Weddingbee Blog

Mrs. F — I am SO sorry that your photographs didn’t come out how you expected. I wish there was something I could do! I think its wonderful that you’ve found a solution, and I am sure you’ll find a lot of brides here who were in the same boat as you.

This is such a cautionary tale to remind couples that they should ask their photographer to provide a start to finish portfolio of an event, so they can see every photo and not just highlights. Please keep us updated on how you make out — and I wish you the best of luck!!

I wasn’t thrilled with our photographer either. He was very competent, and we got a lot of more traditional shots. Granted, this was all out of my control as my mother hired him from out of town, when there were plenty of photographers I liked better in town. So we never met before the wedding day, and he didn’t know any good places to take the photos since he wasn’t from there. I feel your frustration!

I think DH and I might wait a few years and take some more artsy dress-up pictures.

I am sorry to hear that your pictures were not what you expected. Do you think that perhaps you insistance that you just wanted their “photography services” sans editing may have made them feel as though they lost creative control? When telling them that you like this but not that… and you don’t need them for this… only that- sometimes artists can feel a little stiffled and more conservative in terms of how creative they allow themselves to be.

I don’t mean to insinuate that it is your fault that the pictures came out this way… simply that perhaps you may want to give the photos a look over and determine how closely what you asked for translated into the actual photos. Are these reflective of the albums that you were shown? Are the quantities less or more than their portfolio shows?

Many times wedding photography is about telling a story - how well did they acheive this? Do you think that if you were to ask them to select the best photos from the lot, edit them, and arrange them that it would: a. tell the story in a beautiful manor and b. be simular to the other weddings that they had shown you?

I only post this so that you have a little time for reflection. I hear it time and time again that brides are dissatisfied with their photos NOT because the photos are bad but rather because the brides had unrealistic expectations or trouble communicating what their vision was. When choosing a photographer or other artistic/creative talent- brides must choose them for the artists’ style and then be ready to accept how that translates throughout their day.

(just a few thoughts…. anxious to see these photos… loving your wedding thus far.)

I feel you Mrs. Flamingo! We had a very similar problem with our photographer. We booked them over a year before our wedding. Afterwards, I found so many photographers whose work I loved more. Some of them were even cheaper than what we were paying, but we wouldn’t be getting the same extras. That and we really didn’t want to lose our deposit.

When we booked our photog, we noticed that they didn’t take many pictures of guests. We made it clear that we really wanted photos of our guests, and they assured us that it wouldn’t be a problem. In the end, the only photos we ended up with that actually included guests were the posed ones we took when we walked around the room. We’re really sad because those aren’t something that can be redone.

My husband and I were just talking about our wedding photos this weekend. We ended up doing the same thing where we hired our photographer (who we knew through work) to take just the photos and we would do all the editing and album work.

It’s not that I’m completely disappointed with the photos, but I do have some regrets. Mainly that we did not give ourselves enough time to do the formals which we took before the ceremony.

Our photographer started with family formals, and then went on to the bridal party with us. This took up most of the time, so when we got to just pictures of my husband and I, we only had about 10-15 minutes before the ceremony was to start and I felt completly rushed. There are some okay pictures of us, but there is not the variety I wanted. Also, there is no solo photos (ie: of just me, or of just my husband).

I really wished I would have asked our photographer if she would do another session after the wedding day. I’m sure she would have at no extra charge, and then I would have more photos to go with. I’m still considering it, but it’s been 9 months since our wedding, and I’m not sure how to approach it now.