Sensational Images Studios & Entertainment

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
First, let me begin by saying I find Mr***’ lengthy response to my complaint very interestingI reject his response, and offer the following, also lengthy, rebuttalI have reviewed my notes, phone records, voicemails and emails after reading his comments and feel prepared to offer rebuttal on the topics relevant to this situation.
I will agree with those parts of Mr***’ response which are true: the day of my wedding was a disaster, and chaos ensued at every turnThat being said, to dignify his opinion that this disaster was in some way due to poor planning on my part, with a detailed response is a waste of time, and irrelevant to the topic of his photographyI can only say that I have no control over the freezing rain/sleet/snow of that day, other people’s actions, kitchen appliance malfunction, or interstate wrecks as a result of bad weather which delayed the cakeI agree that I chose the lowest package, although not because I’m cheap, as Mr*** seems to imply in his response, but because it was simple, and photos should have adequately covered our eventI acknowledge that I saw a spreadsheet of the packages offered by sensationalimages.com; I downloaded a .pdf file which I obtained from their website regarding package optionsThe difference between enhanced/premier editing vsbasic editing was never fully explained, and I guess I expected that if there was a drastic difference, this would have been disclosed when we were weighing the options during my first phone interview with Mr*** on May 23, On that same day, Mr*** and I discussed his extended mileage policy, and I expected to pay the fee required for extra mileage; he said he would waive the extra fee, as he was going to continue on to Kentucky for Thanksgiving with his mother, and our venue was on the wayAt that time I did explain that the wedding was taking place about miles away from the reception venue, and that travel back and forth may be involvedI asked how comfortable he was with telling people where they needed to be for poses to make it quick and efficient; he assured me he would have no trouble doing thisAfter agreeing to contract Mr*** as our photographer, I was instructed to sign and mail the contract back with the deposit, which I did 6/4/13, and to call back 2-weeks before the wedding to discuss detailsI mailed a check for 50% of the overall package price, instead of the 20% required for deposit with the contract
I called back on 11/09/as instructed and spoke with *** *** because Mr*** was said to be out of town at a weddingI told him I had a few questions, and asked that Mr*** call me back when he was back in the officeMr*** informed me he was Mr***’ business partner, so he could answer the questions I had, and he gave me his email address and said “feel free to contact either of us” for further informationAs a result of that conversation, I honestly believed that Mr*** was Mr***’ business partner; if this employee has misrepresented himself, that’s not my faultIt was an honest mistakeI spoke with Mr*** two days later on 11/to finalize plansDuring this call we discussed the poses for after the wedding and I said I would email a list to ensure he had a copy; they were general family posesI told him that as far as ‘fun’ poses went, I would trust his artistic judgment, as he does this all the timeWe also discussed the location of where the bridal party was getting ready and where the ceremony was to take place; that it may entail backtracking for Mr***We discussed the low lighting, and I asked Mr*** if he used remote external flash units to compensate for inadequate light, as mounted flashes don’t usually yield quality images in these situations; I was assured he had worked in low level lighting before and would adjust to the situationDue to my work schedule at the time, I sent the follemail on 11/reiterating the details I had already provided over the phoneRegarding my “promise” to provide transportation, I clearly stated in this email, as I had in our conversation, “We will probably figure out some carpooling to get there and back, as it’s a good 35-minute drive”; at no point did I make a promise of this occurringWe did have a carpooling plan, which fell through when some family members were unable to attend the wedding due to an emergency at home
In my original complaint I already reviewed my disappointment in the quality of the photos taken during the ceremony, and what I originally received from Mr*** as my package photos, so I will not delve into that again, except to say that I asked about lighting compensation, very specifically, during our original interview, made a suggestion for compensation, and it was not consideredAs a result: grainy photosThe lighting does not however account for the fact that most were taken at a slight angle, none of the original photos of my bridal party showed them at full length coming down the aisle; I received a lot of shots of the backs of headsAs I told Mr***, it was almost like he was afraid to get into the positions required to get good angles for these shots
I agree trying to get photos after the ceremony was chaosSome of my family had to leave immediately who were supposed to be in photographs, the younger flower girl had a meltdown and her parents wanted to leave, the groom’s extended family wouldn’t follow directions, etcI had made a list of shots I wanted at the church, which I emailed to Mr***, and he had available on his phone instead of printing a copy to have on hand; this added to the confusionIn the end, I believe we got most of the shots on that listI’m not aware of what is contained on Mr***’ referenced “standard list of photos”, as he never sent me such a list, and therefore I have no idea if his claim that I “rushed” and told him to disregard them is true or not; I’m inclined to say that if I didn’t know about them, I couldn’t ask for them to be skipped, which would make this a assertionI assume he photographed some of them, however, as I have multiple photos in various poses with the minister which were definitely