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It’s time for another Wedding Gone Wrong Wednesday!

For any job, it is vital to have the correct tools. When you see a potential photographer’s demo album, it should be obvious if they have the equipment to get the job done or not. Your wedding shouldn’t be left to disposable cameras and the slightly nicer one Uncle Bob won on bingo night last month. If you’re unsure about what the photographer is going to bring to your wedding, it may be a good idea to bring that up at your first meeting. You don’t need to know what they’re talking about, but a good photographer can explain their equipment’s functions and purpose.

Here is Bill’s story:

I hired a “professional wedding photographer” to photograph my daughter’s wedding. He brought his wife and they worked as a team. I was concerned when they showed up on the wedding day with a Nikon D40 and a Canon Rebel XT but it was too late to worry about that. They shot the entire event with the cameras built in pop-up flash. Again my alarm bells went off but what can you do with the wedding under way? I hoped for the best.

The 50% of the shots taken with the Canon were all shot at the small image setting of 2 megapixels. The other half of the shots were all shot at 1600 ISO regardless of lighting conditions, even the ones shot in bright daylight. Of course these are all extremely noisy or incredibly blurry from a heavy noise reduction filter. I paid him $2000 and I do not believe that 2 megapixel shots are acceptable from a professional photographer. I have asked for a refund and of course he doesn’t want to give it.

Have you been the victim of a Wedding Gone Wrong? Do you know of someone who has? Email us and share your story. We may even feature your story in our blog.

It’s time for another Wedding Gone Wrong!

When it comes to the contract, be very clear before any money is involved. If you expect 100 images from a bridal session, but don’t say anything, you may end up only seeing 30 of them. If the photographer is truly a professional, they will be able to explain their process and give you a good idea of what you will get back from your investment. If you don’t know anyone who has worked with this particular photographer, you may be able to negotiate the engagement as a trial run before paying for the whole wedding. This will give you an idea of how they operate and you can decide if you will be happy with them.

Here is Rachel’s story:

I booked my wedding photographer and thought he was fabulous and creative. We made an appointment to have our engagement photos done. It took him a long time to even get back to me to book an appointment. Our engagement session only lasted 30 minutes, 10 of those minutes were spent by him setting up. Never having an engagement session done I thought this was normal.

We received the pictures a week after and out of 44 pictures we only liked 2. I wrote him an email explaining that I was concerned. He basically told me to take it or leave it, but to let him know ASAP. I was totally shocked, this is not what I expected from someone so highly recommended and not too mention someone I liked!

Might I mention also we had already submitted our deposit. I was so hurt by this whole thing I just couldn’t imagine having him there on my day. When I explained to him we were going to have to go with another photographer he never wrote back, I never saw any of my deposit. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to others.

Have you been the victim of a Wedding Gone Wrong? Do you know of someone who has? Email us and share your story. We may even feature your story in our blog.

It’s time for another Wedding Gone Wrong!

Be as specific as possible when it comes to your photography needs. When you talk with your photographer long before your wedding, be sure they know what you are expecting and that they are capable of handling those shots. They should know about lighting, angles, and framing, but if you have specific individuals, groups of people, events, or detail pictures that are essential to your happiness, then by all means inform your photographer of these items. Too often brides and grooms hire someone and just expect them to know exactly what they’re doing, and you could get lucky… but why take that risk?

Here is Amber’s story:

I would give my photographer an average rating because this is what they provided for me on my wedding. For what we paid and how they portrayed themselves as high-end photographers, we were EXTREMELY disappointed. Our wedding photos were not even close to what we wanted. The photographer we hired showed up with a photographer he had hired the day before the wedding… someone who didn’t know us, or know what we wanted.

I wish I would have known to give them a list of pictures to take, but them being the professionals, and this being my first wedding, I would think this is something they would have suggested. There were MANY important shots we wanted that were missed. (i.e. pictures of my mother walking down the isle, our rings, me eating cake, etc.) He didn’t take the time before the wedding to learn who the parents were, maid of honor, best man, etc. Your pictures are so important and the only thing you have left after the wedding. You should really think about who you hire.

Have you been the victim of a Wedding Gone Wrong? Do you know of someone who has? Email us and share your story. We may even feature your story in our blog.