED* 700+ gorgeous shots. And to get 700+ gorgeous shots you'd probably have to take 5000.

You probably just need some time & distance from this & you'll look at the very same photos with new eyes. Honestly.


ETA: You mention that you daughter herself likes many of them. That's pretty important too, right!

 

[zoebartlett]

Miracles, I''m sorry you don''t like the proofs! How does your daughter feel about them? I''m sorry if you mentioned it and I can''t remember.

I LOVE your dark hair -- I wouldn''t change it back to blonde -- it looks great as is!

 

[Kim N]

Another vote for dark hair!

miraclesrule, I''m so sorry you''re unhappy with the proofs. I hope you like them better on a second or third look, and that you and your daughter will still be able to create a great album with them.

 

[miraclesrule]

The most disurbing thing to me is that they cant'' Photoshop a photo that doesn''t exist.

In over 700 photos there is not ONE photo of my daughter from head to toe by herself against anything, except the one online from each side (thank god) in the dark and blurred out at the bottom.

NOT ONE!! I pay a fortune for her dress...her beautiful dress...and we are provided not ONE f''ing photo of a full body shot of the Bride in her dress by herself?? I am not paying $3500 for an album for that, I don''t care how well the other photos turn out.

She has already booked a day after session, so they can get time again with the photogs, and I will make sure they don''t use the same lens angles on her face again. (Her boudoir photographer did a rip-roaring job, and it was a fraction of a fraction of the cost).

I prefer not to get the album period. I would rather use the photographs that we get from this vendor, our free photog friend and make an album ourselves. Or alternatively, order a much small version from this photographer, because honestly....so far, the ones our friend took for free at least have one dress in motion picture of my daughter from head to toe.

I cried all morning. There are also only 3 pictures of my daughters face during the ceremony and about 25 of the groom. There are very few pictures of the guests, but 309 or so of cheesy tacky money dance photos. It would take more than special effects to make me feel good about the amount of money I invested in this album.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Miracles I am so sorry! ((Hugs)) Please don''t cry any more about it. I hate to think of you sitting around crying! There''s bound to be something you can work out at least a little bit. Maybe some non-pro pics from family friends would give you something a bit better to remember it by?

 

[Independent Gal]

Phooey.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 8/21/2008 11:50:55 PM
Author:miraclesrule
My daughter likes a lot of them, but doesn''t know why they didn''t post some of the ones we know they took. ::sigh::

I realize you''re upset ... but if your daughter is happy with the photographer (did she choose?) PLEASE don''t tarnish HER experience with your disappointment. This is a critical stage. She''s cementing memories about her wedding and the joy etc. If you throw a tantrum in front of her (not saying you will -- just speculating as to what might happen if all your feelings spilled out in front of her with the same intensity you''re venting on this thread) -- it could CHANGE her feelings about things. It could make HER sad, when she wasn''t sad. It could make her feel ashamed of her choice of photographer (if she chose) ... etc etc etc.

I''m beginning to get what "beholden" means to people. I''d be stunned & hurt if my mom was so vocal about when she liked or didn''t like about my wedding or vendors. Especially if I didn''t agree.

Just saying -- you may think you''re helping but TREAD LIGHTLY -- you could cause more harm than good here at this point.

 

[Haven]

I''m so sorry, Miracles. I definitely can say that I know how you feel.

I''ve chosen to just not deal with our wedding photos, but my hubby has been able to get about six decent-looking shots after tinkering with them in Photoshop. He also got a lot of pictures from our friends and family, and he says they''re great.

This is really disappointing, and you and your daughter are so unbelievably beautiful that I can only think that your photog had to TRY to not get good shots of you two on her wedding day.

I''m sorry, sweetie. I really, truly am.