Wedding photography - where do I stand?

redmonkee

redmonkee

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PHILIP
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Hi guys

I just want some general feedback and advice on what you would do if you were in my situation.

My wife and I got married in Scotland on 1st December last year. We booked a photographer based near Edinburgh who came well recommended and having viewed his we were sure we'd found the right guy to photograph our special day.

We paid £1800 for a digital package as I wanted to design my own album. On the day the guy turned up and did an excellent job. All the guests commented on how professional he was and my wife and I couldn't have agreed more.

At the end of the night when the photographer was preparing to leave he assured us the photos would be ready in a couple of weeks. Given the fact it was nearing Xmas we didn't mind waiting when those two weeks came and went as we knew he'd be very busy and we had our honeymoon in January to look forward to.

So we went on homeymoon for a fortnight and arrived back hoping our photos would be on the door mat. They weren't so I tried contacting the photographer on numerous occasions via email, mobile and landline and have yet to be able to speak with him as all calls have gone to voicemail. I have left voicemails and still yet to have a reply from him.

Then out of the blue a couple of weeks ago we received an email from the photographer apologising for being hard to get hold of. He said that personal matters were the reason for him being delayed with his work and that finally our wedding photos were ready that he was delighted with them and would be posting them to us in the next couple of days.

Well it's now two weeks later and we still haven't received them. I have since tried emailing (no reply) calling his mobile (goes straight to voicemail) left voicemails (no reply) and phoned his landline which again goes straight to voicemail.

Now I understand many couples wait months for their wedding photos but, they will no doubt be sent proofs to pick for their album. We are not waiting for an album to be put together and all we have so far are two pics posted on Facebook (which look great) but the fact he has said our photos are ready it is slightly worrying that we have yet to receive them.

What is more worrying is the lack of contact we've had from the Photographer since the wedding. Our photos were a gift from a relative and having to explain to them that we have nothing to show for their £1800 is a little embarrassing and awkward.

Am I overreacting or do you think I have cause for concern

Any advice greatly appreciated
Thanks
Phil
 
MWHCVT said:
Do you have a physical address for the photographer?
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Yes I have a physical address. Going by street view his business address was his home. But in his email the other week where he cited personal problems he mentioned he was going through legal proceedings which included putting his house on the market.

So whether he lives at the address I have is unknown. As I live in England I cannot simply travel up and check on the off chance either :(


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If his house is up for sale he may have financial problems too. Small claims court after mailing him you will give him 2 weeks to get the photos which have been paid for to you.
 
redmonkee said:
Yes I have a physical address. Going by street view his business address was his home. But in his email the other week where he cited personal problems he mentioned he was going through legal proceedings which included putting his house on the market.

So whether he lives at the address I have is unknown. As I live in England I cannot simply travel up and check on the off chance either :(


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To be honest this is partially the reason why when my sister got married she hired a photographer local to where she lived, and covered travel expenses for his travel over to Ireland...

My suggestion was going to be actually go round but that sounds like its going to have to be the absolute last resort, it concerns me that he appears to be going though issues putting his home at risk as that suggest a bigger issue...I would suggest a written by recorded/special delivery a letter requesting/requiring the already paid for files to be sent to you with 7 days of the date in the letter
 
redmonkee said:
I think he is going through divorce proceedings hence the sale of the house.

Is it fairly simple going through small claims proceedings?


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Yes, very easy it's a matter of filling out the forms online, but it should always be considered as a last resort, far best to resolve amicably (y)
 
Chances are he will be getting your emails... chances are he will get letters posted to that address...

Personally I would write him a polite letter explaining that the situation has gone on too long and that you really must insist on recieving the pictures and give him a date to ahve them by.. up to you.. 10 days? I would send this letter by recorded delivery.. He will know then that your serious and he must act..

Personally I think somehting has gone wrong and your not going to see any pictures:(
 
as above.

Also check in with those personal recommendations, they may know him and be able to give you a bit more background.

we can speculate about his situation, but it will do no good, find out what you can then you may get a. a few answers and b. a better method of contacting him.
 
BBR said:
Small claims online. Cheap and easy way to sue charlatans. When tog receives summons it may motivate him to act. Also use social media to warn others that he is at best unreliable.
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If you're suggesting going down the court route then I'd avoid social media. Posting all over FB won't look good to a judge.
 
can you not ask a local tog if they know him or if they can go to his house if he agrees to that to get the photos and post them on to you? i wouldnt post on fb just yet ,you may just dig a deeper hole i would try and resolve as fast as you can if he ends up going bust you would be lucky to see any cash back from him if the photos are not done etc
 
the OP hasnt done anythign wrong... and he really isnt doing anything wrong posting on here... people are saying jusdges take a dim view or digging himself a hole.... sorry but what do people think the OP is doing wrong in this thread?
 
