Lazy wedding photographer, or standard practice?

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mathom33

Senior Member
My sister will be getting married in a two months and has already signed a contact with a photographer. I've looked at some of his work online and I (being no expert or professional) feel that his work is on the higher spectrum of average. She recently had her engagement photos taken which he posted online for her to review.

My complaint is that when I flipped through them, I noticed that all of the night shots either had huge clone/heal spots that were very noticeable, or the tripod (which he used to mount his strobe light that was set up behind them) was visible. He didn't even attempt to blend the tripod in or clone it out

Again, I'm no expert, but it took me a whopping 10 minutes to fix about 20 low resolution pictures that I had taken screenshots of.

Being that my sister and her fiancée are paying close to $6000 (package includes the engagement photos, rehearsal dinner, and wedding day), would you ask him to take the time to edit the photos properly? Would it be unprofessional to ask him to release the raw files to someone that is willing to take the time to edit them properly?

What would you do?
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
A good photographer would take the picture properly in the first place and if he did make a mistake it would be fixed in post. Personally I wouldn't even post the samples with those errors. This sounds like an expensive amateur.


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Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
I am no expert but maybe post a link to images etc. maybe he is an overpriced amateur but if people are still willing to pay his costs he will continue the way he has.


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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I'll admit I don't know all the in's and out's out of wedding photography but if I'm paying you six THOUSAND dollars for a job, you're pretty much my b--ch. Personally, I probably would have passed on this particular photographer having seen what you've seen, but I assume the window of opportunity has passed on finding someone else. That being the case I would not hesitate to point out, as soon as possible, that I would not find such things as you found acceptable and see what I could work out. Making clear what is wanted/expected is just good communication and good communication is critical.

...
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
I see a lot of wedding photographers who make the engagement shoot part of their "pitch" to show what they can do BEFORE getting the contract signed and money changing hands, that way the couple can see how the photographer interprets their requirements and his style of shot.... Like a "Try before you buy".
If I was paying that amount and was unhappy before the day even arrived, I'd be letting the photographer know my concerns. I'd also be concerned that he took exception to a complaint and pulled out leaving you with no one at this short notice.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Unless the "shots for review" were explicitly labeled as raw proofs, I would be on the phone or in person rather quickly, demanding to see reworked versions by the following week, with the results being the basis for whether or not the contract would be terminated. The fact that there is poor spot healing tells me they tried to do something, so it's not pure raw, out of camera shots.

As was suggested, for us to say anything more specific would required links or copies of the actual photographs, but from what I'm hearing I would be telling your sister that she could possibly be wasting her money. If for some reason she can't get out of the contract, she should add an addendum that gives her access to the RAW images should she find them unsatisfactory. At least she can find someone to do proper editing. No photographer in their right mind would do that, but this photographer doesn't seem to have it together.

At my nephew's wedding last month, my brother in-law asked me to tag along while the photographer (a family friend) was doing prep shots. At one point I had to stop her and ask if she meant to have the extension cord running across the bottom of the frame as she shot the bridal party. The most bizarre thing was that the entire shoot was done with her holding the camera to her eye with one hand, while triggering it with an IR remote with the other. I don't know if she has an issue with camera shake as the shutter button is depressed, or perhaps the shutter button on one of her cameras was broken, but it made my head hurt watching her.
 
J

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
er, don't post a direct link to the photographers site. If they have a decent site or any kind tracking, they'll see the referral and read this thread...
 
M

mathom33

Senior Member
I've read all of the replies and I will comment on them later today in regards to what I feel... Here is an example of a photo that I took which sort of resembles the type of editing he did vs what i would expect.

Here is my original.
Original.jpg
Here is what his editing looked like.
Bad Edit.jpg
Here is my editing. (Granted, I know that I would need to add texture as well as dodge and burn to give it the proper look, but I'm between classes right now and don't really have the time)
Fixed-.jpg
 
Nero

Nero

Senior Member
If that's the editing in his photos, I'd definitely say your sister should get her money back. Or at least talk to this photographer and make sure he edits them better.
 
M

mathom33

Senior Member
Scott Murray said:
I am no expert but maybe post a link to images etc. maybe he is an overpriced amateur...
Click to expand...
From his website I would say he's not an amateur. He definitely knows what he's doing with photos he has taken during the day. It's the night shots that were edited sloppily or left unedited because the tripod for his flash could be seen.
BackdoorHippie said:
Unless the "shots for review"
Click to expand...
I do not know the terms of the contract being that I am on the other side of the country and our schedules conflict; getting in contact with my sister is damn near impossible! I texted her his copy of the photos along with a copy of mine and she didn't call me until 2 days later during my anatomy lecture.
As was suggested, for us to say anything more specific would required links or copies of the actual photographs
Click to expand...
I won't be adding any of his photos or links to his site because: 1) He might be a member of this forum 2) As you stated, they might be copies for "review" in which case it would be bad form to call someone out based on work they are not finished with 3) If he found out he might cancel close to the wedding day which would leave her scrambling to find someone.

...the entire shoot was done with her holding the camera to her eye with one hand, while triggering it with an IR remote with the other.
Click to expand...
Interesting technique to say the least. Why not just use a monopod to compensate for her shakes? Maybe getting enough rest and laying off the coffee would have helped her =)

SteveH said:
These lights he had.... Were they nice expensive lights by any chance?
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According to my sister, it was just a dedicated camera flash which he had synced wirelessly to his camera and mounted on a tripod. So really nothing special about it.
 
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mathom33

Senior Member
Re: Oh... My... GAWD!!!

My wife had asked me the two days before taking the photo if I wanted to split it half. She wasn't feeling well and didn't want the whole thing so she bit into it and left left the rest of it on our kitchen island. about a half hour later she began to violently throw up and eating the leftover Cadbury Egg was no longer on my brain. Two days went by and I happened to see the caramel all over the wooden countertop.

When she woke up from taking a nap I told her about how she left it tipped on its side and how the caramel had spilled out. She apologized and I told her it wasn't a big deal. What she should be apologizing for is the amount of study time I lost in licking the counter clean!
 
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DraganDL

Senior Member
To edit RAW pics? I have never met a guy, claiming he's a "wedding photographer" who even attempted to shoot RAWs - they all do the straight out of camera jpgs. And it is more than just enough for the purpose, provided the lighting is decent and the guy generally knows how to do his/her job.
As for that price, well, there's a suitable proverb (Serbian/Balkan) that says "the sheep is here for you to grab/cut their wool", if you know what I mean...
 
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mathom33

Senior Member
DraganDL said:
I have never met a guy, claiming he's a "wedding photographer" who even attempted to shoot RAWs - they all do the straight out of camera jpgs.
Click to expand...

Aside from the amount if memory needed to shoot a wedding, is there a reason they shoot jpeg? iWork's think that raw would give you more dynamic range and allow you to recover details in shadows that you normally couldn't pull with a jpeg.

And I definitely understand your proverb. The thing for her was that for the secluded location she chose for her venue left her with a handful of photographers in the area/willing to travel to that area. Other photographers were quoting her over $8000 for two shooters and 6 hours.

I told her our brother and I would do it for free, but we're both part if the wedding party so it would make it a little difficult. I'm sure the priest wouldn't care for two groomsmen with dslr's acting like paparazzi.
 
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DraganDL

Senior Member
"I'm sure the priest wouldn't care for two groomsmen with dslr's acting like paparazzi"

Look before you leap! You might be a lazy photographer, but this is by no means a lazy priest: http://goo.gl/cJvj0C ​::what::


 
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