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WWYD - Really Bad Photographer Experience
So, we booked a nestie-recommended local photographer for DS's 1 year pictures and they turned out HORRIBLE, I mean horrendous. We were promised 1-2 hours (she was there for 45 minutes and rushed us every second), we never received the "social network images"(whatever those are), and the icing on the cake.......we were given TWENTY-EIGHT images as the finished project - mind you this was NOT a mini-session. We have worked with 3 other nestie-recommended photographers over the last year and have never received less than 100 photos and their pics were incredible.
Last Friday I sent an email to the photographer letting her know exactly how I felt and today I got this reply "thank you so much for letting me know how you feel. I'm very sorry to hear you were so unsatisfied. "
Am I wrong to ask/expect my money back or do I chalk it up to lesson learned the hard way? It's not like we spent thousands of dollars on the shoot, but we were NOT given the services promised. I guess outside of the horrible service, her reply was what mostly stung. In the end, I guess I would've thought she would take greater pride in her profession.
Re: WWYD - Really Bad Photographer Experience
I'm sorry you had a such bad experience. I've had almost 100% great experiences with nestie-backed recommendations, so this does seem out-of-place.
Was your complaint email fairly emotional? Perhaps the photographer was concerned about sounding defensive or getting into an argument with you. Did you propose some type of solution? You could always respond back that, while you are happy that she acknowledges that you were unsatisified, you were hoping for a more satistifacty resolution and then suggest a few things such as another shoot or partial refund.
I think it also depends, in part, on how much you paid to begin with and what level of expectations the photographer gave you. Also, did you have an actual signed contract? What were the terms listed? Number of photos, time, edit work, etc.
How disappointing!
Ditto HK. Did you have a contract that outlined the time commitment and/or number of prints/images you'd receive?
I only know the 'normal' stuff for wedding photography from hearing/talking about it a lot on TK, but I'm guessing it's pretty common.
If you don't have anything backing up your expectations, it's probably not fair to expect your money back. I would think,however, that it's fair to ask for a reshoot. Maybe in a different location, too? Then you can get some more images from that as well.
Good luck!
Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.
I was very cautious with my original email to her, outlining exactly what I thought was wrong and kept all emotions out of it - very matter of fact and pleasant. Unfortunately, she did not give me a copy of the contract, however, I did ask her to mail me one today - I'm not banking on getting any kind of response from her though, I just don't think she cares. On her website it clearly states that we were to be given 1-2 hours of time(again, we had 45 minutes), up to ten "social networking" pictures (we received none and she never responded to my initial request about them), and when I had originally asked her how many pics we would receive she responded "a nice variety to choose from, I don't let numbers dictate what I shoot" (I expected more than 28 pictures from a "nice variety"). Plus, of those 28 that were shot at least 5 were worthless because she shot directly into the sun and you couldn't even make our out our faces - maybe that was the "artistic prep of images and uniquely processed" that was promised on her website?!
I have also had great luck with nestie-recommendations in the past, that's why this is so upsetting to me. While we didn't pay a ton ($200), we did still pay for a service that was not provided, and at this point I just feel like she knowingly took advantage of us. Needless to say I will not be recommending her in the future and if I see her name mentioned I will let people know of our experience.
Thankfully, we had had a mini-shoot with a different photographer(see siggie) and got 75+ great photos so our Christmas card won't be delayed.
Ugh, thanks for letting me vent!
The pic in your sig is adorable! First, so sorry you have had to deal with this! We had a bad experience with our wedding photographer (and so did many others), so I know how frustrating it can be!
I think $200 is a lot of money, especially for 28 pictures...I would be livid, and I would probably ask for at least a partial refund, or I agree with previous poster, it might be worth it to ask for a re-shoot.
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Today in my response I asked for a refund - I would be happy with a partial one. I'm not holding my breath, it took her 3 days to reply with 2-sentences; I'm sure she's just going to ignore it. If she does choose to ignore me she is doing a disservice to herself since most of her business is word of mouth and I have a big ol' mouth. Oh well, I guess sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. Luckily, we have a years worth of fantastic pictures taken before this diasaster.
Did you show up on time to the shoot or were you late?
if the set time is supposed to be 10 am shes sitting around waiting for you and you dont get there till 1045 chances are thats part of your session time.
Since there was a contract and didn't seem to fill her obligations, you could report her to the Better Business Bureau, It probably won't have too big of an impact b/c most people don't check that. When a report is created, the business is contacted and asked to correct the problem. That could help you get a partial refund. The BBB will contact you after a while and see if the problem was addressed. If not it could affect her rating,
I've only done that once and I don't think it did much, but it made me feel better.
Good luck.
Umm, no. The shoot was at our house and we started right on time.
ugh. I'm sorry. Keep us posted on what the resolution is.
and I totally want to know who this is.