not on my listThe groom asked Mr*** about the hanging microphones in the sanctuary before we started photos, and requested they not be included in the photos if possibleThere was also a white mat that was placed over a grate in the maroon carpet, which I said I didn’t want in the photos; Mr*** responded both queries with: “those can be edited out”This was the basis of my asking if items could be removed after receiving my photos; not because I wanted advanced editing once I saw my photosMr*** is correct in saying I was impatient to get back to the venue to do outdoor photos, as we were late already and I wanted those more than posed shots in the churchHe did leave before we did, arriving at the reception venue before we didHe stated in his response that I accused him of being late arriving there; I did have a moment of confusion and later that morning clarified that I had reviewed my information and apologized to him for that accusation during our last conversation on 2/26/When we were getting ready to leave the church, I learned that the groom’s brother, who was supposed to drive us to the reception, ended up choosing to ride with his parents and had no way to get us out of there immediatelyAs a result, my husband and I rode in separate vehicles to our reception, and both Mr*** and I were forced to wait for photos until the groom arrived; icy roads made for slower travel, and he was delayedI took that opportunity to use the restroom, which I had mentioned needing to use when we arrived at the ceremony; at that time, to the disbelief of my bridesmaids and honor attendant, I was told by Mr*** “not right now; you don’t have to go until after the ceremony…”; I don’t know if he as trying to add humor to the situation, but he was definitely serious I texted Mr*** to let him know where I was while he waited, and to say that we would meet him at the office of the reception hall when the groom arrivedWhen the groom finally got there, the rain was turning to freezing rain, Mr*** was standing outside on the covered porch of the building, and I asked at least twice if he wanted gloves or an umbrella; he declinedWe took some photos, cut it short because we all agreed it was freezing, and went inside
Inside the reception, the cameras started rolling, and here is where I have the biggest problem with the service I received from Sensational ImagesLike all wedding receptions, we did the usual dances, bouquet toss, garter toss and cake cutting traditionsMr***’ photos from the reception prove that he photographed all the dances, speeches, guests dancing etcWhen I asked where photos of the latter traditions were and he could not locate them, I was told on two separate occasions a version of the “sometimes the digital camera fails to capture”, including the ‘digital era’ spiel, and one conversation where he tried to tell me we must have done those things after his contracted time was up and he’d already leftMy wedding video shows that he photographed the bouquet toss, garter toss and cake cutting; all of those photos were lost in some way by Mr***The video clearly shows that having one photographer was adequate for the or so guests present in a roughly square foot roomThe argument that two photographers would have yielded better results, or that this had been suggested to me more than once, is an exaggeration At the end of our contracted time, Mr*** left the receptionThe weather did not permit the exit we had planned for, so that was fine
My next contact with Mr*** was on 12/3/when I emailed to thank him for comingI was told that they were busy and would get to my photos as soon as possible, and I would be kept “in the loop as to the progress”I emailed him again on 12/at the request of my mother-in-law to see if he would send me photos: one for thank-you cards, and for the family Christmas cardI made it clear that if he didn’t have time, I understood; Mr*** did not have a problem with that at the time, and sent poses that worked for that useI cropped and edited the color myself when I received themTo this date, that thank you card is the only photo from our wedding that any member of my family has seen, much less has in their possession; to say that I gave them away as gifts is a assumptionMr*** also states that during a phone conversation he offered to make proofs available online on their website in a secure folder, and that I declined that offerI very rarely make purchases without viewing, trying on, or test-driving the product first… I would be interested in knowing when this conversation took place, and at what phone number? After reading this, I pulled the call logs for my cell phone, which is my only phone, and have no record of speaking with Mr*** between my wedding and 2/3/when I placed calls to him which all lasted less than minuteI also found nothing when I looked at my mother-in-law’s phone records, which was the only other phone I might have usedI do not remember having a conversation where the offer was made to see my photos, which I had been anxious to see, and I can’t imagine declining that invitationI’m not saying the conversation definitely did not happen, only that I can find no record of it occurring, and no record of communication with Mr*** between December and FebruaryI payment immediately, when I did not receive them by Feb19, I sent an email asking when they were mailed; Mr*** claimed to have mailed them out and said he would mail another disc with tracking, which he didI received those photos, and viewed them on 2/After viewing them, I contacted Mr*** by phone because I was disappointedI then switched to emails because they’re easier to keep track ofI asked him about a pose I was looking for, but couldn’t remember if we’d taken; he said he’d lookI asked about editing out the microphones, to which he responded that that was involved with his advanced editing, even though he’d told the groom when asked after the ceremony that they could be edited outI expressed issue with the posing placement; the groom’s family shots are good enough; the bride’s family shots have gaps between people through which the altar tables