Firstly, I want to start off by expressing my immense satisfaction with my engagement pictures;…read morethey were truly amazing. After sharing inspiration pictures, she truly nailed it. Regrettably, I do have a concern regarding her communication with me.
At the end of our photo session on May 9th, she informed me that I would receive my photos within two weeks or sooner- latest by May 23rd as per the contract, and assured me she would keep me updated.
About a week before the deadline and having not heard from her I reached out for an update, and she replied the following day, stating that she would finish either over the weekend or early the following week.
Trusting her assurance, I waited through the weekend. However, come Monday, she informed me of her grandmother's passing. Consequently, she committed to delivering my photos as per the contract terms, without the possibility of an early delivery.
The problem I have with her doesn't stem from the family loss; I completely empathize with that. Heck, even when our photo due date arrived and she informed me of falling behind due to the loss, I understood. Yet, when May 23rd passed without receiving our photos, she promised an update on their delivery first thing in the morning. However, the morning came, and there was no response from her whatsoever.
After I reached out for the promised update, she responded, essentially stating that she would provide the photos as soon as they were completed, leaving me uncertain of when that would be.
Five days later, with no communication from her, I'm growing increasingly anxious to receive my photos. I ask her to send me the progress she has made on the photos and to deliver the remaining ones at a later date...no response. I text her again the following day...no response. I try calling her...no response.
Despite my patience and the considerable delay past our due date, doubts begin to creep into my mind. I find myself wondering if she's genuine or if there's a possibility of being scammed.
I don't receive a response from her until the following day. Her reply includes questioning which part I didn't understand about her promise to deliver the photos as soon as she finished and her claim of being abundantly transparent. First off, the lack of response to client messages and calls is highly concerning. Moreover, being over a week past our contractual due date only adds to the frustration. Frankly, it's unacceptable. In any other profession, despite personal setbacks, there's usually a day or two of grace, not an entire week coupled with complete disregard for clients' calls and messages!
Her conduct was unprofessional, and her communication was clearly lacking. While I sympathize with the loss of a family member, I remained patient. However, if this were any other job, and an employee treated me in the same manner she did, they would likely be fired.
She breached our signed contract and then made me feel as though I was at fault for feeling skeptical after being ignored. In my opinion, she should reconsider her contract terms to allocate more time for photo work or limit the number of clients she takes on. Making commitments to clients and subsequently failing to deliver reflects poorly on her reputation.
While I acknowledge that others may have different experiences with her, in my opinion, her handling of the situation after her family loss was extremely poor and unprofessional. My ultimate suggestion is to expect delays and slower responses from her. Despite her undeniable talent as a photographer, there's definitely room for improvement in her communication and in refraining from making commitments she can't uphold. It's worth noting that she didn't even apologize for completely ignoring me and then proceeded to block me. Just some food for thought.
