Wedding photographer no longer responding

I'm sorry to hear that.

Have you paid in full? If not, maybe you can do some leverage with that. Also, is there a writing contract stating the 12 weeks for delivery?
If not, tell them that if they don't answer you back, you'll write honest reviews about them all over the place, like their Facebook page.

I don't like telling people to threat small businesses but 8 weeks late with no replies, that's just not professional.

Verbal contract or Paper Contract? Kindly tell them you are going to small claims court to get your money back if you don't hear from them. Get their balls moving instead of taking more projects.

We do have a paper contract. We owed them the final balance on the day of the wedding, so yes paid in full. For the twelve weeks I'll double check the contract but when we sat down that's the timeline she told us verbally (hopefully it's backed up in the contract).

We really don't want to get on their bad side as we just want the photographs....

FreeSpinnz wrote: ↑

Oct 31st, 2017 2:23 pm

We do have a paper contract. We owed them the final balance on the day of the wedding, so yes paid in full. For the twelve weeks I'll double check the contract but when we sat down that's the timeline she told us verbally (hopefully it's backed up in the contract).

We really don't want to get on their bad side as we just want the photographs....

That what happens when you hire amateurs. Your story is not unique. There was another photographer here on RFD who was doing the same... Drive to them to check what's up ---> send a few warning emails then I really suggest going to small claims court. They are acting extremely unprofessional and broke the contract. You deserve compensation at the very least. You should also leave a negative review regardless. This will help any potential clients these "photographers" are scamming. A friend of mine in NYC went through the same thing,but was able to recover the images and got $5000 compensation through the court. Their excuse was - "they did not pay us enough and we were busy with life and work and had not time to respond for 3 months since we have 9-5 job".
Again, this behavior is not professional at all and these businesses(regardless of their nature) should not be in business


Also, please post the name of this studio here. It will do a lot of good for potential brides who may be looking into hiring them

Post on the studio's Facebook asking nicely for your photos (do not criticize, ask nicely and compliment them). If the photographer does not reply and / or deletes your post, you know you have a scammer on your hand and need to start pursing action. Point out clearly from the contract that they are now in violation, give them a few days, and pursue in small claims court.

If that happens post their studio name, both on the title and here. I hate when photographers act unprofessionally. There was one who did this here a few years ago, very reputable at the time, and his love relationship went sour and decided to take it out on his clients.

Thanks everyone I will try reaching out via social media. Unfortunately in the contract it doesn't have a timeline of when they will deliver the photos... Something that my wife and I missed. The 12 week commitment was verbal when we all sat down to finalize our wedding.

As a last resort, I would ask the photographer for the files.

I got my wedding photos 1 week after, we had two shooters and 12 hours of coverage. Your guy is an amateur.

Oni-kun wrote: ↑

Nov 1st, 2017 4:02 pm

I got my wedding photos 1 week after, we had two shooters and 12 hours of coverage. Your guy is an amateur.

There is no way for me to deliver 1 week later to be honest, I usually take about 2 months

aerok wrote: ↑

Nov 1st, 2017 4:14 pm

There is no way for me to deliver 1 week later to be honest, I usually take about 2 months

Yeah I dunno how my guy does it but it came quick and we were happy with it. A few friends used him too and got theirs quickly.

If it's not in the contract, that is a miss on your side and the photographer as well (very sketch). However, this is also unprofessional on their end to have a verbal agreement and then not even come close to that date.

That's a Bummer. There's light at the end of the tunnel thought! Most weddings are wrapped up by now (too cold). Your photographer is probably putting the final touches to your wedding and you should get them very soon.

Honestly, turnaround varies from photographer to photographer. There isn't really an industry standard. It's possible to get your pictures in 1 month - you never know how much time a photographer spends within that time. They can be hard working and spend 5-10 hours a week. But 5 months is a long time. Did a freelancer shoot your wedding or studio?

The next thing you should try is this - tell them you're ready to pay them the final balance in person. Hopefully, they are willing to meet in person and you can get all the answers you want from them.

zero_2003 wrote: ↑

Nov 2nd, 2017 12:09 pm

That's a Bummer. There's light at the end of the tunnel thought! Most weddings are wrapped up by now (too cold). Your photographer is probably putting the final touches to your wedding and you should get them very soon...

You'd hope, or they're deep into Xmas minis, have a bunch of fall projects to edit.

I can honestly edit a whole wedding in 2-3 straight days but I won't for the sake of quality. The timeline suggests OP's wedding was in May, c'mon, deliver already!

I hope you get your pictures OP!

As long as it is not my biggest fear when I take pictures with a camera with single SD slot...