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WIW "Engagement" Photos (Update)

marianna

Veteran

Received our engagement photos back today and I am extremely, extremely disappointed. The photographer we hired missed the mark. Here are a few shots of what we ended up wearing, but I am going to see if we can have the shoot re-done because most of the photos look amature and awful. I'm worried about how the wedding photos will look. Stressful.

I also don't know if I should have worn such a busy blouse for the photos. Oh well.

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61 replies

Latest reply was from melindawoodard

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

You look lovely, but yeah agree the photographs are sub-par.

Anonymous

I think your outfit is fantastic.

Great photographs are really important to me and based on these, you have every right to be disappointed. These are amateurish. Does the photographer have a good reputation? I'm not sure a reshoot with this photog is going to yield better results. I would consider finding a different wedding photographer. Stressful, I know. I'm so sorry you're in this position!

marianna

Veteran

Yeah, and these are the decent photos. I'm totally bummed and don't know what to do. We already signed a contract with him and gave him a deposit. Sooo stressed about it.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Do you know if there is a penalty for breaking the contract? Do you have someone else in mind that you can try?

I only took photography in high school, but there seems to be some *very* rookie sloppiness going on here with composition and focus decisions - even if these were stylistic choices (which my gut says they are not), anyone who ever works with wedding should know better than to shoot the BRIDE so that she is a blur in the background... ugh. I'm sorry if I'm ranting a little, but I'm upset for you. Is this an individual hired or a company/firm - if the latter, maybe a different photog can do the reshoot?

Anonymous

So if you break the contract you forfeit your deposit? If you did so, would it break the bank? From a budget standpoint, are you able to cut your losses on this or do you need to see this contract through?

If you *have* to use this guy, it will still be okay. They take so many pictures at weddings that you are bound to find some you like. How many wedding photos can one sane person possibly have displayed anyway, right? Don't let this stress you out too much that you don't enjoy the process leading up to your wedding and the wedding itself. You are in control of the other details, you will look gorgeous, your groom will be all dapper and everyone will walk away remembering your wedding as the wonderful event it was as YOU planned it. The fact the pics might fall short of relaying that is unfortunate, but only a small part of the whole.

MsMary

Veteran

Talk to him and explain that you are disappointed and you think it'll be best for everyone if you go your separate ways. Be businesslike but firm. Tell him you expect your deposit back except for X amount to compensate him for the time he spent on the engagement photo shoot.

It may cost you some money to be rid of him, but it will be money well spent.

P.S. You look gorgeous!

rae

(website)

Veteran

To extend on Anne's point, even if you are stuck with this person for the shoot, you may not have to get the prints from this same person. If they can give you the digital files, you can get someone else to re-crop shots and such for a more elegant look.

marianna

Veteran

We are on a *verrrrrrrry* tight budget for this wedding so we chose an inexpensive photographer. His worked looked good though! I guess you get what you pay for.

He gave us like 90 photos and there are a total of 7 that I find decent. Nothing blows me away. I look awful in most of the pictures... angles are all weird. There are a ton of photos of Brian standing alone and none of me by myself. It's just odd. There is blurriness. There are people and cars in the background. I am just unbelievable dumbfounded by this.

I believe if we forfeit the contract we will lose our deposit. And I don't know where we will find a photographer within our leftover budget.

Aaah... feeling the wedding stress starting to kick in. Wedding planning has been totally smooth sailing until this disaster!

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Marianna, did you see samples of his work? Did they send a "new guy" to shoot your engagement photos and the "real" photog will be there for the wedding?

the photos from my wedding were pretty bad, too (our photographer took about 40 pics of me getting my hair done and then ran out of space and never took a portrait of me by myself in my dress!). But, we got enough (photos of us with our families, photos of us alone) to make a nice album and hang a few in our office.

Even if you can get out of the contract, would you be able to find another photographer (do you have enough notice)?

marianna

Veteran

Jenava, he owns his own company so this is the guy. We saw his work and the photos were fabulous! Not sure what happened here.

rae

(website)

Veteran

Ah, I SO understand the budget thing. My father took our "posed" wedding photos, and it was pure luck that he spent years passionate about amateur photography.

How are your guests set for cameras? If you have even a few people with high resolution cameras, you can thriple or quadruple the number of frames you will have to work with for an album. This was our approach to my wedding, since our budget did not even extend to a pro phographer.

