Really Disappointed--Our Pictures Turned out BAD

[Haven]

Our photography just posted our wedding photos to his website, so I just saw them for the first time.

They''re horrible.

They look nothing like all the gorgeous photos he showed me when I went to see him to check out his work. The lighting is really bad in nearly all of the shots he took in the sanctuary (our faces have shadows on them) AND he did not get pictures of any of the following:
- The table settings before guests sat down
- The 150 beautiful notebooks that my mother calligraphied and laid out as place cards.
- The room itself before people were there
- The guests at the tables (table shots, I suppose--we don''t have pictures of MOST of the people who were at our wedding. I don''t know he was doing during the entire wedding. This should be a standard practice)
- The program or menu or centerpieces or any of those details

He showed up an hour late so he didn''t take any pictures of the girls getting ready, and he asked to leave when most of the guests had left (he said "I have more than enough great shots already) and hubby told him it was fine, because he didn''t know better. SO, we also don''t have any pro shots of us driving away in our decorated car.

I''m just heartbroken. We''ll never have that day again, and now we''ll never have beautiful photos to remember it by, either. I don''t even want to have an album made at this point.

There are probably maybe five pictures from the website that are worth framing, and that''s being generous. I feel like a baby because I''m crying right now, but I really can''t tell you the amount of disappointment that I''m feeling right now. And now I''m really scared to see the video, because the same company shot that, too.

 

[Anna0499]

Wow Haven, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I don't really know what to say because he can't retake the pictures, but I would hope you at least got some of your money back, even though you obviously would've preferred great pictures. I've seen people go to court over these types of situations, and the plaintiff usually wins if the pictures are poor quality or lacking altogether. Hopefully people at your party took some good shots you will want to frame and/or put in an album of some sort. The non-pro pictures you posted earlier were very pretty and I bet with some editting for color, cropping, etc. they could be frame-worthy. I'm so sorry you are disappointed.

 

[Neveah]

Oh hunny, I'm so sorry!

But take a deep breath and step away. Wait a couple days and revisit them. You might find more that you like after you have a couple days to think about it. The anticipation looking at your pics..... they never look the way you envision them in your head. That being said, definitely talk to your photographer. He very well may have those shots and just didn't put them up on his site.... I know ours did. I couldn't find many pics that I wanted and I emailed our photog and she had them.... If he put say 500 shots up on his site, it's very likely he has double that. And what he thinks is a good pic versus what you think... ask to see every image he has. As far as lighting... photoshop does amazing things. Ask that he touch up the ones you're not happy with.

Also the pics you had posted (non pro) were stunning! I'm sure there are tons that your guests have and they could very well have the shots you are looking for! Send an email out requesting the pics from guests. There is a great website where you can make beautiful albums using whatever pics you like.... you can make an album with non pro pics that will be just as beautiful! Album It is so easy and the quality is top notch! I made my parents and inlaws an album from our wedding that cost $64.... included both books and shipping!

Good Luck!!

 

[Haven]

Thanks, Indy. I just feel like it''s all my fault because I chose the photographer and I loved his work so much when I went to visit him in the studio.

We could have had a second photographer there for the entire day for only $250 more but our photog said we definitely didn''t need that because he was our photographer and he''ll get more than enough great shots. I should have trusted my gut and said we wanted the second photographer there, too. ($250 is a TINY amount compared to what we paid for his services in total.)

I''m just a mess over this, I know it''s silly because there are far bigger things going on in the world and I need to take a step back and get some perspective, but that day was so special and I was anticipating those pictures so much it is really an enormous let-down. Enormous.

 

[havernell]

Oh no! That is very, very heartbreaking. I think you have every right to be upset. I am so sorry! I don't have any advice, other than to say I think you should give yourself a few days, see what your husband thinks of the photos, and then make an appointment to see this photographer in person if you can. Like IndyGirl said, he can't do the photos over again, but if you can calmly express your disappointment to him, perhaps he'll refund some of the cost.

Most of all just know that it's okay to be upset over this. Vent here all you want!

