What can she do??

A very good friend of mine got married in October, and she got a local photographer to shoot her day. The photographer did an awesome job (at least as far as we can tell, judging by the 3 proofs we've seen). The bride & groom paid cash up front, and was told that they would receive the photos on a disc within 2 weeks.

2 weeks came & went, and when my friend called, the photographer apologized and assured her that the photos would be out shortly.

1 month later, nothing. Friend contacts photographer again. Again an apology and a promise.

1 month later. Do you see a trend? 1 month ago, my friend contacted her AGAIN after being ignored for almost 2 months (she finally blocked her number so the photographer couldn't screen the call). My friend was TOTALLY nice, she wasn't mad or anything, and was being super lenient because she'd heard through the grapevine that the photographers marraige was on the rocks. The girl apologized and said that she would have them in the mail by Monday, January the 18th at the very latest.

So today my friend tells me that the photos are still not there, and she hasn't heard a word. The photographer will not answer her emails, deleted her from Facebook and won't answer the phone. My friend is obviously very upset, because they are her wedding photos, and she's already paid! She's actually LIVID and ready to explode.

Oh, and I'm talking to her on IM right now, and she just called her using her cell phone, and the photographer picked up (even though she didn't a second before when she called from her home phone... screening calls much??), and gave her yet another excuse. At this point, my friend isn't even wanting them touched and altered. She's going to hand me the disk and let me have a crack at them .

What else can she do if she doesn't get them soon? Should she be contacting a lawyer?

Wow...that's not cool. :thumbdown:

I'd say she should be at the very least, telling the photographer that if she doesn't have the photos by such-and-such a day, that she WILL be contacting a lawyer. Probably a lawyer can't really do anything without taking it to small claims, but it might scare the photographer into just getting it done. It's obvious that she doesn't want to have much to do with the bride.

Yeah, thats exactly what I told her. Give her a date, and if they aren't in her hands by then, its time to contact a lawyer. I told her to pull up her panties and pull out the guns, lol.

She can also call Better Business Bureau and make a claim against her, but yes, a lawyer.

It may be a long shot, but I've seen stories like this on the news. Maybe she has a news anchor in the area that takes on such cases. Kinda like Seven on your side. A lot of times, once the pressure is put on by a third party, results happen faster.

I would go to the Photog's studio/home and not leave till i had a disk in my hand...

Threaten the lawyer. However, if they haven't signed a contract, it might be problematic...and if they paid cash, there's no "paper trail". So I don't know how that would go.

Say "if I don't have them by such and such a time", lawyer will be called.

I always hate to hear these stories, wedding pictures are so precious.

I have to agree with Jamie. Unless there's a signed contract and a receipt, your friend could well be SOL on this.

I would go to her house and say to her that I am not interested in having prints or having the photos altered that at this point I just want something for my money and if it isnt possible to get the photos then I just want my money back. It sounds like maybe something might have happened to the photos but the photographer does not want to tell your friend that. I know life happens and that sometimes things are out of your control and most people would be understanding if there were serios family issues if you are up-front about it but if you just ignore them and hide from them (like screening calls) it is alot harder to be understanding and really frustrating not knowing. Hope she can get her photos though. If all else fails she might just have to go to small claims and file a claim through the court system

Since we are talking about irreplaceable wedding photos, if it were me, I think I would go to her house and refuse to leave without the files!

jessica31876 said:

I would go to her house and say to her that I am not interested in having prints or having the photos altered that at this point I just want something for my money.

Click to expand...

Yeah, thats what she did. She just wants something, anything. I told her that I'm not very good, but I can at least run actions or something and alter the photos enough to make them look decent. So she's going to bring me the CD when she gets it, and I'm going to retouch them as well as I can.

juliemarie said:

Since we are talking about irreplaceable wedding photos, if it were me, I think I would go to her house and refuse to leave without the files!

Click to expand...

I agree with you. The problem is that the photographer lives over 2 hours away from my friend, and she never goes that way. So she's depending on the mail. Especially because the photographer may not be home when & if my friend decided to pop in, you know?

I think my friend is being more than fair. She's given this girl over 5 months to get her the photos, and nothing has been done. She even gave the girl a nice tip because she had to travel the 2 hours to take the photos! Plus paid for her gas! It just makes my blood BOIL!!! If she were me, I'd have threatened her with a lawyer, demanded my CD by camping on her lawn AND asked for at least 50% of my fee back... good thing my friend is a calmer person, lol!

Two hours away or not I'd be camping out on her lawn till I got my photos or my money back. I think she needs to send her a certified letter stating that she wants them by this day including the amount she paid, the terms they had made, all the promises she made and didn't keep, etc, document it all and tell her she will be taking her to court if she doesn't have them in hand by a certain date.

I would do two things:

1. Go to her house and REFUSE to leave until she gave me the contact sheets. I don't care if it's two hours away - wedding photos are irreplaceable and if I wanted them badly enough - I'd do what I have to do to get them. I would tell her I don't give a fig about them being in photo format, that she just needs to give me the contact sheet and a written statement authorizing me to get them printed elsewhere.

2. If the photographer doesn't give her the sheets, I would file a small claims suit to have her produce the photos or the money back - preferably the photos. Lawsuits usually scare the crap out of people and get them to comply. LOL

sounds like she's gonna need to go to her pantry, look for a can that says 'whoop a$$' and open that puppy right on up.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOODE.

not cool...then she should tell everyone she knows about how crappy she is and how she isn't being professional about getting the pictures of the most important day of her life to her.

Your friend totally got played. :thumbdown:

You haven't yet mentioned a contract. Did she sign one? While it's not unusual for photogs to require their entire fee up front, it is unusual to pay it in all cash (no paper trail) and more unusual still to not have a signed contract. Without a contract, it's going to basically be she said-she said in small claims court although your friend should give that a try.

Did your friend do any background check on this photog? Get recommendations from past clients? Know her through someone else? For someone to act as unprofessional as she is by ignoring phone calls, emails, etc. it makes me think this was not really a pro, but someone willing to help out by giving your friend a 'good deal.'

I think it would be most effective for your friend to take out an ad in the local newspaper where said photog lives and explain how she got gypped. Word of mouth is #1 make it or break it when it comes to photographers, and maybe the embarrassment will shame her into keeping her word.

I should clarify a bit more I guess. I don't know FOR SURE that it was cash exchanged, but I assume it was. At least part of it was (the tip), but she may have paid the rest with a check.

Also, the photographer isn't what you'd call a professional. She doesn't have a studio, very few previous clients, and I doubt that a contract was signed. She just does photography as a hobby right now. Although she WANTS to become professional, but seriously, if this is how she's acting, she won't make it. The bride heard of her through a friend who had seen her at another friends wedding (and had seen the photos and said they were very nice).

What I most worried about is that something happened to the photos, you know? Like her computer crashed and she lost them, and is too afraid to say so, and so is trying to make it all go away. I'm mad, and I'm worried. I know how important wedding photos are!!

I love LA's idea about going to the local news. I wish your friend luck! I hope she is able to get those precious photos first and foremost!

OMG that is so horrible for your friend! Poor girl that must be heartbreaking I really hope she gets them what is this photographer's problem? Do you think she's lost/deleted them?xxx