are visible, and awkward angles between peopleI told him my mother is scowling in almost all the photos, and surely there were some better ones than the ones he sent The front pew obstructs the bottom of all posed shots, and nearly obstructs the flower girl in the one photo she was part ofWe talked again on 2/for that last time, and he agreed to send me the RAW images if I wanted to go through them and try to find some good shots of my momAt no point during that conversation did he say those photos were “worth over $10,000”; one of my coworkers can attest to that because we had that conversation over speaker phone, and he was able to hear the entire conversationWe discussed that maybe some of the editing was lost when he saved to a .jpg file, and I asked if he could send the photos in .TIFF format instead for lossless compression, to “better reflect the effort [he] put into editing”He emailed on 2/to say he got the flash-drive I’d ordered and sent me the tracking numberOnce I had the RAW images, I could see where the sequence from 783-was missingI asked about it, and was told he “may have used the other camera body” and that it could cause variance in numberingThe time stamps on images and indicate that a period of about hr and minutes is unaccounted for, during which time, the events I mentioned took place, from 7:23pm-8:pmMr*** now insists he was photographing the entire time, and I have him on video doing thatBased on that video evidence, I should have photos documenting those events, and I don’t. I feel my annoyance is justified
Digital cameras contain metadata embedded into every shot taken with that cameraDepending on the manufacturer, more or less data may be availableSwitching cameras will alter the metadata recorded by changing the serial number associated with the camera being usedMr*** claims in his response to have switched cameras during dinner at the reception because moisture was condensing on the lens and sensorIn an email on 4/Mr*** states he “purged all [my] files from [their]network and backup drives to make more space” and mentioned for the first time switching cameras, which he expanded on photos in his response, so I followed up by making an inquiry with a colleague of mine whose specialty is photography, and he said it’s not impossible for the sensor to have problems when exposed to extremely different temperatures, but it’s unlikely, and he’s never seen it happen before in his experienceHe agreed it would alter the numerical sequence of photos should the camera body be switchedThe lens I can totally understand having to change going from cold to heatI then checked the metadata for the images I received from Mr*** and was not surprised to see that one serial number (***) was associated with every single photo taken that night, which indicates that the camera body did not change, as the serial number did not changeThe lens definitely changed; the first photos were shot with a *** lens and then switched to a*** for the remainder of the eveningPerhaps the metadata was wrong, or camera malfunction resulted in my lost photosPerhaps not; we honestly will ever knowAfter the claim that Sensational Images is using photos from our wedding on their website, I went to their website and could find no photos of our day in any of their galleries or albumsI have no way of knowing if they’re using them in their studio or at wedding expos, but I would doubt it, unless they used advanced editing on them for that sole purpose.
I will briefly address the issues Mr*** presented by stating that my “entire wedding day was a disaster from client’s planning standpoint”I agree that it was a disaster; however most of the reason why was completely out of my control, and to imply it was, is unprofessional and irrelevant to my complaint against him and the product he delivered/failed to deliverBetween the freak storm that poured rain all day (despite the forecast being 40%) which changed to sleet and snow over the course of the evening and slowed people down driving, uncooperative members of the wedding party before and after the ceremony, the caterer messing up an order which then made the brother of the bride late because he had to wait until it was ready, the stove being used for food prep malfunctioning, and the cake delivery being delayed by a car wreck, I would agree wholeheartedly that it did not go smoothlyNone of those things were my fault, and nothing except the catering incident could have been prevented by me or attributed to my poor planningI cannot plan or control the weather, other people’s actions, or appliance failureI found the remarks and inferences Mr*** has made about my “refusing to pay for the advanced services [I am] expecting” to be demeaning, spiteful and petulantIf I cared about what people thought of me, I could even say that is directly a slanderous remark, as it defames my character, which is important in my professionI contracted Sensational Images to document my wedding and receptionIn regard to the reception, Mr*** failed in this respect; to say that he fulfilled his obligations is untrue. No amount of editing can fix a truly bad photo…I am trained to look at evidence, and ignore irrelevant or erroneous informationThe evidence I see when I look at my original package photos is graininess caused by lack of lighting compensation, out of focus shots, reflections of Mr*** in glass in two instances and a lack of documentation of those events at my reception which I have mentioned, regardless of the video showing Mr*** was there taking photos of those eventsDeduction leads to the conclusion that they were lost by Mr***, either by personal error or equipment malfunction, which I find unacceptable, and a large part of the basis of this complaint with the Revdex.comData retrieved from the photos also shows me that the serial number embedded in his images is not consistent with changing his camera during the reception, only the lenses, which seemingly contradicts Mr***' explanationThis entire ordeal is a huge disappointment, and I could not in good conscience recommend Mr*** to another bride.
Regards,
*** ***

