Wedding Photos

Status
Not open for further replies.
Really depends on what you paid.

I would say ideas right.. implimentation wrong..

Love the wedding cake by the way :)
 
Hi Naomi.

I'm sorry that you're unhappy with the photos that you got from your wedding day. I feel it would be inappropriate and unprofessional to say too much about the photos you have linked to because the person who took them isn't here to defend themselves (or at least I don't think they are).

In my opinion you have every right to be unhappy with them, there are problems with overexposure and people getting heads ands limbs chopped off all over the place. There also appears to be something funny going on with some of the photos - they have a wierd noisy effect on them.

The problem with it being your wedding day is that you get one shot, you can't go back and retake the photos. Did you choose the photographer after seeing a selection of their previous work?
 
I've seen lots worse Naomi believe it or not, but I'm not surprised you're unhappy with them. Not a lot of thought seems to have gone into the framing of the shots and the flare over the groom's head in one of the shots is a terrible basic error.

Having said that though it comes down to who did the job - a pro or a friend, what you paid, and what your expectations should reasonably have been.

It's the easiest thing in the world for us to sit here and rip this person's work apart, but if he wasn't a pro - just someone doing his best, and you knew that, then it's mightily unfair.

Like everything else, with wedding photos - you get what you pay for. :)
 
Hi Naomi
I have been a pro Wedding photographer for 16 years, and I think the pictures you have are looking a bit dull and boring. But that's judging them against my standards, are these the only pictures you are being given or is there more ?. Plus what packages did you agree on and how much did you pay. Not that the cost should count against how good the pics are, but you need to say what the terms of the pictures are. Also the restrictions the photographers was under, did the church let him take as many shots as he wanted or did they say you can only take a few indoors. You see there are many reasons why the photographer might not have got the shots you would have liked him to. Did you and your guest cooperate or did you make it hard for him to do his job ?.
But still the images are lifeless and dull but this might be because they are Internet proff shots, the finale print might look better. But saying that I myself would not be happy if I had shot your Wedding and put out that standard of work. The problem today with digital photography is that a lots of people think they can be wedding photographer and it takes a lot more than a camera and all the gear.

Check out my site www.markheywood.co.uk
 
Can I ask, are you unhappy with the images shot, or just the quality that they have been posted at? If it is just the quality of the posts, then bare in mind they are all only about 30-50kb (the original image will be 2-3mb plus) so they will look a bit grainey etc. However, the final prints will be clear and crisp (or should be!)

If it is the overall quality of the pictures taken, then you really need to say to the photographer they are not to the standard you expected. I know you can never recreate the day, but if he's a professional photographer I'm sure he has some legal obligations to you.

There are some lovely shots there, like the one of you with the brides maids in the ring of roses type shot, but I can see there are a few that I wouldn't be happy with either. Some of them are just due to the lighting, and I think turning these into black and white and a bit of editing would sort them out.

I'm shocked it has taken them 6 months to actually put these pics online for you! Seen as it doesn't look like there has been a great deal of editing done to them either.

I don't think pay should come into it if you have gone to a professional photographer. If they advertise themselves as a wedding photographer, they should be profficient enough to provide you with beautiful pictures. However, if you went to a student or a family friend, and just gave them £100, then fair enough, you may not get as many nice ones.
 
I too have done quite a few weddings now and I think you have a mixed bag there. Purely personally speaking, and without the tog here to defend themselves, there are quite a few shots which I would not be happy enough with to show the client (and would hope I didn't take them in the first place).

Overall, the colours and quality feels really poor though - are these just massively compressed low-res versions, or have you seen any full size output?

There are some HUGE flare issues, which I can only think is either down to lack of technical knowledge, or going after an effect which I don't think has worked. It could also point to sub-par gear being used.

Perhaps with some extensive processing work in Photoshop, some of these could be rescued and improved and I'm sure plenty would be happy to help here (myself included) for no charge - if, and only if, your relationship with the photographer has disintegrated sufficiently for you to not want further work done on the shots.

Think about it, happy to do it as I recently got married myself, and know how upsetting not being 100% with the photos would have been.

Cheers,
James
 
I did see their work before agreeing to let them photograph my wedding, but the quality of work I was shown was of a far higher standard than the pictures I am being asked to pay for.

The photographer in question is someone that does make a living out of wedding photography (I wouldn't have gone to a friend as I wanted a professional job).

As for package and costs, I am being charged approx £955 for 40 photos in a wedding album.

I am in the process of taking further advice as to what to do next but a friend of mine who posts on here recommended that I come here for some 2nd opinions, so thanks for your input so far.
 
Just looking at the pictures and the type of combination you have I would say that the photographer didn't know what he/she was doing. I say that as there is no picture of the Groom alone and with the best man, no pictures of you the bride alone. The photographer has failed to give you all the shots you would expect in any basic package.
 
