She took the full payment in advance and never delivered the photos. Her contract said delivery would happen up to 10 business days after the event and it's been a month and still no photos. Details:
I hired Yanel to photograph my son's third birthday party at our house. He's a pandemic baby and it was his first birthday party so we wanted to document the special day. She required that I pay the full amount in advance. I signed Yanel's contract which states: "The client understands that it may take up to 10 business days for the photographer to complete the editing and deliver." It's been a month and she hasn't sent them or followed through were her numerous extended deadlines.
I have included the exact transcript of our correspondence so it's not disputable, but in short: she never sent the photos, ghosted me several times, and told me FOUR separate times that I was about to receive them ("You'll get them tonight") -- and I never did. I even told her that if something happened to the photos, that she should just tell me and issue a refund. She said she was just behind on her work and did not issue a refund. I also told her that at this point I don't even care if they're edited and she should just send whatever she has as-is. To this day, one month later, she has still not sent the photos.
Here's the timeline and correspondence: ---
The event was on 10/8.
10/9 - Day after event: I email her asking about the usual turnaround time.
No response.
10/17 - I follow up via email.
10/18 - She responds: I'm so sorry, idk what happened to your first email. But you'll have them Saturday (10/21).
10/21 (night) - I email asking if she sent the link and if I missed it.
No response.
10/23 - I text her: This is Shadee following up. Since one of my earlier emails got missed, I thought text might be easier. I didn't receive the file link on Saturday. Did I miss it? I hate to keep pestering but the 10 day turnaround passed and so did the Saturday delivery and I haven't heard from you so I'm hoping everything is okay with the photos?
10/23 - She responds: You are definitely not pestering. I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you. I ended up covering a wedding Saturday for an associate who caught COVID and wasn't able to fulfill his contract and then had an event Sunday that I had pre booked and I wasn't able to finish all of my edits over the weekend. However, I've been working all day to catch up and will have them to you tonight before bed. Thank you for your patience and I'm so sorry!
10/23 - I respond: Thank you so much for filling me in!! I was so worried something went wrong and everything got wiped or something
10/23 - She responds: Oh no . I'm sorry to worry you. I'll have them over to you shortly
10/28 (five days later) - I text her: Hi Yanel - checking in on the link status?
No response from her.
10/31 - I follow up again: Hi Yanel, I feel really confused with the situation. I feel like I've been really patient and understanding but it's to the point now where I'm worried because I already made the full payment and it's been way past the turnaround we agreed on in the signed contract. Since my son was a pandemic baby, this was his first birthday party. So the photos are precious to us. I would really appreciate receiving them. If you lost the photos somehow, please let me know so we can figure out a refund.
10/31 - She responds: Hi! Shadee, I apologize. We didn't lose the photos, I just am behind. I caught COVID and haven't been able to be awake for a long stretches of time. I'll be sending them tonight and I'll text you to confirm. I apologize for the delay.
10/28 - I respond: I'm sorry to hear you are sick and I hope you feel better soon. I will look out for your email.
11/2 - She texts: Hi there! Wanted to send you an update. We finished edits last night. Doing a final run through and you'll have them shortly. I apologize for the delay. The brain fog is debilitating this time around.
11/3 - I respond: Thanks for the update. Looking forward to seeing them
No response. No photos.
11/5 - I follow up: Hi Yanel, haven't received it yet.
No response. No photos.
11/6 - I text her: What is going on? You can't just take money from people and then not follow through. It's been a month and you've literally told me THREE times that you're "sending them tonight." I have never been this direct with anyone before but this is incredibly unprofessional. At this point, I don't even care if they're edited. Just send what you have so we can all move on.
11/6 - She says: I sent your link last night to the email provided. The email is from a 3rd party website called pixieset
11/6 - I respond: I did not receive it. I checked my spam as well. [I resend her my email address]
No response. No photos. :( read more