Response to complaint #***
While the complaint about my studio going beyond our day rapid proof viewing guarantee is accurateThe client, Mrs*** has made several claims that are misleading and has left out important details
In our consultation at the wedding expo, the client was
presented with a complete spread sheet that outlines the differences between each packageShe selected my lowest priced package which comes with only basic editing (i.ecropping and color corrections.) Advanced editing is only offered in my largest packagesOnly after the photos were finished, did she begin to ask for advanced edits like removal of background items and was told again that is not included with the package that she purchased After signing the contract, the client did discuss low lighting conditions and I told her that it can cause problems with the photos and that I “would do everything I could to compensate for poor lighting but that it can cause noise in the photos”
The client states that we discussed travel and we didMy studio also has a mile travel allowance with any wedding packageHer wedding was miles away from my studio and I agreed not to charge any extra for travelWith the wavier of a mileage charge, I was promised by the client that once I drove to the location that transportation would be provided to the church and back to the reception location and that was not honored by the clientBecause the client failed to provide transportation as we had agreed upon both verbally and in an email on Nov23, I had to drive an extra miles in addition to the original miles that I agreed to
Our signed contract clearly states in section “No proofs will be shown to the Client until any remaining balance shall be paid in full” Despite not receiving payment in full, I agreed to the clients email request and gave the client possession of a few imagesAt the client’s request, I rushed some of the family photos that were taken in the church so the client could give them as Christmas giftsThose photos were finished and sent to the client BEFORE final payment was made and there was no complaint about the quality of these photos until months later when those same photos were called “snap shot” quality and poorly posed
It was an oversight on my part that I did not complete the photos within the day timeframeI will honor section of our signed contract that states “Should Sensational Images Photography fail to complete Client’s proofs by the forty sixth day after the wedding, the Client shall receive a $credit on the remaining balance.” I apologize for the extra days I delayed the photos and I will issue a refund in the amount of $to the client in accordance with my studio's refund policy
When I contacted the client to inform her that the photos were finished, she requested that they be sent to herAt that time, I offered during a phone conversation to make proofs available to the client on our website in a secure folder and she declined to view the proofsThe client opted to take possession of the images, having only viewed the “rush” images that I had sent via email on Dec13, and at that time having made no complaints about them Section of our signed contract clearly outlines that “Once Client takes receipt of images, either digital, prints or book, the Client acknowledges satisfaction with Photographer’s and/or Videographer’s services and further waives the right to any refund.”
The client also claims that there were duplicate imagesI sent finished imagesOnly one photo (#60) was duplicated and that was to crop the photo in to a closer shotIn all, she received different finished imagesThat is a total of more than what was promised in her packageOn February 26, the client and I had a phone conversation which she expressed that she was not happy with the photosI agreed to send her all 1,photos that I had taken in RAW format at no additional charge and during that conversation I clearly explained to her that this would be my final action to try and satisfy herI explained to her that she had already received distinct images (more than her package called for) and the cost to purchase the additional images at my standard price of $per image, would normally cost her $10, I even repeated that no further action would be taken on my part once she had all of the images She agreed and sent a flash drive for the images to be loaded ontoI mailed that flash drive, which I had added all 1,images in RAW format and tracked the packageI waited days and when there was no further contact within that month I believed that the client was satisfied with this final action
In response to the missing images, during the meal I switched cameras because the body of the camera that I used for the pre-ceremony, ceremony, and outside post ceremony photos (which were in freezing rain) had moisture condensing on the lens and sensorWhen the client questioned the numerical sequence on the phone, I explained that switching cameras would cause the numbers to be differentI did state the only other “possible” cause for any missing images could be a camera malfunction, which I highly doubt happenedI have had no other issues with either of the cameras that I usedI also reminded the client that she selected our smallest package which provides only single photographer coverage, and to best ensure every possible moment is captured, she should have purchased a package with photographer coverage
The other facts that the client has failed to disclose is that the entire wedding day was a disaster from the client’s planning standpointThe client rushed the entire photography process because the wedding ceremony started over an hour late because they were waiting for her brother to arrive at the churchI was told by the client to disregard my standard list of photos and the list of photos that she had requested so that we could get outdoor photosAs I was leaving the church, I was instructed by the client to “rush” to the reception location to photograph the couple in some outdoor settings before darkI arrived at the reception location and stood outside in the freezing temperatures for over minutes waiting for the client and the groom to arriveAfter waiting minutes and watching the available light slip into darkness, I called the client’s cellphone to ask where they wereThe client informed me that they had stopped at the location where she had been getting ready earlier in the day so that the groom could use the restroomIn a later phone conversation, the client accused me of being late to arrive at the reception, to which I reminded her that I was there more than minutes before they arrived and that she left me standing outside in the cold for over a half hourThe meal was served late because the food was not ready The cake was late arriving at the receptionI photographed the entire event, only stopping for a meal break which is outlined in Section of our signed contractThe other mistake that the client has made, is to assume that one of my employees was a business partner when I am the sole proprietorThe client sent a defamatory email to one of my employees, making not only statements about my business but also slanderous comments about myself in this email
In conclusion, I did not fail to perform my servicesI have more than fulfilled my contractual obligations and have provided the client with not only “basic” edited photos but an additional photos valued at over $10,at no extra chargeIn an email, she said that she plans to eventually sort through them and find some to use, which would indicate to me that she has not even taken the time to review all of the photosI have not misrepresented my skill or editing; every photo in my portfolio was taken by my studio and edited by my studioI am a current member in good standing with the Professional Photographers of America and have been since my studio opened in I adhere to PPA ethical guidelines in all of my business practicesI am also a Revdex.com accredited business and also adhere to the “Revdex.com Code of Business Practices.” I have not had any other complaints of this nature from the hundreds of wedding my studio has photographedI am insulted that the client has falsely accused me of misrepresenting my skills when clearly, she refused to pay for the advanced services she is expectingThe client claims to have received “no decent” images, my response to that would be I am using images from her wedding in my current portfolio online, in my studio and at wedding exposHaving been made aware that I was days past our deadline to have the photos finished, I will issue the $refund as set forth in the contract signed by the client and myselfFurthermore, in accordance with the contract signed by the client, there will be no additional refund as the client has waived the right to any other refund by taking receipt of the images which she fully acknowledges and has used some of the images as gifts for family members

