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Natalie
Beginner September 2024 West Sussex

Please help!! Having issues with my photographer and my wedding photos are awful… Any advice welcome 🙏

Natalie, 20 January, 2025 at 11:47 Posted on Just Married 0 9

Hello,


I’m looking for some advice, I got married in September 2024 and I’m so unhappy with my photographer and photos.


My photographer was awful on the day, and has continued to be awful, I picked this particular photographer for the style shown on the instagram and the brochure that was sent to me and because it was a husband and wife team, and advertised as both photographing on the day. Which I thought was amazing as I felt I they would be covering all aspects.

On the day, he arrived with a young man, who seemed very unskilled and spent much of the day sitting in other rooms and taking very little photos. (the contract stated that if for any reason one of the husband/wife team could not attend, another highly skilled photographer would attend in their place).


I heard nothing when the time came to receive the sneak peaks photos and had to chase several times until I received them a month after the wedding, they were supposed to be 48 hours after. They were not what you would imagine to be professional photos and I was so upset disappointed. I’m actually thinking a lot of what he shows on his Instagram is not his work.


After this I had to chase again and again until I received my photos. I was sent 836 photos, I added them to Google images to remove duplicates and this reduced them to 704. Contract stated a minimum of 700 excellent photos. Many of the photos are absolutely awful, they looked dreadful, our guests photos were better, just really awful photos, were we/others were looking the other way, eyes closed or at ridiculous moments that were not photograph worthy and yet there were so many photo opportunities. I’m happy to show examples.

I have emailed and expressed my disappointment and asked for more photos. Considering that there were two photographers and they were contracted from 10am-10pm (he did arrive late unfortunately) I can’t believe that all of what they have sent which are meant to be the best, really have been checked and sent. I have received no response from 3 emails in the time frame stated in the contract and am now being ignored.

I am also still owed a photo album and 50 fine prints that I have not received, as per the contract.

I just really want to know who I can contact regarding this and how I can get this sorted or anyone else has had a similar situation.

Thank you for any help or advice anyone can give me xxx




9 replies

Latest activity by RomanticGreenStationery27135, 7 February, 2025 at 20:52
  • PhotographybyBillHaddon
    Super January 3000 Leicestershire
    PhotographybyBillHaddon ·
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    I would recommend looking at a facebook group called wedding scammers dont let them win and search for their name. They are also good with advice.

    Their seems to be a difference between what you have seen on Instagram and what you have received. What I have seen a lot recently is "styled shoots" which are not real weddings and are set up using models. It may say "loving the vibe from this couple". Read the caption and it might list suppliers including the models. I see on my social media feed that some seem to of done nothing else but styled shoots and not actually many real weddings- which then look totally different from the styled fake ones.

    The young chap replacement could even be someone who is doing it for free to gain experience, or there are facebook groups where people ask for second shooters something like this -- £150 prep to first dance and fed.

    Also was it even him that turned up, as there are some that pay others to go and shoot for them.

    The high numbers delivered can also be a warning sign of "spray shooting" quantity over quality as you say eyes closed or ridiculous moments that were not photograph worthy. But I would say that using google image to remove duplicates is not the best way because it may remove all the open eys ones and leave you with the shut ones.

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  • E
    Beginner July 2026 Georgia
    Edward ·
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    Hello!

    To address your disappointing experience with the photographer, document all communications and contracts, then send a formal complaint detailing your issues. If you receive no response, seek mediation through a professional photography association or consumer protection agency. If necessary, consult a lawyer to discuss legal action, especially since you've not received all the contracted deliverables. Sharing your experience on review platforms may also help warn others.

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  • PhotographybyBillHaddon
    Super January 3000 Leicestershire
    PhotographybyBillHaddon ·
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    I know you were promised minimum of 700 excellent photos but there is no way a wedding can result in 700 individual excellent images its a bit of an odd term.

    If it helps and for reference I might take on average 800 but you will receive on average 450 - because before you receive them I have already gone through them 1 by one and removed all of the - your words really awful photos, were we/others were looking the other way, eyes closed or at ridiculous moments that were not photograph worthy. So with this in mind would it help if you really looked at them hard and could you pic 400 that you would be happy with.

    I also spend a lot of time on editing adding artistic touches, removing exit signs, swapping shut eyes but I would not be able to do that if I was delivering 700 images so I pick the best and do the work on the few and deliver those rather than deliver 700 with no work carried out on them.

    Thinking more about the second young man shooter why he spent so much time sitting in another room. Maybe the main shooter thought he was just getting in the way - espicually if it was a last min hire to cover his wife, so he had not worked with him before.