ETA: Ooooh, I bet Nevah is right that he may have taken shots of all of those little "details"- centerpices, place cards, menus, etc... but not liked them personally for some reason and so didn't post them on the website. If you email him the list of photos you think he's missing maybe he does have some of them afterall!

 

[Lanie]

Haven I''m so sorry to hear about this! Even if you were to get some money back, or some type of credit, that still doesn''t replace the day.

Did your husband or any other family members look at them? Do they have the same feelings towards the photos? I agree with taking a step back, taking a breath, and talk to the photographer about any touching up he can do! I''m so sorry you are going through this!

 

[Haven]

Thank you guys for being sweet. I can't believe I'm reacting this way, and I'm so glad I have PS to turn to.

My father and sister Allie have seen the pictures and they agree that they are not very good. Allie said there are some frame-worthy shots, but my father is angry and feels really bad that they turned out so bad.

My father actually just said the same thing Neveah said--maybe he has shots that aren't posted, maybe his idea of good isn't the same as ours. You're absolutely right, I should calm down.

You're right, Havernell and Lanie, that I should take a break and look at them later because I'm so upset right now. I'll try.

You guys are the best--you embrace me even when I'm being a big fat snooty self-absorbed baby. Thank you! I really appreciate the support.

 

[gailrmv]

Haven, I am so sorry.... something similar happened to us, our photog was very sick and admitted to the hospital. He scrambled to find us a backup and I will just say that the backup was someone we would NEVER have hired, very different style than we wanted and very abrasive personality too. When I first got our proofs I cried because not only were they crummy but he had left out tons of the pictures that I SAW him take - what happened to those pics? I will never know. Anyway, I couldn''t even choose the album for a while, but eventually, I looked at it and found just enough good shots to piece together a beautiful album. This was not the situation that I had hoped for but it did turn out OK. It did not occur to me to ask for money back mainly because I was living in a different state than the wedding and was working really demanding hours then and kind of just wanted to be done with the whole thing, but maybe I should have.

I hope when you have a few days'' perspective you will feel better.

Also, if you are able to get a partial refund, how about spending that money to get your hair and makeup done again and hiring a different photog to do a pro shoot of you and DH? If your families are nearby, maybe they can get their wedding outfits on again and do another shoot too. it won''t be the same but at least you''ll have more mementos of what you looked like on (or around) the big day.

 

[Haven]

OH! I forgot to tell you that I told our photographer from our first meeting that my favorite picture is of the groom when he first sees the bride. I reminded him during our last meeting that this is really the only picture I''m super excited about--guess what? It''s not there.
I know, maybe it''s in the batch that didn''t make the Internet. I hope so.

 

[Bia]

Date: 7/30/2008 12:14:51 PM
Author: Neveah
Oh hunny, I''m so sorry!

But take a deep breath and step away. Wait a couple days and revisit them. You might find more that you like after you have a couple days to think about it. The anticipation looking at your pics..... they never look the way you envision them in your head. That being said, definitely talk to your photographer. He very well may have those shots and just didn''t put them up on his site.... I know ours did. I couldn''t find many pics that I wanted and I emailed our photog and she had them.... If he put say 500 shots up on his site, it''s very likely he has double that. And what he thinks is a good pic versus what you think... ask to see every image he has. As far as lighting... photoshop does amazing things. Ask that he touch up the ones you''re not happy with.

Also the pics you had posted (non pro) were stunning! I''m sure there are tons that your guests have and they could very well have the shots you are looking for! Send an email out requesting the pics from guests. There is a great website where you can make beautiful albums using whatever pics you like.... you can make an album with non pro pics that will be just as beautiful! Album It is so easy and the quality is top notch! I made my parents and inlaws an album from our wedding that cost $64.... included both books and shipping!

Good Luck!!

Ditto. There is a good possibility he didn''t post every picture onto the web site, so call and ask him. If the worst-case scenario were to happen (none of the pictures you wanted are available--and too many poor quality photos taken) you may have to demand a refund--I know money won''t take the place of having your precious memories recorded, but at the very least, you''ll be compensated for your troubles.

I am so sorry Haven.

I can only imagine how eager you were to see your beautiful photos and then to be disappointed, its horrible.

