What’s Your Preference?

BobC · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 06:35 PM

My daughter was married on 5/15/09. I did not help picking the photog, her mother and her did that. This has just been an issue since the start. First its a company that uses multiple photographers and they don't tell you who the photographer is until nearly the wedding so the photos they show you as samples could be some other guy not your photographer. If i had know this before they signed the contract i would have insisted on someone else. Anyway she shows up at the house the day of the wedding by herself, a camera and a flash. Takes a few photos here and then leaves to meetup with the guys. My daughter had expected to have some photos taken in the back yard but she didn't do them and had to go so she had time with the men. So i take a few for her in the back yard, i'm no pro but I am cheap.

She takes her photos at the chuch and off to the reception we go. My daughter had asked for photos of each table. Through the wedding we go, now i'm doing the father of the bride thing and not paying attention to the photog. No pictures take of tables. They show us in the contract where it says pictures of tables taken at an extra fee. Well then why didn't they say that when my daughter sent them the list of photos she wanted. Then we could have decided if we wanted to pay the extra or not. Now its to late.

This company should have taken the time to explain to my wife and daughter exactly what the process was, what they were going to get and if there were extra options what they were. You can't expect people not in the business to know what you are giving them if you don't explain it. They sure didn't mind requiring full payment in advance. So now i've paid for something that they have not produced. Makes me so mad i could spit nails.

Now we are expecting proofs only to find out everything is done on line. Now i have no issue with the on line proofs but at least give us ones we can actually tell the quality of the image. The photos are so small and as soon as you try to blow it up to see it the resolution is so you it looks bad. Besides that no one evertold her everyting was done online and she could never talk to a real person about the shots. Anyway its been six months now since the wedding and we still have no pictures. They keep blaming my daughter for not getting back to them on one thing or another. I spoke to them today because i have had enough. They say they sent my daughter an email over a month ago and she never responded. My daughter says she is waiting to hear from them. My point is if you sent a client an email over a month ago to approve an album and they did not get back to you, wouldn't you follow up and see if there is an issue. Not just say oh well if they don't respond to our email we just won't do anything. Seems like bad business.

Then the other thing is each time you call you get someone else. Always a voice mail waiting for a return call. You finnally get to the person you talked to last time only to be told they aren't working on that, so and so is. Give me a break.

Anyway when i look at the album prove there are images that need to be straightened, photos taken with a white book or something sitting on the pew (your eye is drawn right to it) that needs to be clonesd out. Images that should be cropped because an ugly concrete something or another is in the photo.

I'm sure its not all their fault and some of the blame goes to us but aren't they the ones who are supposed to be the "professionals".

Just ranting i guess. Hopefully those reading this will learn how not to treat the customer.

CanonRebelz · #2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobC

She takes her photos at the chuch and off to the reception we go. My daughter had asked for photos of each table. Through the wedding we go, now i'm doing the father of the bride thing and not paying attention to the photog. No pictures take of tables. They show us in the contract where it says pictures of tables taken at an extra fee. Well then why didn't they say that when my daughter sent them the list of photos she wanted. Then we could have decided if we wanted to pay the extra or not. Now its to late.

This company should have taken the time to explain to my wife and daughter exactly what the process was, what they were going to get and if there were extra options what they were. You can't expect people not in the business to know what you are giving them if you don't explain it. They sure didn't mind requiring full payment in advance. So now I've paid for something that they have not produced.

Man that really stinks. I'd be really mad at them if I were you.
But, I have something to say. They did explain it, it was in the contract.
Unless they told you "Sure we can do the pictures of the tables no extra charge" then its your fault for not reading through the contract. Now I'm not defending them, but just saying. I hope you get it all settled and worked out.
Sorry

natek313 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 06:56 PM

Yeah, like CanonRebelz implies, there's not a whole lot you can do if it was written in the contract and that contract has the customer's signature on it. Everything should be explained in the contract; that's what they are for. Even if, as CanonRebelz said, they verbally told you that they could do the pictures of the tables for free, that's only a verbal agreement if it's not in the written contract, and a verbal agreement wouldn't hold up in court too well.

However, they don't sound like the most professional people. That's for sure. Usually online proofs are low-resolution images so the customer doesn't just take them. If they're too small, could you perhaps review higher-resolution images with the photographer?

