This is the second part of my review that I had to leave out in my last review because it was too long (Yelp wouldn't let me post). It is now 2 years past my wedding day, and even to this day, I regret hiring Chalky.
This review is for our experience working with Chalky, not including the wedding day.
I had hired him based on a recommendation from a friend. I checked out his website and saw mostly portrait shots, but they looked good. (I've subsequently found out that the people in these pictures are his friends. Which is fine. But be warned - he will not give you the same level of attention and detail.) I emailed back and forth with his assistant (his wife - Jillian), and booked him for an engagement session and for my wedding day. The package I booked was as follows:
Engagement Session
-6 hours and 2 locations in the Boston or Cambridge area
-all original photos on CD
-35 photos retouched
Wedding Day
-whole day with pre-wedding photos in the afternoon
-one photographer with one assistant
-all original photos on CD
-70 photos retouched
-photoslides with background music on CD
The engagement session: The whole day was just awkward. Neither Chalky nor Jillian tried to put us at ease. Also, I had asked beforehand if they were going to show us how to pose, since we don't really know what we would be doing, and was told yes, they would show us. But on that day, it was obvious they didn't know what they were doing. Not only that, but at 7:30pm, he said, "So I guess we're done here?" Our session started at 3, so no, we were not done. I asked, "Isn't this a 6 hour session?" and he replied, "Oh, it's cold. I didn't know if it'd be too cold for you" I told him I'd be fine, and that's when he told me we should wait for the sun to go down. So we spent half an hour waiting for the sun to go down.
And then when we got our photos, there were many photos of his wife on the DVD that he had taken that day. So instead of focusing on us, his clients, he was taking pictures of his wife.
Leading up to the wedding day: On the day of the wedding, we had planned to have lunch at a restaurant near fiance's home between our two tea ceremonies. I had emailed his wife asking for Chalky and his assistant's meal. She emails me back one meal. The following conversation ensues:
Me: The photographer's assistant doesn't want any food?
Jillian: Chalky is going alone that day.
Me: We only have one photographer for our wedding day?
Jillian: There will only be one photographer. If you want two photographers, you have to pay extra. The assistant just helps the photographer to carry stuff and set light.
Me: Will Chalky have an assistant that day?
Jillian: Probably not.
Me: In your first email to me, it says that I will have a photographer and one assistant.
Jillian: Actually, he doesn't really need an assistant on the wedding day because the assistant's job is just to help him carry stuff and get food and sometimes translate. But if you want an assistant, I can ask him to find one.
Me: Yes, please have Chalky find an assistant. Per your email, it states that there will be an assistant for wedding package A, which I chose and put a deposit down for.
Jillian: OK. I will ask him to find an assistant and will let you know what the assistant wants for lunch.
So as you can see, not very professional. They just changed their mind about me getting an assistant without telling me. It wasn't until I asked about it directly that they finally addressed it.
So then, Jillian emails me what the assistant wants for food. He ordered 3 meals! I had to email back to have her tell him to only choose one meal. She emailed back and removed one thing off his list. I didn't want to deal with it anymore, so we just let him have the two meals.
As I said in my previous review, there were many red flags which I overlooked and I wish I had listened to my gut. Not only would I not recommend Chalky, I would proactively discourage anyone from using him. read more