BUT, I will say, the non-pro photos I did see were stunning, I mean it, stunning--and with a little Photoshop editing, you can have an exceptional photo album made...one the will beautifully portray your wedding day.

Chin up sweetie.

 

[Anna0499]

You aren't being a baby AT ALL! This is a one-time event and you deserve beautiful pictures to remember it by...that's why wedding photographers get paid so much! As for it being your fault, another NO WAY! I'm sure if he had shown you poor quality pictures you wouldn't have went with him; you made the best decision based on the information you had and that's all you can do. Definitely don't put any blame upon yourself. I agree with taking a breather and then discussing your opinion with your photographer...maybe he can edit and enhance the decent pictures and do amazing framing or album work with the great ones for free. As for him not putting his best pictures on the site...I don't know what kind of photographer would put bad pictures as representative of his/her work, but I hope that is the case.

Also, remember you have your lovely video (hopefully!) to remember everyone by!

 

[HollyS]

You are not a big fat snooty self absorbed anything! And so what if you are? We love you anyway!

Photos of the day are important; I don''t think I realized the importance until we received ours. I''m just heartbroken that you are disappointed in yours. But I agree with the previous posts; give it a few days, revisit the site, maybe they aren''t as gosh-awful as you think today. Anticipation can skewer our perspective just a little.

 

[swingirl]

Awww. I am so sorry. A similar thing happened at my wedding so I really feel for you because I know how disappointing it is. He should at least give you a refund for being late have some explanation and offer something like a formal portrait sitting if you feel you don''t at least have nice ones of you and your husband. I hope he has others that he just didn''t post.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

It is amazing what photo editing software can do. Just with one brightening button click and some cropping at the wolf camera store, I turned my australia pictures from a tourist''s photo album into frameable art for my apartment. I took shadows and snowflakes off my face from my snowboarding trip and changed the color completely of the little baby snow monkeys we saw.


So speak to your photog about each picture and what he can do to make it album worthy. And if you don''t trust him or he is unwilling, then get a software program and his raw images and I bet you can fix it yourself! Maybe the photographer hasn''t done his editing yet or shown all the pictures!!

I''m so sorry that he didn''t live up to your expectations, and that yo uare having to take care of it. Good luck!!

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi Haven,

I''m sorry that the photos weren''t what you hoped for. I like the suggestion of e-mailing the photographer and seeing if he has other photos. I''d definitely talk to him and tell him that you''re disappointed. Can he retouch at least some of the photos so you''ll like them better?

I''ll tell you what a friend of mine told me when I told her that we couldn''t go with the photographer we had originally chosen and wanted to hire. We were in the middle of filling out his contract when we realized he had increased his prices so much that we could no longer afford him. My friend said that all you really need is that one great shot to frame and hang somewhere in your house. I''m sure you must have at least one (or 5 possibly, from what you said). Not to diminish how you feel, because I''d be very upset too. I just wanted to pass along what my friend had told me when I was nervous about using someone who didn''t do things quite in the same photojournalist style we had seen.

* I bolded that part above because I was getting kind of wordy, and that was the main point I wanted to make.

 

[Gypsy]

Haven honey, I’m so sorry. That’s really terrible!

Here are some thoughts.

1. Did you give him a list of things you want pictures of? If you did, double check through the pics to see if he followed it. Ask him for ALL (every single) shot. He may not have posted some.
2. Ask him for a partial or even a full refund. Tell him how unhappy you are in a letter that outlines everything that was missing.
3. Make sure that you point out that the faces are in shadow and that clear pictures are few and far between.



I agree that in a few days, looking at the pics again might help. Do you want to post the link, and we can see if there are pics that we like to point out to you?

I might also consider a photo shoot of just the two of you for about an hour or so, all dressed up again… perhaps someplace seanic? Free of charge from him. You will hopefully get some nice pics then. Tell him you want a second shooter for that, and pay the 250.

((HUGE ENORMOUS HUGS))

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/30/2008 12:35:22 PM
Author: HollyS
You are not a big fat snooty self absorbed anything! <lol> And so what if you are? We love you anyway!

