We do not recommend Akil as a wedding or engagement shoot photographer, and I am writing this review to warn other brides.
· Thursday February 24 - I wrote Akil an email checking in about booking an engagement shoot with him since we had paid our deposit and I figured his weekends in May were getting full.
· Saturday February 26 - Akil wrote back asking about May 7th
· Saturday February 26 - I said May 7th would be great and asked about having a call a head of time to confirm the details.
· Thursday March 3 - Akil asked about having a call the next day.
· Tuesday March 8th - Followed up about a call on a different day asking about his availability this week or next.
· Thursday April 29th - Had not heard from Akil and asked about a call since our engagement shoot was supposedly agreed for May 7th and we had no real plan in place.
· Monday May 2nd - Still had not heard from Akil and the shoot was going to be this week. I emailed Akil and called him trying to follow up. My fiancé sent him a text and he texted him back right away that we were scheduled for May 7th at 8am but would need, to get a permit to shoot a Rice. Both the 8am and permit were surprises for us and 8am would not work for getting ready in the morning.
Bottom line: We should never have had to initiate a discussion regarding our engagement shoot or follow up with Akil to get a plan in place. His lack of communication and organization was unprofessional. When I pressed him about his lack of communication to plan our engagement shoot, he told me that he doesn't do that kind of hand holding with his brides. We have since fired him as our photographer, knowing that if this is how he treats engagement shoots, we can't rely on him to be communicative and organized for our wedding.
As a previous professional photographer, I know what good service looks like: reliable, communicative, and organized to capture the clients' vision and keep them informed of expectations. While his photos are beautiful, there are photographers in the Houston area that provide a much better experience. If you are considering Akil, save yourself some stress and look elsewhere. read more