Be cautious if using Photographer Yasmin Corless

It's a shame you have had to go through this. You knew that Yasmin was an amateur photographer and I assume she was unable to show you full weddings she had been commissioned to shoot previously?

The experience you have had is similar to what happens every week to brides when they book amateur photographers to shoot their weddings. I deal with several victims a week via the groups I'm in.

I admin various large Facebook wedding groups and we ban lots of photographers who are "just starting out" or "portfolio building" because they are simply unable to provide the quality of wedding photography that they hope to provide. Yet their advertising often includes claims of being a professional photographer or having many years experience.

I banned a chap from a group today who appears to have never done a wedding but is charging more than I charge! There are huge numbers of people posing as wedding photographers. You have learned that just because someone claims to be a wedding photographer does not mean they actually are one.

I could claim to be a car mechanic but I have never actually fixed a car. If I did that you'd quite rightly call me a scammer! But when people claim to be wedding photographers, yet have never been paid to photograph a wedding before, people say "oh but everyone has to start somewhere!"

Make it your mission to educate other brides regarding this problem in the industry. It's not about Yasmin - there are thousands of Yasmins waiting to pick up brides like yourself. Brides need to learn how much professional wedding photography actually costs and what to look for in a portfolio.

There are certain signs of problems, eg no professional website, can't show full weddings delivered to previous clients when asked, no contract issued, no PL & PI insurance and much cheaper than other photographers.

I wrote this article for sharing on Facebook but the tips in it would probably have stopped you booking Yasmin in the first place as it's general guidance for booking traders safely.

http://ww2.ollievision.co.uk/wp/index.php/buying-wedding-services-safely-on-facebook/

So sorry to hear you've had this trouble. I hope the photos you've received are ok, though?

Paula, just reading through your article, you're slightly wrong about the PayPal claim timescale (45days). I've recently had to claim back from a seller for goods ordered from abroad. Because they were coming from abroad and being custom-made, the agreed date for delivery was outside of the 45 days. I think it was about 50 days after paying that I opened the dispute (nearly 70 days by the time it got to a claim), and I didn't have any problems with PayPal refunding my money.

PayPal's buyer protection/claim procedure is a little confusing - when I read through it, I was expecting my claim to be rejected as it was outside the 45 day period, but the deadline date for opening a dispute is actually 180 days, with a deadline of a further 20 days to escalate it to a claim. Still very short when brides are booking services like photographers as much as 2 years in advance, but it might make a difference for brides who discover their suppliers are scammers before their wedding.

Thanks MadamRed. The Paypal was 45 days when I wrote the article originally. I think it has changed, but when I reviewed it it didn't seem straight forward at all!

The usual issue with scammers & paypal is that they delay delivery of the product, eg a silk bouquet, until after the paypal claim limit has passed. It's unusual to see issues with photographers and paypal. I've never dealt with a photographer paypal fraud - it's usually related to the purchase of other (physical) wedding supplies.

I only took one wedding photo booking payment via paypal in the last year. The other issue brides need to be aware of is that if they pay a photography deposit via paypal it's not covered anyway. Paypal only covers "complete" payments, eg the full cost of the product.

Thank you for your words. Hopefully I can spread the word because as you say many claim they are professional but are just fraud.

I have had the same experience with Yasmin! Please let me know how we can connect ...

I am just looking at photographers now and I really am stuck as to who to use and things I need to watch out for... I am choosing between two photographers and one has some amazing photos but they all look really photoshopped... the other has gorgeous images but the photographer says he doesn't edit any of the photos! I am sure that I'll be sweaty towards the end of my wedding day and I dont want images that have me looking awful!!

Did your photographer(s) offer editing for you?

Thank yoU!

This is so true. Start up togs often see the "going rate" without accepting that the going rate is earned through experience.

All togs have to start somewhere, although their pricing and couples expectations should be honestly addressed.

Peter

SunnyGoldDecor76- What were the quality of the images you did receive like?

Peter

Hi think I have just emailed you through this. Do you have any other contact methods? Hope you get your problems sorted

My advice for anyone after this experience would be don't worry about the money pay out for a well established photographer rather than trying to save a few pennies.

I was offered editing but not happy with the editing that I have.

Make sure you remain in contact with the photographer and if your not happy tell them that you want it editing differently. I know someone who uses Photoshop and his photos are fantastic have seen shoots that he has done and they are amazing pics so don't be scared of editing

Hi some of the pictures were really nice. By far I didn't receive the images I wanted as I had lists of what I wanted but did not receive as she didn't bring the list with her. Also there are lots of images in black and white which are nice but when it's half the images it's not great. Would like slightly different editing and am going to push for this