My question involves criminal law for the state of:
I hired a photographer to photograph my jewelry that was supposed to be used for my website. We had originally agreed to $500 for 100 pieces but the day before I emailed him and said it will only be 35 pieces to which he marked up the price to $300. When he emailed me a couple of photos for review, they were really bad so I asked him to fix them because I couldn't use them. He refused to do so and said he won't return my jewelry until I pay him. I called the police to file a report. They classified it as petit larceny and advised that I should take him to small claims court. The total value of my jewelry was reported as $800 (cost only) but it's 3x more for retail.
I'm going to take legal actions but would like some advise. What are my chances of going against this guy? He claims I took up his time and should pay for the photos.
There was no legal contract made between us except emails going back and forth. I also live in NY.