    Or maybe there was just nothing for him to do. In my opinion a second shooter is not there for your benefit but they are there for the photographers benefit - to help them. Typically they will do a lot of the detail and candid stuff but nothing that a good main experienced photographer could do on their own. Maybe the shots of the lads getting ready if at a different location, and one photographer at the top of the isle and one at the bottom. But then generally the second shooter is a second and not a main shooter for a reason ! . Unless you are paying 2-3k. "Husband and wife teams" are something a little different but never existed before digital cameras.

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  • M
    Beginner January 2020 Tyne & Wear
    Marryme ·
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    That sounds like a really difficult situation, and I'm sorry you're going through it! Have you checked to see whether they are members of any professional photographic associations? Sometimes those groups can assist with disagreements. Also, if they are ignoring your emails, consider reaching out via social media or sending a formal letter. If they still do not react, you may need to consider legal action, especially because they have not fulfilled anything specified in the contract. I hope this helps

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  • Natalie
    Beginner September 2024 West Sussex
    Natalie ·
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    Hello,


    Thank you for your response, I have sent a legal letter and he has responded, he is happy to provide the fine prints and photo album.
    Unfortunately he is not happy to help the quality of the photos, he is saying they are of the quality he provides, they are definitely not.
    Do you have any details at all of the professional photography association I could contact to potentially help further?
    Thank you for any help you can offer.
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  • Natalie
    Beginner September 2024 West Sussex
    Natalie ·
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    Hello,


    Thanks for your message, yes it’s been a very stressful time and obviously very upsetting.
    I have sent a legal letter to him and he has agreed to send the fine prints and the photo album, but he has said the quality of work is his usual standard, it is definitely not what he has shown on his Instagram, the photos really are poor quality.
    I do think I will have to take this further as he is not willing to help with the photos and to come up with a solution.
    Sorry how would I go about checking if they are members of professional photographic associations please?
    I haven’t obviously done this before, so any help would be very much appreciated.
    Thank you.

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  • Natalie
    Beginner September 2024 West Sussex
    Natalie ·
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    Hello,


    Thank you for your replies.
    So I may not have been completely clear in my first message, the package we paid for was full day photography with a husband and wife duo, from 10am until 10pm and the cost for this was £2400, that was with a 20% discount at the time of booking, so as you can imagine we are absolutely beside ourselves, as I believe you are probably right and the only shoots they have ever done are staged and probably not even their work.
    I have contacted the photographer with a legal letter and he has agreed to send the 50 fine prints and the photo album, as stated in the contract but he is just saying the quality of the work is the same quality as he shows on his social media, it definitely isn’t the same quality and I’m sure he wouldn’t post any of the photos he has sent me from our wedding day on his social media.
    No time was taken on removing any exit signs, fire extinguishers, opening eyes, removing anything that shouldn’t have been in the pictures, this is why we are so disappointed. They really are poorly quality and we were sent better pictures, from our guests that came from their mobile phones.
    I did check the scammers page you mentioned but they are not on there, I’m going to look into next steps now.
    Thank you for your help.
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  • PhotographybyBillHaddon
    Super January 3000 Leicestershire
    PhotographybyBillHaddon ·
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    I" believe you are probably right and the only shoots they have ever done are staged and probably not even their work. "

    I think I need to be clear on this bit that I have not seen their work and so cannot comment directly. I only mentioned the staged shoot as a possibility because you mentioned the big difference in photos and that it is something that I have been seeing done a quite lot recently pushed to me on my own feeds. But the nature of Instagram anyway means that only the best of the best images of even real weddings will get to be featured with any photographer.

    if If you think they may of used someone else photos on their website ECT then you can do a google image search and find out that way. Its a good sign that they are not on the scammers page as that is a very good source of info.

    This is my opinion based on what you have said and without seeing the images. £2400 is a higher end price (depending on area ) for which you were expecting a husband and wife team - does the literature mention anything about 2 professional photographers ? if so and the wife was replaced with what appears to be something less than expected so perhaps a fair outcome would be a pro rota price reduction in view of this.

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  • R
    VIP July 2020 Monmouthshire
    RomanticGreenStationery27135 ·
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    Are there any photos in the 700 you were sent that you like?

    Have you got any family or friends to have a look through them and see what they think?

    Your photographer has been very unprofessional by failing to keep to deadlines etc, and you have every right to be upset, especially if you don't like the photos that he finally did provide, but my thinking is that, even if you do manage to get some kind of discount/refund, it still doesn't change the photos that were taken on the day, and you can't redo them. So maybe if you try to switch focus and go through the pics looking for a few that you do like, you might start to feel better about it. (And if you're so upset that you feel they're all equally awful, getting a fresh perspective from a friend might help you see that some of them aren't that bad). Also, things like fire exit signs in the background can be removed, so if you can find a handful of pics that you like, at least you will have something to work with, and you really don't need that many to get a good reminder of your day.

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