Review: Hired this professional photographer for my wedding in November after meeting him at a wedding expo; very nice portfolio. Interviewed a second time over the phone prior to signing a contract; asked about editing, and travel, etc. Paid for 200 preview package, and was told that these photos would be edited. I advised him about low lighting and was assured he was a professional and knew how to handle that. Did not receive photos until February, which was outside the 45 day window stated in the contract. I paid before I saw the photos, and actually paid more than my balance, because he forgot to include the extra 2 hours he was contracted for the reception. When they arrived, the photos of the ceremony were very grainy, out of focus, and some were duplicates (i.e. #60 & 60a). This was not the editing exhibited in their portfolio & when I asked about that, I was told "enhanced editing is only available in the premier packages"; this was not made clear when I asked about it the first time. The photographer failed to deliver photos of the cake cutting, bouquet toss and garter toss from the reception, and I received 1 photo in our limited preview package with the photographer's reflection in the image. When I asked about the reception events, the answer I received was "its a digital age, and sometimes the camera fails to capture". Overall the quality of the photographs was relative to 'snap-shot'. I have better photos taken with smart-phones by family. I requested the RAW images, hoping to salvage SOMETHING from my wedding day, which were sent via USB flashdrive. Of the 1109 photos, 263 are missing from the middle of the numerical sequence, and, judging by the time stamp and preceding/succeeding photos, would have contained the events which were ' digitally missed'. I contacted the photographer via email, and CC'd his partner requesting a 75% refund for failure to perform due to equipment malfunction, and breaching their "rapid proof viewing guarantee", misrepresentation of skill and editing, as well as emotional damages, as I still have no decent photos to share with family.Desired Settlement: 100% refund of $914.