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience. I hope everything gets straightened out.

PowerPix · #4 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:04 PM

I think we should just beat them.......and THEN review the contract for discrepancies.

Hope you get it cleared.

By the way, that is "bait & switch", show you that photographer's photos but send you this photographer. I think that is wrong!

archersdad · #5 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:13 PM

They sound like a bunch of scumbags. I don't know what you can do to get satisfaction. Is there any way you can go to their place of business to view the photos? At this point, you might just have to get the better ones and photochop them yourself if they are unwilling to make the corrections.

BobC · #6 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:24 PM

I did not mean to imply that I expected them to take the photos for free since the contract clearly states they are extra. All i'm saying is the contract was signed first. Later my daughter sends them a list, by email, of photos she would like taken, Included in the list is "photos of individual tables". Now if you see this on the list of photos the bride wants and you know its not included don't you say "I'm sorry but photos of individual tables are not included but we could do them at an additional charge". Instead they say nothing.

As far as the contract goes i know all about what is written in the contract is binding. My point is that you have a 20 year old girl signing a contract and you can't take the time to explain to her what she is signing. That is deception. How many of you have had your contracts prepared by a lawyer or legal advisor, on line or wherever. Or do we have to be like the eye glass commercial and have our lawyers follow us around to review everything before its signed. I guess i'm just old school and what i say i mean. Of course in this case they just didn't say anything so that gets them off the hook. I will take resposiblility on this, i should have been more involed.

What has be more upset is we are still waiting for the pictures. Six months seems like a long time. I just need to vent. Also hopefully if one pro can see from the other side of the fence, to see it from the bride and groom and the families side, see it as if the shoe was on the other foot maybe it will make someones experince a better thing. It does not have to be a cut throat matter of fact business, we can be people too.

BobC · #7 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:34 PM

By the way you can't talk to the photographer. Apparently they have multiple photographers or subcontractors, not sure. And if you want to go to the office to review them in person they charge you for the time. Go figure

olgabe · #8 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:39 PM

Sorry you are having to deal with this.. doesn't sound like fun. The mistake has been made early on, when you selected the company, not the individual, so now it's hard to fix. I'd try to get a hold of ditigal originals (even if it costs extra) and hire someone good to process them in a way that brings the best out (both 'pro' images and your snapshots). Great creative processing may save a lot of them. It will cost you too though, especially if you are a picky client that notices things like lamp posts and concrete pillars..

Cloning distractions is an interesting subject.. sometimes, you can frame around them, sometimes - the ugly red EXIT sign is in every straight photo of the aisle (like I had in my last wedding). I'll clone it out on a few important shots, but by no means on every shots of the procession. If every image from the wedding has distractions in it - I'd definitely blame the photographer.

Nathan deGargoyle · #9 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 07:44 PM

Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). When you are working with a company rather thasn an individual 'tog you are going to have these problems but they also come up from the other side. Check out all the thrteads here where the 'tog is complaining that the client expects so much more than they contracted for.
The answer, if there is one, is for the 'tog and the client to sit down and agree exactly what is going to be done. Not by e-mail, not by lists, not by phone calls but face to face and signed off.

BobC · #10 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 08:07 PM

We did pay for a DVD of the images and copyright release. Maybe i should ask for that now. Normally they send it with the album, i think.

I do put some of the blame on me. I should have known better but when they go to buy a dress and while at the bridal shop there is a photographer company there, and come home with the agreement. I guess i just need to suck it up. I do intend to write to this major bridal chain and express my discontent. They should know who they are indorsing.

When i called today i just wanted to get it worked out. But when you ask for the person that your daughter has been talking to and "they just steped away from their desk' so you ask for their manager who just so happens to be "in training" so you ask for their boss and you get a nice voice mail, leave a message and I'm still waiting for a call back, its upsetting. Finally called back again and spoke to the first person on my list. He at least sent me a link to the album proof. I had six images in the album, posed shoots, where there is this white book or something in it. Asked about getting that cloned out, they say they can but it will be $25-$50 per image. You would think since its posed and that could have been moved before they took the picture they could do it at their expense. I asked them to reconsider, by email, so we shall see.

Don't get me wrong I don't think the client is always right but they are not always wrong