My husband and I got married on the Athena through Electra Cruises. I wanted another photographer, but he wasn't available, he referred Sharon Pulcino.
It was my second wedding, so we didn't need a lot of photos, just the sunset, pictures with the kids and our families. I chose Electra's basic pkg. I should have seen the RED FLAG when Sharon told me the basic pkg was for "FILM" not digital photos. She said if I choose the basic pkg, she will take a few rolls of pics and hand me the film at the end of the wedding. If I wanted the FILM processed and scanned, it will cost me an additional $200. I told her I didn't realize photographers were still using film. She said she will do digital if I wanted to pay an additional $100 and she would "process them."
I called Tabatha at Electra about this. She said their photography package does indeed state "film photos," but it was a very old form they just hadn't updated. I also called a couple of photographers on Electra's list and NOBODY uses film anymore. Tabatha spoke with Sharon. Sharon responded to me with an email saying "I'll go ahead & create a special package for you. 200 photos on CD with light processing for Electra's basic package price - no upgrade charges."
I explained to Sharon the main reason I wanted to have an evening wedding was to capture the sunset for our photos. Unfortunately, she didn't capture any pictures of the sun setting behind us during our portraits, but she got a couple of shots of our guests.
I received the wedding CD after the wedding with an email from Sharon stating "Electra's package is a download & burn only...digital has an amber cast on facial tones that needs to be corrected. Also I noticed blacks need to be lower in some photos. Properly process all the files $250." According to Sharon, the "processing" she previously mentioned "is only to convert to JPG"!! She's right, our pictures did have an amber cast on facial tones and some pictures were dark! This woman is outrageously shameless! She is constantly trying to extort people for more money and taking advantage of people wanting/needing good pictures for a moment you can never recapture!!
I contacted the other photographers on the list and asked if they "process" their pictures before giving them to the customers. They all said absolutely! They adjust the lighting and process all the pictures. They said not doing so would be handing over an incomplete product.
I called Electra and got the runaround from Jason the manager. He had an attitude like he couldn't care less and basically told me I got what's described in the package. After explaining what the other photographers said, he finally said he would contact Sharon for a special favor and ask her to "process" the pictures. Well, Sharon sent me another disc. She wasn't even professional enough to use a new one (cost 5 cents?). It had somebody else's name scratched off on it. I almost cried when I saw my wedding pictures. Every single one of them had a blue hue/shadow to it. She didn't fix them, she made them worse!!!!
I called Jason at Electra again. He was extremely rude this time and told me he did everything he could. I guess once Electra has your money, you're kicked to the curb. I finally told him I was going to write a bad review about Electra, he argued that they had nothing to do with it. I told him Creative Vision Photography was their vendor and I would have never used them if Sharon Pulcino wasn't on their list of PREFERRED vendors. He changed his attitude and told me Sharon should have known better, she worked for Electra as a wedding coordinator for many years.......He said he would "pay" Jerry Kelly (the photographer I originally wanted to use) to fix my photos. Jerry did and they came out so much better!!
I hope you read this about my horrible experience before choosing your photographer. read more
