I had an engagement photoshoot with this photographer (name hidden for privacy purposes) in January 2024 and the experience has caused me unnecessary stress and I write about my experience to warn others. I understand her perspective of our situation is different, but if you are a prospective customer, please put yourself in my shoes.
In November 2023, I submitted an engagement photoshoot inquiry, and she was quick to respond. As my fiancé and I were only planning for a courthouse ceremony, we booked an engagement shoot first. The January 6 photoshoot itself was a good experience as far as her being attentive and making us feel comfortable. We had never been professionally photographed together before.
When the session ended, she let us know the photos "should be ready in 7 days" and we gave what we thought was a deserving tip for going above and beyond, since it was a very cold day and she made sure to fix my hair before every shot. A week later, I had not heard back, but gave her the benefit of the doubt as I noticed her Instagram business account had a new post of newlyweds and figured she was busy with other clients. I first followed up with her 11 days after the photoshoot, only because she had mentioned the short turnaround time of 7 days. Whatever reasonable timeline she would've provided, I would've accepted, but she did not respond.
That weekend, I noticed she had removed me as an Instagram follower and that was when I got nervous. I sent a follow-up text requesting a response by the following day - any response would've been acceptable, even receipt of the text. She did not respond. She finally reached out on Friday, February 2, which is 12 days after my second message to her and almost 4 weeks after the photoshoot. The reason she did reach out was because her page was temporarily removed so people could no longer see her 22 raving 5-star reviews. She claimed that because of me, she wouldn't be able to get new clients and photography is her only job "and [is] able to put food on [her] table." I was left very confused and vulnerable by this experience because she deliberately ignored me and caused me stress during this already stressful (albeit joyous) time but was trying to make me feel bad for causing her stress.
She provided a reason for her being completely unresponsive and she expected everything to be okay - including me not leaving a review. As she had already lost my trust, I let her know we were not on the same page and she said to me verbatim, "I wish I could leave you a review on being a human." At this point, I chose to stop corresponding with her because she was attacking me as a human being when she is the root to the problem.
She does not seem to understand that just because she delivered photos at the end, that this was already a sour business relationship and cannot be mended. I received 50 photos, 13 of which are very similar, and you can tell there is a clear lack of quality and variation.
But I do see the positive side. Due to her lack of response, I had found another photographer and I now have two sets of engagement photos (in my opinion, it is clear which is better).
This experience has taught me to do a better job of vetting vendors, and I recommend you do the same. Maybe she has learned from this experience, but please remember to remain cautious. read more
