This updated review is ONLY in response to the comment from the Doves (unsure why they did not send me a direct message). Please see previous review for actual review of the quality of the photos and service received.
I do not feel my review is misleading, as I am honest with all my reviews However, perhaps I am blunt, but I tell it as it is without fluff. First off, I am aware of the wonderful photos in their portfolio based on reviews from yelp, their website and wedding wire. That is the reason why reached out to Dove Photography for a price quote. Yes, they were one of the cheaper ones, based on the quality of their photos, but honestly, why wouldn't you look to see what bids you can get before deciding on vendor?
As a business owner, Scott should have asked what type of event it was and what type of shots I wanted before offering a price. Yes, it does sound extravagant when he says it was a wedding reception, but honesty, I only hired him during cocktail hour for 1 hour. In regards to timeline and saying I mislead him. Here is the timeline:
11/20/17-I reached out to get a quote for my event on 12/30/31 and received a quick response that same day from Scott saying he had availability with a price and asked for more details on what type of event I was having and types of shots I wanted.
11/21/17-I told him I would like to book him for the event and provided this info: "We'd like some family photos and candid photos during the cocktail hour." I felt at this point it was very clear there would be poised photos of people and not just candid shots. Note that no contract was signed yet.
12/5/17-Scott sent us the contract. Delay was due to the thanksgiving holidays and he was on vacation, which were aware of since he gave us a heads up early on that he would not be available for a week, which I was ok with. My husband had a question about the contract and Scott did answer us promptly. Nowhere on the contract did it say no poised photos and only candid photos.
12/24/17- My husband and I were proactive and sent Scott a list of group photos, detail shots and candid shots I wanted.
As you can see, Scott had a few opportunities to ask for a higher price for the session if it was not what he expected, and I would have been fine with it, but he did not.
As for arrival time, I am a stickler for people arriving on time. I am 100% sure they were not on time, as I was waiting around for a while and checking my phone every few minutes at our agreed upon time. My husband was upstairs paying our venue at the time. Perhaps they did arrive 5 mins before the scheduled time, but were in the parking lot unloading gear. I had just assumed the full hour we paid for were for photos and not set up time.
In regards to the angle of the photos, I had a wall available for our group to stand in front of, that I actually had the restaurant clear tables for us. However, the Doves suggested they take it with a view of the restaurant for better depth. Which I agreed to, because they are the professionals and do this for a living. Plus, Scott had disclosed in previous emails that he was familiar with our venue as well. However, not only myself, but most of my guests agreed the photos were unflattering angles of everyone. This is just giving an honest review of my thoughts on the photos along with my guests' thoughts that they had shared with me when they viewed the photos.
Overall, I thought I was pretty honest and clear with my review and generous with my 4 stars. My recommendation to the Doves and future customers is maybe clearer communication in the beginning so both parties would know what to expect in order to get the great photos that are on the Dove Photography website. read more