Like others have said, I am sure people on here would be willing to do some work on some of them for you if you were able to get consent and reasonable size images from the original tog.
If they are not up to the standard of the images you saw prior to agreeing to this tog then I would speak to him about it, what have they said about the images.
Did the tog have a list or go through a list of shots with you prior to the wedding of what they were expecting to do and what you want and are these what you wanted.
 
Perhaps an alternative could be to renew your vows, perhaps once a year since marriage has gone? You don't have to do all the reception stuff, just the church/registry office to keep costs down and have a second chance at getting some decent photographs.

If you can get your money back from the photography then result, as this could be put towads any costs for a new photographer.

Also, would it be worthwhile checking to see if the examples your were shown actually belonged to the photographer and weren't stolen?

Just a thought.
 
To my untrained eye some of those shots are just plain awful, some may be ok but it's very hard to tell from the very low res images you have shown us. Shooting into the sun as he has done on many of the shots is risky at the best of times and as said above I think it shows a distinct lack of experience on the togs part. There doesn't seem to have been any post processing to speak of with the exception of the first image with the oval vignette and that is very poorly done. For someone to try to charge you a thousand pounds for what you have there is in my view daylight robbery. Apart from the poor photography there's been little effort on the togs part to present you with a decent set of images.
If I were you the first thing I'd do is let him know that I'm was unhappy with the results, tell him in writing by recorded delivery, be clear and firm but not nasty.
 
gman said:
Perhaps an alternative could be to renew your vows, perhaps once a year since marriage has gone? You don't have to do all the reception stuff, just the church/registry office to keep costs down and have a second chance at getting some decent photographs.
Click to expand...

Thats a nice idea :)

gman said:
Also, would it be worthwhile checking to see if the examples your were shown actually belonged to the photographer and weren't stolen?

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Was thinking the same. I am so sorry for whats happened to you, some really shocking pictures in there :(
 
Oh yes, that's a good point Steep makes.

Never let things get nasty. I have a colleague who got her Wedding Photos done by someone (NOT me! She didn't know I did it....pah!) and was very unhappy. She let her upset affect her manners and as a result the whole thing was very unpleasant, in fact I still think it's running on (easily 6 months along the line).

Bearing in mind there isn't much of a shortage of Wedding Photographers, I suppose it would be an honest question to ask of them, do they think the shots they are giving you offer value for money?

Cheers,
James
 
PapaLazarou said:
Just looking at the pictures and the type of combination you have I would say that the photographer didn't know what he/she was doing. I say that as there is no picture of the Groom alone and with the best man, no pictures of you the bride alone. The photographer has failed to give you all the shots you would expect in any basic package.
Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly, most of the pictures appear to have exposure issues (particularly with the dress and sky) and as for composition.....

I would contact the photographer to tell them you are unhappy with the shots as he is not here to defend himself. From my point of view I wouldn't be happy with these as a photographer, hope you get things sorted out.
 
Hi Naomi
I would say that the indoor shots are ok, the photographer would have been placed by the vicar and would not have been aloud to move around. Also he/she would have been told not to use flash or sometimes you are aloud, but the distance between you and him plus the roof height would make it hard for him/her to get great shots. The outside shots you do have a case as he/she has not delivered the shots you traditionally would have expected. But as I said before that all depends on what happened on the day, and if you and the wedding party made it hard for him/her. I did a Wedding two years ago and I took a picture of the bride in the car then one outside the car. After that she refused to have any more pictures taken as she didn't like her picture took. In that situation I had to have a strong word with her and then with the groom. Making him tell her to get a grip and just have the pictures done. After that she did start having pictures done again but it was hard work even making her look happy. They got the picture back after two weeks and loved them, she apologised for being a pain and that was that.
 
I honestly think you need to go back to the photographer and express your dissatisfaction, giving him the opportunity to address the points you raise. There should be room for agreement on price at least if you're still not happy.

The fact is these shots remain his copyright until such time as he relinquishes it, so anyone copying or editing these photos for you until then is in breach of his copyright.
 
Can I just say that I did say that we would need consent from the tog before doing anything to these photos, CT is right they remain the togs property, hope that you manage to get something sorted out with the tog.
 
There's something about the shots that says point & shoot to me - you don't happen to know what kind of camera was used do you?

I see there are other galleries to view as well - were any of the shots from those part of the togs portfolio you saw before booking?
 
pxl8 said:
There's something about the shots that says point & shoot to me - you don't happen to know what kind of camera was used do you?
Click to expand...

I thought that actually. Even these compressed shots look a lot like your typical small sensor compact shots.
 
Sometimes I think we should write the 'Good Togs Code of Conduct'...

...you know, 'thou shalt not covet another mans Canon...'

Cheers,
James
 
Hi Naomi
Can you put a link up to the photographers website if they have one.
Or would that be a bad thing to do from the point of view of talk photography.
 
