Kids portraits- not happy

[Bethsmummy 10]

I had the kids photographed by a national portrait company a couple of weeks ago and boy do I regret it.

When I agreed to the sitting I made it more than clear that I only had £150 to spend-not a penny more & was assured this was do-able.

 

Arriving for the shoot it quickly became apparent the "photographer" was very inexperienced. He didn't seem to be able to place the kids well, newborn baby was either scrunched up or head tilted too far back. He didn't have patience while the kids changed outfits & props. He didn't have any sort of flare for posing the kids. Was more interested in changing backgrounds & backlights than focusing on the subjects. Indeed in many pictures the edges of scenery/backdrops were visible because the kids were I'll placed & the pictures had to be cropped to hide this.

 

The whole thing felt rushed & I felt completely uncomfortable. I was asked to go away for half an hour while photos were tweaked & really rubbish ones binned.

 

The only ones I'd specifically asked for were feet shots of the newborn & he'd taken these so close to the edge of the backdrop that none were salvageable and all were deleted.

 

Upon my return I was told he'd picked a nice package for me & the proper price should be £700 but with their massive discounts I could have for £350??

 

Upon questioning this I was told I was paying for 2 canvases (of which I hadn't picked the pose on the canvas-he had) and 12 other poses on 12x14 prints. How on earth did he think I would display 12 12x14 individual pictures I'll never know.

 

Anyhow I was given the real hard sell & somehow by taking the canvases out managed to hammer the price down to £185

The lengthy discussion over price seemed to distract my attention away from the fact that a vast majority of the photos were very poor quality. Big gaps between kids, older girls hair hanging in newborns face, baby's face tilted away from camera.

 

Feel totally ripped off. Cant believe they managed to get the money out of me, I must've not had my head on right that day.

 

Do I have a leg to stand on to ask for my money back? I simply cannot believe I fell for it. The shoot was so rushed & unprofessional, picking the photos & sizes was rushed & unprofessional but when it came to money talk he had all the time in the world.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Bethsmummy

[Leather man 10]

A reasonable quality digital camera would let you take all the shots in the world for free. Then when you get some on the camera you want printing out theres loads of really good independent printers in Sheffield and you wouldnt pay the rip off prices for stuff you dont want like you just have done.

[aliceBB 10]

Send a letter (not an email) explaining your complaint (you could more or less copy what you have posted above) and send it to the proprietor,manager/most authoritative person in the firm/business, even if it is one of the people you dealt with at the time. Say that you were really looking forward to having a professional set of photos of your children but that you are extremely dissatisfied with the photo shoot for a number of reasons. Stress how disappointed you were with the way the photographer composed the shots, his lack of experience with children, the way they had to be so drastically cropped, and that you were misled as to price, number and type of photos, etc.

 

Explain that you felt under pressure to agree to the purchase at the time but on reflection the photos are not what you were led to expect. Ask them either to refund your money in full (you will of course return the photographs - in fact, you could parcel them up and return them anyway when you deliver the letter; this might strengthen your case a bit).

 

Not sure how you stand legally, but if they care about their reputation they will not want you to be telling everyone locally how rubbish they are.

[LeMaquis 10]

He didn't have any sort of flare for posing the kids.

 

I should hope so.

[tallanddopey 10]

I should hope so.

 

why? im sure the OP was suggesting that a photographer offering child photography would at least know the best ways to have a child sit to get the best results or maybe a few techniques to make the kids smile. Not sure what you were thinking.

 

I would have walked out as soon as they didn't include you in the selection process. we've had a few portraits done and my girlfriends family seems obsessed with them. you always wait a few minutes for them to touch the pictures up and select the best ones then the final decision is yours. It doesnt sound like you went through this process at all. Because if you didn't like the pictures at all I'm sure at the point you could refuse to pay for any pictures if they were rubbish.

[LeMaquis 10]

why?

 

Look up the difference between the words flare and flair and then ask yourself which one the OP should have used.

[turtles 10]

Look up the difference between the words flare and flair and then ask yourself which one the OP should have used.

 

It's incredible how pedantic and pathetic some people are. Are you this dull in real life?

[Boothybabe 10]

It's incredible how pedantic and pathetic some people are. Are you this dull in real life?

 

Ooops its Mr Serious.

[discodown 11]

Send a letter (not an email) explaining your complaint (you could more or less copy what you have posted above) and send it to the proprietor,manager/most authoritative person in the firm/business, even if it is one of the people you dealt with at the time. Say that you were really looking forward to having a professional set of photos of your children but that you are extremely dissatisfied with the photo shoot for a number of reasons. Stress how disappointed you were with the way the photographer composed the shots, his lack of experience with children, the way they had to be so drastically cropped, and that you were misled as to price, number and type of photos, etc.

 

Explain that you felt under pressure to agree to the purchase at the time but on reflection the photos are not what you were led to expect. Ask them either to refund your money in full (you will of course return the photographs - in fact, you could parcel them up and return them anyway when you deliver the letter; this might strengthen your case a bit).

 

Not sure how you stand legally, but if they care about their reputation they will not want you to be telling everyone locally how rubbish they are.

In principle nice. In reality they paid the money and walked away with the product so they don't have to return the money. They might but probably won't

[steve68 66]

It's incredible how pedantic and pathetic some people are. Are you this dull in real life?

 

Sounds like they're just injecting some humour, into the tread.

 

To the o/p sounds like a very expensive lesson, makes me think whatever happened to simple pricing structures and price lists it so common today. I was always taught if something doesn't have a price on it don't buy it.

 

And If it's too good to be true, then it ain't worth the risk.

 

---------- Post added 09-04-2014 at 11:36 ----------

 

In principle nice. In reality they paid the money and walked away with the product so they don't have to return the money. They might but probably won't

 

Also the photographer might say the the o/p could have taken the photos and had them scanned now wants the money.

 

So little chance of refunding there I'd guess.

[LeMaquis 10]

It's incredible how pedantic and pathetic some people are. Are you this dull in real life?

 

I bet you're a laugh a fortnight. I was just pointing out the difference between using a flare and having flair to do something. The irony clearly bypassed you.

[Maz3 10]

I've heard of a similar story with wedding photography. The photographer clearly didn't have a clue, the photos were terrible and cost a fortune, and obviously they couldn't just restage the whole event ... It's taking advantage of people's emotions (kids, weddings), knowing they are unlikely to refuse the photos.