If I were only reviewing Focus Fine and Parmiss as a photographer, I would give her four out of…read morefive stars. Overall, we were happy with our wedding photographs, and she is a talented photographer. However, if you go with Parmiss as a photographer, I would first thoroughly scout your wedding venue and other wedding photos from the venue so you can tell her exactly where you would like photographs taken. Because Parmiss had such an eye for the scenery during our engagement shoot, I trusted her vision more than I should have on the big day. All of our family and husband and wife portraits are only in two locations, one of which was rather dull given the beauty and vastness of the venue. I would have liked to have had different backgrounds and to have had some photos outside the venue in the evening when it was dark and lit up. I was too busy to realize all of this during the reception, and I wish that I had better prepared, or that the photographer had directed us to other locations throughout the night. Still, we are happy with our photographs.
I strongly recommend that you steer clear of any videography from this vendor. We based our decision to purchase their video services off of the two examples posted on Parmiss's website, but there is no way we had the same videographer based on the extremely poor quality of our footage. Please don't be deceived like we were by those sample videos.
First, we were married in May of 2016, and the video did not arrive until October of 2016 because the videographer was on a three-week vacation?!? At that time, my husband was retiring from the military after 22 years of service, we were grieving the loss of a loved one, and we were moving into our first house. We did not have time to watch the video until things finally settled down in early spring. There were SEVERAL issues with the video. Among other things, it looked like a cheap camcorder video from the 80's with shaky footage and poor sound. Parts of the ceremony and reception were out of order, and significant parts of the ceremony, for example, half of my bridesmaids walking down the aisle, was not included. When we expressed our concerns to Parmiss, she said the videographer did not save the footage, so he could only work to revise what we already had, meaning there is no existing footage of those missing bridesmaids. What kind of an artist doesn't save their work?!?
Secondly, we did not receive the 20-minute highlights DVD that we were promised in the contract.
A few months later, at our request, a new "documentary DVD" was sent in the form of both a DVD and a Blue-Ray. Additionally, we received an 8-minuted, not a 20-minute, highlights DVD and Blue-Ray. ALL of these discs were placed in ONE DVD case. The quality of the video was still beyond poor. My high school students have put together videos for class with their iPhones that are comparable to the quality we received from a professional vendor for $1800. Some of our friends took mini-videos using their phones, which are far better than what we paid this vendor. My mother, who paid for the work, was the most vocal in trying to have this corrected. She saw this as a gift to my husband and me, and she wanted us to treasure and watch it for years to come. She was very disappointed in how this gift turned out, but was hopeful the errors could be corrected.
When we reached out to Parmiss for a second time about the quality of the videography and the missing 20-minute highlights, we were given a string of excuses, one of which accused us of purchasing the least expensive and least inclusive package. However, we were never given an option. We chose what was offered. All we modified was that we had five hours coverage instead of six, changing the price from $2000 to 1800. We still paid $1800 for a low-grade product. When we complained about still not having the 20-minutes of highlights as promised in the contract, we were told that it is far more difficult to make an 8-minute highlight video, and that they thought we would be more "impressed" with 12-minutes less of what we had paid for?!?
Over a month later, we finally received another revision. This time, we finally got the 20-minute highlight DVD. It came in late September of 2017, one year and four months after our wedding. I wish I could say it was worth the wait. Given that the videographer apparently tossed all the footage, it was just another poor rendition of the lackluster original we had received a year ago. The old errors and poor quality remain while new ones were also included.
At this point, my husband and I plan to enjoy the videos our friends took, but we are saddened that my parents paid so much to receive so little. Instead of offering a refund, we were only given poor revisionary attempts, apologies, and excuses.I understand that Parmiss is the photographer and not the videographer. However, her name is attached to both, and she should take just as much pride in the videography.