I have told the person that i was not happy a few time, I have also had to ask them to remove certain things which they should have done before i recieved them.They replied to me and said that it was to late and no apologies. I did recieve a letter of them before my wedding with alot of ideas for shots and i had to trick the ones that i wanted, which i did, and if im honest i cant think of one that they have done of it. I met up with them before the wedding and the one thing that i really wanted was a photo of my dress and shoes before i put them on and they couldnt even do that. I had a toast master which kept everyone in order so they had it easy. Thankyou everyone:)
 
I also thought point and shoot, tried to look at the pictures EXIF data but there is none.
I once saw a so called pro using a Fuji fine pix digi cam for a Wedding, not that there is anything wrong with that camera but for a Wedding NO. It's like competing in F1 in a Sinclair C5.
 
Naomi T said:
I have told the person that i was not happy a few time, I have also had to ask them to remove certain things which they should have done before i recieved them.
Click to expand...

What things do you mean ?
As for the dress shot we cant comment on that as we dont know the reasons why the shot couldnt be done.
 
Sorry i should of made it clear,i have already paid for these as i was not allowed to collect the proof with out paying. The standard of these are alot better than the proof i got ( u would laugh at them) But i have gave them chances to make them better and seem to be getting no where and now they have said that its to late they cant do nothing else.
 
Naomi,

I'm guessing you haven't paid the full amount yet? If so I think you should try and iron out a deal for the high resolution image files - preferably the raw image files if they exist. If you can get those and a copyright release from the tog I'd be happy to do some post work on them to get the best out of them.

Out of interest, whereabouts are you based? Perhaps someone here might be willing to lend a hand with some of the shots you missed out on such as the dress and shoes, etc.

EDIT - beat me to it... still worth trying to get the files if you can...
 
Sorry to say that they are dreadful...

Ironic that the call themselves 'DREAM STEALERS'....

A disgrace and I feel for you.
 
PapaLazarou said:
Hi Naomi
Can you put a link up to the photographers website if they have one.
Or would that be a bad thing to do from the point of view of talk photography.
Click to expand...

Well we don't want to get drawn into a tong war with this tog. This is essentially an unsatisfactory business transaction between Naomi and him. If Naomi can get the copyright from him and the full size images, then as has been said, people here can help a lot in extracting the best from the images.

It looks like fate accomplis as the work is paid for, so he may well be happy to hand over the copyright and original images, washing his hands of the job.
 
Hi Naomi
This is a list of shots you would have even with a basic package.

The bride alone
The bride and groom
The bride with her parents
The groom with his parents
The bride with her mother
The bride with her father
The groom with his mother
The groom with his father
The bride with her attendants
The bride with her honored attendant
The groom with groomsmen and ushers
The groom with his best man
The bride with the groomsmen
The groom with the bridal attendants
The bride and groom with entire wedding party (if possible)
The bride and groom with bride's family
The bride and groom with the groom's family
The bride and her father walking up the aisle
The bride and groom exchanging vows
The bride and groom kissing
The bride and groom walking down the aisle
Close up of the couple's hand showing their wedding rings
 
As said before I hope you manage to get something sorted, even if that is copyright and original images for some people from here to work on for you. Keep your fingers crossed that the album when you get it has better qulaity shots in and the tog has done a bit more work to it.
 
I'm the friend that recommended Naomi to join and post on here to get your opinions - Having seen the photos I have to say I was appalled at the quality, even before I knew the amount she has paid.

I do know the name of the photographers involved and I'd be happy to post a link to their website, however as CT has said, we really don't need a drawn out argument and I'd rather not make things any worse for Naomi.

I'm guessing Papa that you want a look to see their other work?
 
At the very least even at a smaller size like these they should be sharp which so many are not. I wouldn't be happy to pay nearly a £1000 for these. Added to this the blown highlights and the unimaginative style says a lot about the workmanship involved and you don't need the tog here to try to make them look any better with his words because I guess it just wouldn't happen, they are what they are. Looking at the Image titles it seems they were taken with a Fujifilm camera.
 
I think out of the list that you have put on there, there is only 8 expamles that we did get, We got none of bride with family or groom with family and none of us kissing etc. The list that they gave me had around 30+.
 
Hi Naomi,

I can't bare to image how upset you must be, it's your day and no one elses :( some of those images just look like snap shots, photo's of the young boy on the grass aren't even taken at his level, i do like the idea of you and all the bridesmaids in the circle, but the image is not taken right and the sepia on the image just makes it look dull!

I'm a very new photographer myself, and i'm sure they are the kind of image that at this stage that i might end up with at this minute in time, but you shouldn't expect that from a pro!

Sorry if that sounds harsh! but i'd ceretainly not put up with it it I was you :D

Good luck, hope you get things sorted with them :D
 
To take this in a different direction...

Have any of the semi-pro Togs ever had an instance where there has been a discrepancy between what the client was expecting, and what was delivered? Just wondering if there's any useful hints to be given on how to reach a good compromise.

I've been very lucky so far, all my 'pro' work has always been well received, but I guess if you do enough of it, it's probably inevitable that at some point there will be a tricky conversation to be had with a client!

Cheers,
James
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top