Suing a Wedding Photographer

**baffledbride** · 07-06-2009, 05:09 PM

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: washington

my wedding was 6/26/08. I was not pleased with the pictures that were taken. they said they would photo shop out my tatoo on my arm when we were taking pictures, and they did not. they asked me for a " must have" picture list which i provided, and they did not take ANY of them. I was very specific in stating that i want several pictures of me and my father, portrait as well as candid, because he does not have much longer with us and there was very few. overall i was not pleased with the pictures, and they told me that perhaps it was becuase i have some extra pounds and i do not like myself the way i look in the pictures. I have had to pay PICtage. com to get prints at $7.00 per 4x6 so i had something for my thsnk you cards. and i preserved my boquet which has been waiting unsealed for 1 year waiting for the pictures to put in with it, which has compromised it this costed me 450.00

can i sue, and for what

jk · 07-06-2009, 05:44 PM

well, are the pics you were shown proofs or final prints? If proofs, it would not be unusual to have things such as the tattoo still showing. It takes time and effort to photoshop pics so if you were not going to purchase that specific pic, it would be a waste of time for the photog to photoshop the pics.

you generally have a few options:

1. ask for a full refund but realize you will get no pictures with this option

2. simply pay the money and get the best you can of what is there

3. negotiate a discount because of the lack of requested pics and whatever else not to your liking.

4. pay the asking price but ask for some sort of compensation such as you and your dad (if he is still around) in a portrait or other similar such things.

As you have mentioned, 1 year is way too long for this to be finished as well but not a lot you can do other than what I mentioned above.

**KeyWestDan** · 07-06-2009, 06:55 PM

The previous poster gave some good advice.

I suggest that you also check the law in your state and consumer regulations as they might contain something about wedding photographers.

I remember reading in Wisconsin about some wedding photographer that ripped off a bunch of people and the state passed laws to prevent similar things from happening.

**baffledbride** · 07-07-2009, 05:40 PM

the pictures that i saw were on pictage website. i do not know of they are proofs. with my contract o get the CD pf all pictures taken, and 200 proofs of my choosing. my pictures were available for viewing after about 3 months which i was told was the time where thay were making the edits and such, so this is the final product. when i expressed my disappointment in a few things, they were offensive. and said sometimes a bride does not like her pictures if she is not happy with herself. when i asked about the tatoo, they said that since a person gets a tatoo that is something they want on their body forever, and it is not up to them to photo shop it out, but when we took a portrait i asked to turn to the opposite side so not to show it. that is when they offered to photoshop it out, and said not to worry. when i asked about why there was not many pics of Dad, he said " well ERIN!, you and him were only dancing for what... like 30 seconds??" and his tone was less than professional.

when i expressed all of my issues, he offered to photo shop some pics of my choosing, and asked me to send him a list. which i did not long after. since then, they will not respond to any emails.

all fees are paid, as well as 150.00 that was for a future session for after the wedding called a "trash the dress" session,which we have never done. I told him that i just want waht i was told i would get. just make the edits as agreed, and they can keep the 150.00 and i would not ask for that back. still they have not answered. but now i am having to pay 7.00 per print to get my pics, and waiting on them has compromised my boquet preservation and i will have to buy new flowers, and pay for re doing that.

I have been patient, but how far should i let them go. i feel like they were great until i signed the contract, then it was a different ball game

thanks for your advice

jk · 07-07-2009, 05:59 PM

well, since you cannot get a response as an individual, not much you can do other than forget it (I'm betting that is not a choice you want or will take) or sue the guy.

I am not familiar with pictage. Was your contract with them or is it with the individual photog? If it is the individual, you might try contacting pictage and talking to them about one of their referred photogs. That may get a reaction.

**baffledbride** · 07-14-2009, 05:25 PM

Pictage is a website (pictage.com) commonly used by photographers to post and display photo sessions so that the people who were photo'd can veiw and choose their pics without using studio time. it is also used for those poeple to share the pics with family by giving them the photo ID # and a login password. the website is not involved. I just want what i paid for, and what was promised me as far as edits. but i do not know what to. they will not answer my e mails, and i dont want to call because they said i didnt like my pics because i didnt like myself, and i do not want to subject myself to that type comments. maybe i need to have a lawyer contact them, but what type of lawyer do i need? is that the route that i should take. And how much is that going to cost me. I dont want to have to pay MORE for thoese pictures that are already mine. HELP!!

jk · 07-14-2009, 05:53 PM

well, that is a tough call. For the amount of money, you could spend as much on a lawyer as you did on pics if anything more than a conference and a letter is needed. Depending where you are, lawyers start around $150 an hour or so and go as high as you want to spend.

where is your husband in all of this? I understand you not wanting to see this guy but realistically, that is going to have to happen eventually but maybe if hubby was with you, or even just by himself, maybe the photog would take things a bit more seriously. Not that a woman isn't capable but there are guys that will tend to run over most women and since you already do not want to deal with this guy, maybe it's time for hubby to step in and speak up.