There is no doubt Eric Powell is a great photographer. But he is not easy to work with, is not very…read moreflexible and has a major attitude problem.
In 2005, we booked Eric for our wedding. He had done a couple of other Indian weddings before and was recommended by a friend.
For those who don't know, Indian weddings are 4 to 5 days long, with the wedding and reception falling on the penultimate day. Needless to say, it is a stressful event for the bride and groom.
At our reception, he didn't like the way one of my groomsmen talked to him. Basically, he was taking family portrait pictures of some of our guests while others waited to take their pictures with us. We kept having to fetch him to come shoot pictures of us (the ones who had hired him) with our guests, but Eric kept drifting away. So I sent one of my groomsmen to call him, and Eric didn't like the way he was called in the middle of clicking someone. So he came up to us and threw a fit, causing quite a stir. He recapped the number of hours he had put in and that he had already stayed past his allotted time. After that, he stuck around for a little bit, took a few more pictures and left.
The whole thing left a very sour taste in our mouth. Eric's attitude and his behavior took us by surprise. Perhaps he was tired, maybe he had booked another wedding that weekend and was double-shifting. Needless to say, he sort of ruined our reception for us and that memory will always remain.
The next day, he called in the morning, but instead of apologizing, he asked for more money or he would not show up to the final event.
Now if you have been married (and I am not talking about the drive-thru Vegas style or a low key event), you know it is stressful. There are days when things run behind schedule, and everyone has to stay a little late. If you are a to-be bride reading this, or someone who has been a bride, I have been told that your wedding day is the single most important event of your life and it is a day you have dreamed about since before you could spell the word "wedding".
So even if your photographer is upset, or has an issue, he needs to suck it up, put on a smile and do his job. All issues/qualms can be discussed later. Right?
Clearly it was NOT us. Our videographer was great. Our caterers were great. Our florist was great. We had no problems with anyone. In fact, we didn't have a problem with Eric until he took issue with being asked to photograph the bride and groom and threw a hissy fit. In his words "I am an artist and I will take the pictures that I want". I guess we didn't get the memo.
So while his pictures may be good, he is certainly not a professional in my opinion. For small jobs, he might be ok. For longer, more intense stints, know that his temperament might work against you.
