Metroland Photo Inc

July 29, was *** and ***’s wedding dayMyself and my assistant began photographing the bride at the ***, shooting photos of hair, makeup, girls in matching robes, bride getting dressed posed photos indoorImages of bride alone with mother grandmother and daughter, girls in wedding party and various combinations outdoors. From there we went to the grooms room were all the men and the kids were getting dressedWhile capturing images of the groom dressing his children the brides father came in and was having trouble with his tie and the ushers needed help with the studs to their tuxedo shirts and then the brides brother needed help with his tieWe were more than will to help out and I actually took photos of my assistant helping out her fatherWhen I photograph a wedding we shoot a sequence of images sometimes 10-photos of the same subject or group or even more with larger groupsWe do set up groups of posed photos with various combinations of every sequence but also try and capture the day in more candid way. At the beginning of a ceremony we shot the procession, ceremony and recessionalThe bride and groom received only a few images of the groom looking at the bride walking down the isleOnce they received the edited images she said that there weren’t enough of the groom, I told her that we edited outSo I went back to the original download and forward her all the photos that we tookAnother complaint was that the photos of her and her dad walking down were blurryI reviewed the photo in question and tweaked and sharpened it in photo shop and forwarded the file to herAnother of the complaints from the bride and groom is that I did not take any photos of food displays, center pieces, signature drinks or the wedding sign in bookThe venue that the bride and groom selected has one room for the ceremony, cocktail hour and receptionOnce the ceremony is completed the venue needs to flip the room from a ceremony layout and set it up for cocktails and receptionWhile the room was being turned over for cocktails the bride had a 2nd wedding gown where she wanted photos taken on location at the state capital about 2toblocks way from the venueBy the time we returned it was time for the reception to beginIt was brought to my attention after the wedding thru a email that I didn’t take photos of the center pieces on the tables or the signature drinks and the wedding sign in bookI tried to explain but she didn’t want to hear my excusesSo to make things right I contacted the venue on separate occasions, if they could make me the signature drinks and I could stop by and photograph them, the venue was more than willing to help me with thatThen I contacted the florist and asked if she could help me out and make me the arrangements that the bride and groom had a their wedding so I could photograph them, she agreed and the venue agreed to reset an area in the ballroom so I could shoot the arrangementsThose photos were delivered to the bride and groom as wellLastly the bride and groom complained that I didn’t shoot any of the food, so I went through my past weddings at the venue and supplied them with copies of the food displaysThe venue assured me that the food displays always look the same for all the weddings. At the reception we delivered a total of images of the reception, from the beginning of the introductions, first dance, toasts, guests dancing, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss to the sparkler send off at the end of the nightIn the brides complaint she also states that at least half of the photos taken were blurry, that is just not the case. Finally the screen shots will show that my initial download the night after the wedding included 2,files images, the other half are codes for RAW digital filesOn screen shot 2017-9-the total images edited and delivered were photos in jpeg format(upper left corner under folder)This will show you that I did edit the photos as well as converting color images to black and whitesYes, there are photos with peoples eyes closed and for that I told her I was sorryIf the images in question with eyes closed were the only photos delivered to a client, then they would have a legitimate complaint but this not the caseThere are many photos of the same sequence with everyones eyes openI also received the brides list of photos that she selected for their album she included a photo for her book that she call hideous in her last responseThe offer of a $refund in exchange for your album is still on the table. Attached is a PDF of our signed contract and notes from bride the week of the wedding from a phone conversation. *** the black box is where I wrote down her credit card number during a conversation the week of the wedding. Thank you for all your help, Michael G***

I am a full time photographer specializing in wedding’s for the last 35+ years, I am a preferred  vendor at every venue in my area and have received several reviews from past brides on a website called Wedding Wire. I am hopeful that through the email exchange you will see with [redacted]...