hoochy1 said:
can you not ask a local tog if they know him or if they can go to his house if he agrees
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Would you? I doubt I would want to get involved.. theres a good chance the pics arnt going to appear otherwise he would ahve popped them in the post... its not a massive job if they are ready as he says.. he went to the trouble of editing and burning to disk but too busy to post? sorry cant see that.... theres no way i would get involved.. i know most photogrpahers in my area on speaking terms..problems wiht customers.. ...barge pole :(
 
thats true i didnt mean go to the guys door demanding the photos lol it was more a if the op asked the photographer to burn them to a disk and get a local to pick them up if the guy says no you know there is some thing way wrong, tbh alarm bells would be ringing in my head to
 
I'd email him and leave another voicemail stating something like "I'll be commencing proceedings in the small claims court in seven days blah blah ... I appreciate that judgement against you will severely impact your ability to get any credit or mortgage in future, but you are leaving me with little option."

That last line might wake him up.

The small claims system is very easy to use. The trouble is that you might get your fee refunded, but no images. I'm just wondering why he doesn't just send you a DVD of the images - is there a chance that he doesn't have them any more for whatever reason?

He holds the cards at the moment (because he has the images that you want), but you'll have to draw a line at some point.

Horrible situation.
 
KIPAX said:
the OP hasnt done anythign wrong... and he really isnt doing anything wrong posting on here... people are saying jusdges take a dim view or digging himself a hole.... sorry but what do people think the OP is doing wrong in this thread?
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That wasn't actually what I was saying, if you posted negative stuff all over social media and then started a claim, or posted it after starting they would. I don't think the OP is doing anything wrong. My comment about FB(etc) was more to say don't start to
 
boyfalldown said:
That wasn't actually what I was saying, if you posted negative stuff all over social media and then started a claim, or posted it after starting they would. I don't think the OP is doing anything wrong. My comment about FB(etc) was more to say don't start to
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My apologies.. I thought you meant posting in here...
 
May be worth trying to find out if he's still working as a photographer. Get a friend to ring and ask for a quote, or better, send an email so you have some proof.
 
Finacial problems / Personal, Who gives a Sh*t. He's been paid so get the files off him.

i'd be on his doorstep

He should keep personnel life seperate from business life. Clients dont need to know about his personal life... not professional.

Polite letter saying you just need the images off him before he decides to top himself!

I do get fed fed up with these dim wit Norbuts thinking they can take money and not deliver the goods.....
 
Daryl said:
Finacial problems / Personal, Who gives a Sh*t. He's been paid so get the files off him.

i'd be on his doorstep

He should keep personnel life seperate from business life. Clients dont need to know about his personal life... not professional.

Polite letter saying you just need the images off him before he decides to top himself!

I do get fed fed up with these dim wit Norbuts thinking they can take money and not deliver the goods.....
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I've always said this myself personal life should always be kept separate no matter how had that may be
 
Daryl said:
Finacial problems / Personal, Who gives a Sh*t. He's been paid so get the files off him.

i'd be on his doorstep

He should keep personnel life seperate from business life. Clients dont need to know about his personal life... not professional.

Polite letter saying you just need the images off him before he decides to top himself!

I do get fed fed up with these dim wit Norbuts thinking they can take money and not deliver the goods.....
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+1, rubbish service! My wedding clients get their web gallery about 3/4 days after the wedding.
 
Delivering pictures a few days after a wedding spoils things in my eyes. Its nice to wait a while and relive the day a month or so later when its more of a memory. But back on track, pester him lots until you get your pics :)
 
jon ryan said:
May be worth trying to find out if he's still working as a photographer. Get a friend to ring and ask for a quote, or better, send an email so you have some proof.
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I've thought about doing that and may just do it this weekend. If he replies to new enquiries then there's definitely something wrong.

What I will add though is we had an engagement shoot in the summer and he delivered the photos from that.

One other twist though. I've just been on rightmove and found his house is listed for sale. So his personal problems are true and not a lie. Makes me worried that if he moves then I'll never know where he is.


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Perhaps, if he is going through a divorce, he has had to move out of the house, but all of his equipment and hard drives are still in the house, meaning that he is unable to get to them.

I know people are advising you to take him to court, but that will likely not get you your pictures back.

Maybe try ringing the house landline, or writing a letter addressed to the occupant of the house (presumably his wife) and appealing to them for any help or information.

Good luck.
 
melaniejane said:
Perhaps, if he is going through a divorce, he has had to move out of the house, but all of his equipment and hard drives are still in the house, meaning that he is unable to get to them.

I know people are advising you to take him to court, but that will likely not get you your pictures back.

Maybe try ringing the house landline, or writing a letter addressed to the occupant of the house (presumably his wife) and appealing to them for any help or information.

Good luck.
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I've phoned his landline constantly and it always goes to voicemail. I've left messages but had me reply.