Photos of the day are important; I don''t think I realized the importance until we received ours. I''m just heartbroken that you are disappointed in yours. But I agree with the previous posts; give it a few days, revisit the site, maybe they aren''t as gosh-awful as you think today. Anticipation can skewer our perspective just a little.

Thanks, Holl, your post made me feel so much better about my self-absorbed self!

You''re right. I need to step away and hopefully they''ll look better in a few days.

 

[surfgirl]

Haven, it's difficult to say without seeing them (would you be willing to post a link for us?) but...when you say the photos aren't good that he has on his site, are you talking about ALL the finished proofs, or just some on his blog? He might have tons more photos that he's doing post production on with special effects like color saturation, etc.

The thing that struck me was that if he's supposed to be such a top photog, how the hell could he show up an hour late to a client's wedding??? That's unforgivable to me. I think you need to first call him, ask if what you're seeing is ALL the photos, and then make it very clear how unhappy you are with the quality and what he captured and that it in no way reflects on the portfolio that you saw at his office initially - I'd also throw in that you wouldn't have hired him if this was the level of his actual portfolio). I would also tell him that showing up an hour late and missing all the prep shots and leaving early and missing your departure shots is unacceptable. Ditto that if he actually has no table/guest shots, which I find difficult to believe! Start with that, see what he says and how he reacts. Depending on his response to your questions and concerns, I'd then decide how he can make up for this. For example, you might ask him to throw in another session of photos with you and your hubby and maybe your family? Maybe a Trash the Dress session? If indeed he's missed all the key photos that one expects during a wedding shoot, then he either needs to give you a huge refund, additional photo sessions for free, or be prepared to show up in court and defend his poor work.

All that said, I'm just not convinced you're seeing the entire lot of photos. Please ease your mind and call him now and ask him. No sense in crying over this if he's working on many other photos for you, right?

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/30/2008 12:39:47 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Hi Haven,


I''m sorry that the photos weren''t what you hoped for. I like the suggestion of e-mailing the photographer and seeing if he has other photos. I''d definitely talk to him and tell him that you''re disappointed. Can he retouch at least some of the photos so you''ll like them better?


I''ll tell you what a friend of mine told me when I told her that we couldn''t go with the photographer we had originally chosen and wanted to hire. We were in the middle of filling out his contract when we realized he had increased his prices so much that we could no longer afford him. My friend said that all you really need is that one great shot to frame and hang somewhere in your house. I''m sure you must have at least one (or 5 possibly, from what you said). Not to diminish how you feel, because I''d be very upset too. I just wanted to pass along what my friend had told me when I was nervous about using someone who didn''t do things quite in the same photojournalist style we had seen.


* I bolded that part above because I was getting kind of wordy, and that was the main point I wanted to make.

You''re right, Zo. It only takes a couple good shots, I need to remember that. Thank you!

 

[Haven]

TanDog, Bia, Indy, Swingirl, everyone!
Thanks, you guys! I really appreciate it that you''re posting with nice thoughts, support, and really good ideas.
I love the rec to dress up again and take new photos. I think we''ll definitely do that, with a new photographer.

Guilty Pleasure--Great idea. My mother is a photo editing pro, so I''m hoping she can help with that. She''s just a creative genius in general, . I actually feel so bad that the photog didn''t get a picture of all of the notebooks she calligraphied because she really wanted a shot for her portfolio, they were so beautiful. But maybe we can have some fun shopping pictures together.

Gypsy--Your advice is always so rational and well-laid-out, thank you so much. I did give him a list of shots I wanted, I''ll have to dig that out and compare.

Surf--You''re absolutely right. It was unacceptable that he showed up late. The thing was that I was fixated on marrying my husband that morning, so I didn''t even think about it until he actually showed up, and I didn''t want to ruin the moment by being unhappy with him.
I''m really embarrassed about the photos, so I''m not sure I want to post a link. I''ll post a few to illustrate what I mean, but they''re so bad, and after drooling over everyone else''s photos here on PS for YEARS I''m just so mortified that mine look so bad. I''ll put some up, though.
My father called me when I was in the middle of my crying fit (which I rarely do, so he thought something horrible happened. That snapped me back to reality, at least.) He was actually calling because we''re picking up our NEW PUPPY today, so that is something to look forward to. Anyway . . . when I told my dad about the pictures he looked at them, agreed with me, and then called the photographer to talk to him. He spoke with his assistant who said there are several hundred photos that are not posted to the website, so hopefully all those pictures I was whining about missing are actually in existence on a CD somewhere. We should have the CD in two to three weeks, so I''ll update everyone then.

