We chose art studio photo and video for our engagement shoot based on the fact that we had a very tight schedule and they had availability. We had seen the photos on their website, and while it wasn't really our style the quality seemed okay. The first red flag was when I got a phone call 10 minutes before our appointment time and was told that out shoot had to be pushed back 30 minutes. While annoying, it was no big deal and we grabbed a quick bite to eat while waiting.
Upon meeting with the team my first impression was that they were very nice and then we got right into it. We walked around taking photos with the photographer putting us in a lot of awkward and unnatural poses. It felt weird and uncomfortable but I trusted that he knew what he was doing. Every photo was very posed, we tried to be ourselves but they would come and fix us to fit their vision. A lot of the photo poses were very juvenile to me, like something I would have put on MySpace in 2006. So many times I thought to myself this is weird but I kept reassuring myself that these were professionals!
I thought it was a bit odd that the entire time with us the photographer was stopping to take pictures of random things but it didn't bother me too much... Until he stopped and actually snapped a few photos of another couple!! During my hour that I was paying for!! He even gave them his contact info all the while we watched and waited.
At the end of our hour together we paid the man and were told to expect our photos within 3 to 4 days. Despite all the bumps in the day I left feeling excited to see our photos. Well 4 days came and went, then a week passed by and no word came. I was starting to feel antsy seeing all of their new photos on Instagram and their website wondering when one of mine would appear. Then I noticed that he was posting numerous edited photos of a wedding that had taken place a whole week after our engagement shoot did. After 9 days had passed I sent an email asking for an estimated time when the photos would be ready. I received an email that day "I send you link for downloading today." I had half expected an apology for taking so long or at the least an acknowledgment for not sticking to the discussed timeframe. Nonetheless I was excited to see our photos, all night I refreshed my email but nothing came.
Finally the following evening I received the link. I was so excited to see them but all that came was disappointment. The photos were terrible. They're awkward to look at, unnatural, over posed, and look to be completely unedited. Out of the nearly 200 photos we received I only found one that I liked. Some photos were bad because we were not ready, some because one of us blinked, a lot were awkward and unnatural posing and a lot were horrible quality/lighting. Many of the photos I could have taken on my iPhone. Even my friends and family that I showed were shocked at the horrible job that had been done. On top of that... Remember how he had taken photos of another couple while on our time? Yeah He made sure to send me all of those photos too! Which tells me he probably didn't even look through all of our photos! All in all we wasted $250 and our time. We can't use our photos for our invitations and we have to pay another photographer to do a second engagement shoot so that we can at least have some nice photos for the memories. All I can say is I'm so thankful that I didn't book them for my wedding day. read more