I've even contacted his wife via Facebook but still waiting of a reply there :(


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I believe before starting any legal action the you must send a 7 day letter before action, Letter.

That in itself may be enough to push him into delivering
 
I wonder whether you might be able to get a clearer view of what is going on if you speak to the estate agent that's selling his property? I know that they're probably not supposed to tell you, but you may be able to glean some information about what is going on and whether he is actually at the house or whether it's already been vacated.
 
Another thing you can try.

He may be a member of a trade body such as The Master Photographers Association (www.thempa.com), British Institute of Professional Photography (www.BIPP.com) or The Societies (http://www.swpp.co.uk/). Each site will list their members. If he is a member of any of these organisations, contact them and they will try and help you.
 
melaniejane said:
Perhaps, if he is going through a divorce, he has had to move out of the house, but all of his equipment and hard drives are still in the house, meaning that he is unable to get to them.

I know people are advising you to take him to court, but that will likely not get you your pictures back.

Maybe try ringing the house landline, or writing a letter addressed to the occupant of the house (presumably his wife) and appealing to them for any help or information.
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This man is apparently a professional photographer, running a photography business. There can be no rational reason why he would move out of a house yet leave behind his most vital business commodities, that makes no sense at all.

In court, a Judge would rule that the photographer either provide the client with the images, or else issue a refund.

Prior to entering into court proceedings the client is required to follow a protocol. At the moment I would suggest the OP writes to the address made available at the time that the photographer was in business, setting out the problem and giving him 14 days to respond. If he does not respond, given that all reasonable avenues have been attempted, a Letter Before Action would be the next stage - hopefully that would prompt him to sort things out. Aside from death, critical injury or illness, and similar catastrophic events, there are no excuses for this kind of thing. This photographer appears to be evading all attempts at contact, which will not go in his favour.
 
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What Lindsay said. I can think of no likely scenario where I'd leave my home without my gear and PC and backups.

If I was hit by a car, my Mrs knows that dealing with my customers would be her primary concern.
 
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even if she was driving - lol...

Sorry Phil couldn't resist....:)
 
Phil V said:
What Lindsay said. I can think of no likely scenario where I'd leave my home without my gear and PC and backups.
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So your having a domestic and the wife calls the police who remove you from the premixed because she says you're getting violent. Do you think the police are gonna let you take all your computer gear?

Just one possible scenario where you wouldn't get to take computer equipment with you. There are others, of course.[/quote]
 
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Bristolian said:
So your having a domestic and the wife calls the police who remove you from the premixed because she says you're getting violent. Do you think the police are gonna let you take all your computer gear?
.
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[/quote]

If something is necessary to the course of your work, then as I understand it you are generally entitled to that property. In this case, I think the photographer could apply to a third party to remove his computers. If a husband has been removed from the property as you describe, he will normally have legal representation. Otherwise, where the estranged party retains occupancy rights they can also request that the police accompanies them if the partner remaining in the property is being obstructive.
 
Bristolian said:
So your having a domestic and the wife calls the police who remove you from the premixed because she says you're getting violent. Do you think the police are gonna let you take all your computer gear?

Just one possible scenario where you wouldn't get to take computer equipment with you. There are others, of course.
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[/quote]
I said likely scenario. That sounds nothing like me, and even less like my Mrs!
 
I said likely scenario. That sounds nothing like me, and even less like my Mrs![/quote]

Ah, but you didn't limit the likeliness to you. Just saying there are situations where you wouldn't have a choice about leaving possessions behind and certainly not aiming my comment at you personally, Phil :)
 
Could be a case of obtaining money by deception, in which case the authorities should be informed. Any domestic problems he might have is his problem, he should still fulfill his contract to you both
 
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Bristolian said:
I said likely scenario. That sounds nothing like me, and even less like my Mrs!
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Ah, but you didn't limit the likeliness to you. Just saying there are situations where you wouldn't have a choice about leaving possessions behind and certainly not aiming my comment at you personally, Phil :)[/quote]
Odd, I thought I wrote:
Phil V said:
What Lindsay said. I can think of no likely scenario where I'd leave my home without my gear and PC and backups.

...
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It just wouldn't happen to me, and I'm not naive, I'm twice married with an interesting enough life.
 

If something is necessary to the course of your work, then as I understand it you are generally entitled to that property. In this case, I think the photographer could apply to a third party to remove his computers. If a husband has been removed from the property as you describe, he will normally have legal representation. Otherwise, where the estranged party retains occupancy rights they can also request that the police accompanies them if the partner remaining in the property is being obstructive.[/quote]

Lindsay, you're thinking about after the event not at the time of the event. I know how it goes ... I've seen it happen :(

Anyway, this conversation is detracting from the OPs plight so let's leave it there, eh?
 
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