Thanks for indulging me, everyone. I''m a bit embarrassed about the whole "woe-is-me" vibe I''m sending in this thread, but I really am a bit devastated. I really appreciate your support, thank you.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Oh my God Haven I am so sorry!

This really sucks. Can you sue? I hate to say that, but if you feel like you did not get what you paid for you deserve the refund for what you did not get. He should get a very basic fee and you should get the rest of your money back. This is ridiculous. ((Hugs)) Please stop crying..why don''t you write down your memories of the day so you will have something to remember it by? That''s what really matters in the end are your memories and how you felt. ((hugs)) I am so sorry!!

 

[Blair138]

Oh Haven!!! BIG HUG!!! I would be crying just like you are if this happened to me...I agree with all the other ladies, don''t look at them today and go back to them later. Try and pick out your favorite ONE, all the rest would probably just sit in your photo book anyways that you look at once a year(maybe less) I know it really stinks right now, and I know that I would feel the EXACT way as you, but when I freak out really bad I try to put it into a little perspective. I am in the middle of planning and I''m TRYING SO HARD not to be controlling haha-I keep making myself step back and breathe...Also, I would talk with the photographer in a few days and ask about getting some money back. If you are that unhappy and his pictures look NOTHING like what you saw it''s worth a shot-that being said, I don''t know what your contract looks like so I''m not sure if it would be possible-but worth a shot...

 

[Lorelei]

Haven, I also wanted to send you a hug!

 

[Skippy123]

Haven, I am sorry, something a little similar happened to us, long story, we had a retake, but I want to send you a hug. I hope you find the shots he didn''t post. Keep us posted and I will go with your dad to kick butt! Crossing my fingers and toes for you.

 

[Haven]

Thanks so much, you guys.

Okay, I''m going to post some pictures to illustrate.
But first, I''m going to post two decent pictures, so at least we''ll start off on a good note.

You can see all my bridesmaids and their mismatched dresses in this shot. I like the shot, except for the flower petals all over the floor. Now, I''m not a photographer, but I would have asked someone to clean them up before I took pictures.
Anyway, the dress colors looked pretty good together, at least:

 

[Haven]

And this is a great shot of my dress. This was my dad walking me down the aisle:

 

[Haven]

Now, to be fair I tried to pick a few pictures that are representative of what is going on in most of the posed shots.

Here''s the first one--this is my hubby and his brother. Look at the shadows going on here, am I crazy or is this a bad picture? Most of them look like this. (Note: My synagogue is across the street from the botanic gardens, and sits on a lot of land that backs up to preserved forest. I wanted to take pictures outside, but our photog said the light was better in the sanctuary. Again, I should have pushed back.)

 

[Haven]

He took several pictures of me with one or two other people, and they all look like this one. My dress is cut off, and we''re standing awkwardly, but this is the way he posed us. (This is my best friend since childhood. I''m going to post the only two pictures he took of us at the wedding. I don''t think either are frame-worthy, and I''m heartbroken over it.)
These photos really are representative of our posed shots, I''m not exaggerating!

 

[Haven]

See how I''m cut off in this picture? Maybe I''m crazy, but I think it looks awful.

Okay, this is all I''m going to post because I''m too embarrassed to share more. I think they look really bad, but please tell me if I''m just being a bridezilla. I can take it.

 

[Haven]

Okay, one more.

Did I ever tell you that I''m a giant compared to my family? I am. You can see how short my sisters are in the bridesmaid photo, and this is my grandma Helga. We''re really close, and she''s really small. I just think the size difference is funny.

This one has the same weird shadowy thing going on, and it just doesn''t look like a pro picture to me. But Helga looks cute. (And we''ve always called her Helga, "Grandma" makes her feel old. She''s a pistol.)