If this guy's other shots were good, maybe you all can meet with him and discuss what you did and didn't like - e.g. I prefer to be shot from x angle, and I really liked the composition in x photo that you showed us during the initial consultation.

melindawoodard

Awww Im sorry you are stressed! Im getting married in Sept and had our engagement photos a few months ago, so we have that in common!

I thought your outfit was pretty, i wish i could wear flowered tops, i love them. But they dont love me. Just a thought but if your photographer has lightroom and or photoshop he may be able to edit your photos to your liking. He can edit out all the cars, create lighting effects with filters, and if there are areas needing a blur that arent, do it there. My friend creates awesome stuff in post pic editing.

Sheila

Veteran

So sad for you to have to deal with this issue. You've got enough stress in your life right now with the wedding to plan, budget to manage, etc. Sorry to say but I do agree with every previous poster. Gather your strength and face it, sooner rather than later, as you need a solution ASAP. I wish you well.

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I know this won't help with the ceremony, but a friend of mine bought disposable cameras and put one or two on each table at the reception. They had a lot of really nice pics and some great candids on those cameras with little cost. If you have a friend who is an amateur photographer, ask him or her to take pictures at the ceremony. Your friends will be honored to have you ask them to help.

Good luck.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Ooooh, I'm so sorry! As a photographer, I cringe at stories like this. And at the second photo, in which a tree seems to be sprouting from your fiancé's head. I can see why you are disappointed.

I hate to say this, but it is not unheard of for a dishonest photographer to use someone else's work in their portfolio or on their website. People have been fooled by bait-and-switch photographers many times, and it makes me extremely angry because it serves to discredit the entire profession. I only mention this because you saw such a huge disconnect between the photographer's portfolio and the results of your shoot.

If you are not happy, stand your ground and find another photographer. What does your contract say about cancellation?

Again, I'm so sorry to see this -- i know you want everything to go smoothly and look beautiful for your wedding!

ETA: I would not ask the original photographer to "fix" their work with filters, etc. in Photoshop. Honestly, I would not trust that they'd make changes that would actually be enough of an improvement (if an improvement at all) to be worthwhile. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to do *good* Photoshop work! I hope this doesn't sound too brutal, but I feel very strongly about this. I've taught Photoshop classes, and I know good work when I see it. It is much harder to fix bad images than to take good ones in the first place.

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Is there any way you can sit down with him and look through the portfolio he showed you when you were considering hiring him? That way, you can do a side by side comparison and tell him exactly what you liked about his portfolio that you feel is lacking in your engagement photos? It sounds like either his portfolio is not representative of his actual work, or he grossly misunderstood what you wanted or expected somehow. Either way, I think you and he need to get on the same page so you can either get your money back or if you decide to stick with him, make sure he knows exactly what you expect for wedding photos. I think photos are so important because you will have them for the rest of your married life. It's one thing that's definitely worth putting up a fuss over.

As an aside, some friends of ours hired a videographer to tape the ceremony for their wedding. Well, for some reason, some of the tape didn't turn out, and so there are these random edits where it cuts away from the ceremony, and there is a squirrel standing there, looking at the camera for 15-30 seconds (while you can hear their vows as a voiceover), and then it cuts back to the ceremony, and then cuts away to the squirrel again and then something else like a tree or a rock. It is so bizarre! They (and we) had a fun time watching the video one afternoon over beers at their place, because there's nothing to do at that point but laugh it off. They call it their "squirrel wedding video." Needless to say, they did get their money back.

jen

I am a photographer. Just because you own a great camera doesn't make you a great photographer. Always check out his full portfolio and get reviews from real people. Your outfit looks good in the photos. I hate the old fashion black and white or denim matchie matchie look. Keep searching your wedding photos are with you for life!

Lisa

Veteran

Sorry to hear the photos did not turn out the way you wanted. I would go over with the photographer what you are looking for in your photos for the next run through.

Pretty top!

Heather

Veteran

Marianna, how upsetting for you and your fiance. Definitely take charge on this issue ASAP.....sending you hugs and strength.

You look beautiful.