and myself  that my response was nothing less than professional, polite. I tried to the best of my ability to correct their concerns, complaints and questions. I have taken several screen shot images and copied PDF’s to help you understand the process and what couples are paying for.  Here is the price sheet indicating on line 3 that all photos will be edited and color corrected, it does not mention cropping or enhanced with vignettes and things of that nature. Editing is deleting photos showing peoples eyes closed, bad expressions, flash misfiring, someone walking in front of me things like that.   Revdex.com,  Here is a sample of my editing, below show my first download with 4691 items, half of those files are codes for shooting RAW files total of 2345 photos were taken and 2178 were delivered showing that the images were edited.The next samples will show screen shots of editing. In her statement she says that only one photo of each bridal party member walking down the isle and they’re all blurry, that is not the case. below are a few images of the bride visiting friends at tables. In her complaint she said I didn’t take any of these.  The last 2 screen shots were taken after their wedding. I contacted the [redacted] and their florist and arranged a time for me to shoot the table shots that were not taken the day off. I went out of my way twice to make things right. Prior to taking the table shots, center pieces, etc. I went to the [redacted] and photographed the signature drinks that I did not capture the day of the wedding.   All of these images and more were forwarded to [redacted] and [redacted]. I also sent them photos that were edited out of [redacted] looking at the bride as she walked down the isle.   On September 26 I received a email with her album selections. On September 27th I acknowledged that I received her photo list and would begin the album design and process.  [redacted] states that at this point,  she doesn’t want to deal with me anymore and that I can’t give her the photos I never took and that I refuse to edit the ones I took. Well I really tried to do the right thing so I contacted the florist and she helped me with the flowers/centerpieces and the venue helped me out to make the drinks to photograph and set up a table the same way it was on the day of the wedding. She now has photos of food displays, photos that I edited out of her husband seeing her walking down the isle and floral center pieces, etc.  It was her choice to pay me in full when we had a phone conversation prior to the wedding. My contract states that there are 2 payments due, half of their balance before the wedding and the last when the flash drive is delivered not on delivery of album. I can also send you my contract agreement if needed.  If [redacted] would like any compensation I would be happy to refund her the cost for her album, that amount is around $500.00 At this point I really don’t believe that she will be happy no matter how wonderful her album looks, she will find some excuse or complaint, I am sure of it. We provide every bride with a PDF of what the album design looks like and offer changes to be made before the book goes into production. This way every bride knows what they are receiving before delivery of their book. If she accepts the $500.00 refund in exchange for a wedding book I would agree to that.I will be emailing [redacted] today and let her know that her album is on hold till this case is closed.  Thank you for your time and understanding, if you need any other documentation please reach out to me. Lastly here is a review from a recent bride

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.  Unfortunately for Michael, the length of how long he's been a photographer or who referred me to him means nothing to me when he only did half of his job. He can claim he "edited" my photos but attached are just some of the many photos that show my raw images were not even touched! Im assuming maybe because he was at the horse races everyday uploading those photos instead of editing mine. I have also uploaded photos from the reception that show how at least half of my photos were blurry.  If my photos were edited, why do I have so many(not even all are uploaded) where eyes are closed? Thats not an overlook, its once again another error made on [redacted] part that he is not willing to admit. It will just lead to another excuse as everything else did.  My problem here is that [redacted] was completely unprofessional with a nasty attitude, even the day of my wedding. Many of my photos were blurry, blurry, blurry,  not a single photo was cropped or "edited", I received no photos of my center pieces and the attempt to recreate them was hideous, I received no photos of my guests and no photos of my wedding rings.I received not a single photo of walking down the isle with my father that wasn't blurry. Claiming photographers don't crop photos also throws me off especially since 3/4 of my photos need to be cropped. His helper was in my individual photos but cropping is my responsibility? Im a little confused as to what I paid him for. Then I had to argue with [redacted] about not receiving photos of my husbands reaction to me walking down the isle, was told he couldn't take photos of a reaction when their never was one, then miraculously I received photos of my husband. The entire process of dealing with such an unprofessional photographer is beyond ridiculous. Then I see he managed to add an attachment of my provocative photos onto this complaint, which once again shows how unprofessional he is. Reading our emails of how he comes at me implying I am complaining because I couldn't afford my wedding and need money back once again shows what kind of person we are dealing with. I would also like to upload more photos for the Revdex.com to see, but it will only let me upload a few.  I am requesting at least half of my money back (being he only did half of his job) and my album to be completed.  Regards,  [redacted]