[Senseriffic]

This is a very long story so I am going to keep it short....


an OLD collegue of mine I used to work for booked a wedding (no contract though, they never got to that point) asked me to fill in for her, BUT she says that she MUST give them 200 4x6s in a black album from walmart (ugh...don't get me started on her unprofessionalism). Fine, met up with them, they signed my contract and I write in there about the prints that will be made by my colleuge and shes responsible for them.

Wedding day goes alright, they were late and it made things a bit hectic, the dance floor was very crowded, the guests were very unruly so we didnt take MANY photos in there since my camera was nearly knocked out of my hand a few times and the music was so loud people were barely in there. we got the main dances, funky chicken and all that jazz.... we decided to set up an area in the lobby area to take photos and annouce that we will be taking photos there for the remainer of the day so if anyone wants photos taken they must go there. Photos were much better, nicely posed by my assistant ECT. We ended up staying longer but did not charge them since it was only 15 minutes and they tipped us.

Cool, I drop off the DVD at their house and let them know that my collegue will take care of the album and prints... it takes her over a month to finally get it to them. Meanwhile I am assuming everyhings fine, the couple has ALL the images. My colleuge told me a few photos were dark, sent them to me, I agreed, she said shed fix them. She never did and now the clients are flipping out because of these promises SHE made. They refused to talk to me at first and my colleuge as I find out has been bad mouthing me, basically pushing them to this point that they want to sue or want compensation.

Now we never got a checklist from the clients and it states WITHOUT a checklist we cant be responsible for missed photos. We got all of the important stuff such as cake cutting,kiss,walking down the isle, ect. The photos are perfectly fine, a few are dark which I obviously will fix for them but they are complaining we didnt get photos of every guest, we got no photos of her young child (there are group shots of her but no individuals she cried or slept the entire wedding,were lucky we got anything) I dont know why they are suddenly so upset and irate at us (I had an assisant with me)

its unfortunate it has to escalate to this point due to my unprofessional collegue.... do you think they have any grounds to sue?

I am of course going to try my best to work it out but besides giving them new prints I dont think they are entitled to anything. They seem like the type that will leave a bad review and sue no matter what, give em an inch they take a mile! I'd appreciate ANY insight!

[JinDesu]

Erm.. if they have no checklist and they signed your contract that states your colleague is responsible for the prints.. and the photos are generally technically fine, I'd have a hard time seeing a judge awarding anything to them...

If the photos were technically bad though, then that's a different story.

[joe.penn]

I am of course going to try my best to work it out but besides giving them new prints I dont think they are entitled to anything. They seem like the type that will leave a bad review and sue no matter what, give em an inch they take a mile! I'd appreciate ANY insight!

Care to share any of the photos? IMHO, I think any insight given without seeing the actual quality of the work will be bad insight. You say they seem like the type that will leave a bad review and sue, why is that? I will tell you one thing, if I was hosed with bad photography (not saying it is bad as that is yet to be seen) at a premium price then I would be seeking legal action if the issue was not resolved (I would also recommend anyone in that position to do the same). Now, there is also the price vs quality factor - of course if it is walmart quality prints and the "billy the basement photographer" quality and the client paid a walmart price than the client may not have a leg to stand on. A few visual samples will help with opinions...

[Docrwm]

All I can tell you is that talking about a case in such detail in a public forum may prejudice your case should it go forward. Best of luck.

[joe.penn]

If the photos were technically bad though, then that's a different story.

Hence the meaning of my post (posted at same time)...

[Senseriffic]

They seem like the type to sue because they are complaining 2 months later after the fact and they tipped us.Then again with my collegue riling them up maybe they arent the type at all but are just so upset by the awful prints. OH and my collegues pricing was $850.... I charge $1200 for a similar package

here are a few shots that i think covers what we did as a whole:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1evNjrhtjMY/T9V0lECDJBI/AAAAAAAAFn0/0j7ZH31RfOA/s1600/310-1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tjGcgYvSapY/T9V0le8JbZI/AAAAAAAAFoA/a5lyAbgytL4/s1600/360-1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ESXKh_9XNNM/T9V0lp4EY9I/AAAAAAAAFoI/k5070FzKIow/s1600/366.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dr5SXJaqg4/T9V0mN5kfhI/AAAAAAAAFoY/SFtn79j5p_Y/s1600/383.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OZ0XvVfgdFE/T9V0nCZ0vOI/AAAAAAAAFo8/g8ImJGq0oZ8/s1600/587.JPG

[JinDesu]

Last one is a bit dark *cough*

If the rest of the photos are as technically sound as these (I'd minus points for sepia, but I'm an amateur, so what do I know), then I don't see a case against you. It would have to depend heavily on what they would sue for - discontentment or breach of contract (i.e. the lateness in prints).

