My wife and I got married in Halifax this summer and we found a photographer in town that had amazing photos. Little did we know that she would treat us like dirt the entire day of our wedding, refusing to take certain photos that we requested, pushing our guests out of the way to take certain shots, being horribly rude to the wedding party and reception attendees, and at one point, telling the best man that she wished it was legal to punch children who were occupying the gazebo at the Public Gardens and wouldn’t get out of her shot.
To this photographer, an apology would have been nice, because you put a big black spot on an otherwise beautiful wedding day for us. You obviously left your professionalism at home that day, if you have any at all. Thanks for putting on your best Jekyll and Hyde act. —Annoyed Groom
This article appears in Oct 7-13, 2010.
ouch
Well one thing’s for certain,
You definitely know that this would have read differently if it were the wife submitting it.
That’s brutal OP… I’m sorry someone who was supposed to be a professional did this on your special day. Hopefully the photos she did take came out well 🙂
I went to a beautiful wedding this weekend – and they had the opposite problem, the photographer disappeared way too quickly. So some of us guests were busily taking as many pictures as we could… it’s so hard these days, really, to know. I guess checking references would be my advice. Congrats on your special day.
I’m going to have disposables at every table for guests to take random pictures if I ever get married… along with a photographer.
A friend of mine did that in Barbados… she didn’t get much out of them, but the one or two gems she found were priceless.
PF, make sure that those disposables are new. My friend did exactly that, and most of the disposables were past the “expiry date” or something and they lost like 99% of the photos.
My wedding pix are on Polaroids.
…and you’re both dressed like elvis right?
Sonny and Cher on acid.
next time, get a friend to do it, and oh yes, there will be a next time, trust me.
Some people just shouldn’t deal with the general public.
Sorry your photographer was less than you expected.
I’m Annoyed Groom’s wife. What a disappointment it was to book a photographer who seems super cool and spunky, with awesome pictures, and to be so hurt by her behaviour. The pictures did turn out relatively well, but they weren’t finished until well after the dates outlined in the contract. There were definitely holes in her photojournalism because she was in a crappy mood….there were friends who were huge parts of our day that simply weren’t in pictures, plus she turned up without the promised assistant, for whom we had actually purchased a reception meal, and whose absence necessitated the carrying of equipment by the wedding party. She also showed up without a vehicle, even though our preparations, ceremony, pictures, and reception were taking place in several different locations; she told us the day of that she needed a ride in one of the wedding party cars. She didn’t pay attention to detail, and there are pictures where a part of my hair is standing up straight or the clasp on my necklace is showing, one of the groomsmen’s collars is standing up, or there are some other unnoticed (and unedited) wardrobe malfunctions. Oh, and did we mention that she called my husband by the wrong name? We corrected her, she said it was because she was so busy that she forgot names sometimes, and then she CONTINUED to call him by the wrong name. There are countless other things she did that were unacceptable-too many to mention here-and we’re tremendously disappointed.
Seriously, since when does a wedding revolve around the photographer?
Maybe you should have hired a *real* photographer who is accomplished, established and legitimate. Any asshole with a credit card can purchase a thousand dollar camera, take a picture of anything and then refer to themselves as a photographer.
Sorry to hear about the poor job done but do some research when booking things for such important events. Almost any asshole with a camera today believes they’re a photographer autmomatically.
a photo journalist you say, was she doing a photo series for news or a t.v show? this reminds me of an old song,”memories are made of this”. and yes, you will have memories to remember, and of course in time, you will blame it all on your husband. some people can never be satisfied. take her on judge judy,or joe brown show and sue her ass then.
You should have just equipped an underage cousin with a dslr. Isn’t that what everyone’s doing …
No vehicle, no assistant, no class ….tell me again where you get the idea this person is a professional photographer ?
How did the kids get up on the Gazebo at the Public Gardens? It’s always gated off.
In OP/OP’s wife’s defence, NGF, the ‘photographer’ probably had a website and portfolio with samples of their previous work, including wedding shots. “Photo journalism” is all the rage for wedding photos, and there are lots of phonies out there with “websites” with portfolios on there. *sigh*
And let me guess — they labelled their prices as “investment.” I hate how photographers do that — it sound sooo pretentuous.
PK you just asserted my point with your entire first paragraph. Anybody can put up a page with shots that are either bootlegged or just happen to be somewhat decent. Everyone’s a photographer today or so they think.
I had the best experience with my photographer. He was a pro, totally awesome photos, and very easy to be around. He was also not cheap.
If you want a reference, I’ll send his contact through email
This sounds like a photographer a friend of mine was going to be an assistant to. She asked him to be her assistant, set up a time for an interview, and then never let him know where he could meet her for it. He repeatedly called her and no answer. He works at a photo shop doing developing and was warned by his coworkers that she treats her assistants poorly, flies off the handle and although looks professional is actually very sloppy. Too bad there isn’t a place where you can rate your photographer like you can for professors or doctors or whatever… photography is so expensive and you only have one opportunity to get it done right in circumstances like this.
On the “Professional Photographer” debate I have to chime in.
I charge money to take photos. My business card simply says “Photographer” I don’t call myself a professional. I haven’t had a complaint yet (after 9 years). I try to act courteous and professional while having fun at the shoots.
I actually have never done a wedding simply because of the level of stress and the fact that you DO need an assistant and I prefer to work alone but there are a lot of family portraits on walls that I am proud to say were taken by me.
I steer clear of the Wally World or Spears Portrait studio poses where you rest gently on a plastic stump, chin in hand, in front of a fake trees and scattered leaves.
Instead I go to the park with your family and lay under the swings or crawl up the slide to get some shots of you having fun together.
I take maternity photos that have a little bit of fun in them, not just a shot of the couples hands making a heart over the baby bump.
So…am I professional or someone who can afford to spend money on a camera? I have never taken a photography course but have been taking pictures since my first Kodak 35mm camera days…cough…1980….ack!
For me it’s part hobby, part income and all passion. I never stop learning and experimenting and I will never call myself a “professional” or even worse a “Master Photographer” because I don’t need the labels
Then again to be the Devil’s Advocate, perhaps the photographer has done many weddings and knows what’s important and what’s not. Sort of like someone who is not a professional telling a professional their job. Tells the doctor their diagnosis, or a plumber how to weld a pipe, or a mechanic on how to change an engine. Imagine someone over your shoulder telling you how to do your job.
i already have a devil’s advocate=the bear. if i were a photographer, shooting weddings would be on the bottom of my list
Lyle Lovett tune – “L.A. County”
Now THAT’S how to “shoot” a wedding. >; )
oh dear, is it like killing billy…now that is a wedding
A tad more personal and intimate – a body count of two – possibly 3 depending on the narrator’s state of mind when he finishes singing.
Elonwy…..I think it’s great you don’t do wedding photos…Brides are so hard to deal with I’m sure it takes most of the enjoyment out of the job.
Suckster…I agree….lol.
There are so many “photographers” and “models” in Halifax that you would think the competition would lead then to have work ethic, talent or at least manors.
I have not seen any of those qualities yet. Sorry to hear this “photographer” was as bad as usual.
Be glad you don’t have to deal with what passes for “model” in our little city 😉
Where’s yo’ avatah den, bitch?!