HelenInCanada

Veteran

Sorry to hear about your disappointment, Marianna. You, your hubby, and the background look GREAT - but I can see why these don't seem 100% professional. Not to downplay this, but I am being killed by some of these photo horror stories. Especially the "squirrel wedding video" - I'm sorry, but that is unbelievably amateurish and I couldn't help but burst into laughter, Ana. Oh boy. Deep breath. I second the idea of talking to the photog about the photos you LOVED in his portfolio, and then comparing the duds (though I don't think these are the most horrible I've seen - just not at all the greatest.) to explain what you want more of and less of. Obviously a re-shoot should be free of charge. Anyway, in the grand scheme of things, the wedding pics are the most important, so I'd definitely have a back-up photographer (friend or professional) for the day. I also like the idea of candid friend-taken pics. Good luck - and try to remember it's supposed to be fun!

marianna

Veteran

Thanks for the advice everyone. We just looked over our contract and we would lose our deposit if we cancel. We need to discuss things with him. The photos are SO bad and it looks like he didn't edit at all.

Before we do anything we need to see if anyone else is available on such short notice, and within our budget.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

*hugs* i really hope this works out for you one way or another. How disappointing! You do look very beautiful though!

Janet - I am gasping over here. I had no idea this was done; how awful!

Diana

Veteran

Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear about this, Marianna (and totally not looking forward to this part of wedding planning for myself now...) I hope that you can work something out with this photographer, but my gut feeling is that you want to ditch him and go with someone else. I hope the budgeting works out! As a backup plan, I would encourage your guests to take lots of photos... especially if you have some guests who are interested in photography, you might get some nice photos that way too.

Tanya

Veteran

So sorry to hear this, Marianna ! I hope things work out somehow.

You look beautiful in the photos and the outfit is great!

velvetychocolate

Veteran

So sorry to hear about this Marianna! Just for the record, you and your fiance look fabulous - it's just that the photos aren't quite up to par.

You were saying you need to find out if there's anyone else available, within budget, and at very short notice, before you cancel - and you know what? I think I would cancel anyway - even if that meant I didn't have a professional photographer on hand. I don't know how much of a deposit you put down, but to me - it isn't worth the trouble to try and explain to the photographer what you didn't like about the engagement photos and then *hope* the photos are better for the actual wedding. Not if you'd end up paying the full price. In fact, I think I'd feel funny (worried, awkward, uncomfortable, nervous) posing for photos for someone who I'd already 'had words' with (re: quality of photos) etc.

I recommend canceling - and trying to find someone else, while *also* putting out a plea to friends/family members to take tons and tons of photos, and asking around if any of said friends/family members know of people who are 'into' photography and would love a chance to take a bunch of pictures on your wedding day.

Once again, I'm so sorry about this stressful scenario...aggghhhh....

The sooner you get it dealt with and resolved, the easier things will be though.

Hang in there, and you *do* look beautiful.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

So sorry to hear this; you do not need added stress at this time. You must be so disappointed.

You look very pretty in the blues and greens of your top. Maybe those colours can help you keep cool in this admittedly very frustrating scenario!!!

If it's any consolation, I have no wedding photos at all - not even amateur ones. It's a long story (big mess up and tight budget together) but you know what? In the end, the lack of photos hasn't prevented me from remembering the day with joy. I'm betting the same would be true for you, if worst came to worst.

And it won't!! You'll get it sorted.

Kari

Veteran

Marianna, I'm so sorry that you are unhappy with your photographer. I think the setting and outfits you chose are lovely but agree that the pics aren't what you'd hope they would be.

These strategies might offer ideas:
http://www.unitedwithlove.com/.....otographs/

http://www.bestdestinationwedd.....ent-photos

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Oh Marianna, how frustrating! Unprofessionalism angers me so much and also the people who pray on already overstressed bride and groom. Grrrr!
I support others who said not to go ahead with this guy. Does you contract says anything about your satisfaction with his work? I would rather forfeit the deposit and lose a bit than go ahead and lose all of it and be left with sub-par pictures. I would prefer amateur pictures from my friends in this case.
You did look great - even bad quality of pictures could not affect this!
I keep my fingers crossed that you find another photographer and he will be good.
Hugs!!!!!

catgirl

Veteran

Mmmm, contracts. Easier to get out of than you would think, actually. It's good that you found out about this issue before your wedding, at least. I am so sorry you're going through this kind of stress - you've gotten a ton of good advice and I just want to send commiseration and support for doing what's right for you. I'm sure you can work something out along the lines of "how about you give us our money back and we don't report you to the BBB or give you a bad review on yelp or whatever and everyone walks away."

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