[Senseriffic]

lol yes my apologies for the edits, I usually include 10 for them because for some reason people like that stuff. I have all the RAWs so some tweeking wont be an issue. Thanks!

[LeDave]

Those pictures don't look half as bad as what you made them describe it, in fact a few are really great. If the rest looks like all of those then there would be no reason of suing. Gosh these stories scares me, scares me enough that I will probably never shoot a professional contracted wedding. Good luck to you and your colleague.

[Eulogy]

Looks like what I'd expect from a semi-pro. Nothing sue-worthy in there, other than perhaps you made his head look too shiny with the flash :P

[wlachan]

While I am not a pro, I think it was a bad deal for you to begin with since you have no control over the final products and don't know what promises she had made. Your raw files may have the potential but you never know what kind of crap your old colleague might produce, and the majority of consumers would almost certainly put the blame on the photographer when the end results look crap because they don't know better.

Also, shouldn't they sign HER contract so that she would be responsible since you just WORKED for her? Or they signed your contract so you would provide full service from shoot to prints? Now, they signed your contract but she produced the end product so when things turned sour, you took the blame.

[Senseriffic]

I should have had a contract between her and I and they should have also had a contract! I let my emotions get away since her and I WERE longtime friends. I never thought she would turn on me like this... amazing how no matter how old you are, how long you know someone, you can't trust anyone!

On another note, darker skinned people are very hard to photograph, I still have not learned how to get rid of the shine, I bounced the flash in 85% of the photos. It was a hot day and they were sweating (lol as were we....) Is there any way to avoid that? I am always open to learning new things, clearly since I learned a hard lesson from this wedding!

Infact I have NEVER ever had anyone complain about the quality of my photos before this. Even back when i was shooting as a total amateur. These guys are complaining 2 months after the fact and it has really killed my confidence... i wonder if every client hates their photos and is just too polite to say something!

[GibbyTheMole]

I will never shoot weddings, (other than maybe a freebie for a good friend or relative) and this is why. Litigious people make me feel all stabby.

I sincerely wish you luck, and hope these leeches don't see a penny.
Bobbo :-)

[emalvick]

I want to say that you should not feel bad or let such an issue shake your confidence... My guess is that all photographers are bound to have their critics one way or the other. Some people expect photographers to be miracle workers and others.... I don't know.

Unfortunately, we all go through some bad, so we have to let it bounce off and learn what we can from it. In your case, I'd just focus on what you can learn from the contract/business side and not worry much about the product.

Given your descriptions: late wedding, rowdy reception, no checklist, colleague, contract, etc, it sounds like you may have been doomed. Your photos look fine, but did you see the prints? I'm not sure I'd have much faith in Walmart being calibrated correctly for printing.

Well, I hope it all turns out for you in the end.

[JinDesu]

Infact I have NEVER ever had anyone complain about the quality of my photos before this. Even back when i was shooting as a total amateur. These guys are complaining 2 months after the fact and it has really killed my confidence... i wonder if every client hates their photos and is just too polite to say something!

Again, those samples are technically sound. In focus, sharp, detailed, and well exposed (except for the "dark" ones that can be fixed in post).

There is nothing to "complain" about. In addition, people shopping for wedding photographers should look through the photographer's samples. The photographer should shoot similar to what his samples show, unless otherwise directed by the client. If your shots are similar to what you output before, there is no reason for them to be "unhappy" with your pictures.

If they didn't look at your sample work before agreeing to you shooting them, then that is caveat emptor.

No judge can say you did it subjectively wrong if what you output here matches your output before, and the client did not give you any new or different direction.