Business

Response:

Response to complaint #[redacted]

While the complaint about my studio going beyond our 45 day rapid proof viewing guarantee is accurate. The client, Mrs. [redacted] has made several claims that are misleading and has left out important details.

In our consultation at the wedding expo, the client was presented with a complete spread sheet that outlines the differences between each package. She selected my lowest priced package which comes with only basic editing (i.e. cropping and color corrections.) Advanced editing is only offered in my 3 largest packages. Only after the photos were finished, did she begin to ask for advanced edits like removal of background items and was told again that is not included with the package that she purchased. After signing the contract, the client did discuss low lighting conditions and I told her that it can cause problems with the photos and that I “would do everything I could to compensate for poor lighting but that it can cause noise in the photos”.

The client states that we discussed travel and we did. My studio also has a 200 mile travel allowance with any wedding package. Her wedding was 231 miles away from my studio and I agreed not to charge any extra for travel. With the wavier of a mileage charge, I was promised by the client that once I drove to the location that transportation would be provided to the church and back to the reception location and that was not honored by the client. Because the client failed to provide transportation as we had agreed upon both verbally and in an email on Nov. 23, 2013 I had to drive an extra 68.2 miles in addition to the original 231 miles that I agreed to.

Our signed contract clearly states in section 13 “No proofs will be shown to the Client until any remaining balance shall be paid in full” Despite not receiving payment in full, I agreed to the clients email request and gave the client possession of a few images. At the client’s request, I rushed some of the family photos that were taken in the church so the client could give them as Christmas gifts. Those photos were finished and sent to the client BEFORE final payment was made and there was no complaint about the quality of these photos until months later when those same photos were called “snap shot” quality and poorly posed.

It was an oversight on my part that I did not complete the photos within the 45 day timeframe. I will honor section 13 of our signed contract that states “Should Sensational Images Photography fail to complete Client’s proofs by the forty sixth day after the wedding, the Client shall receive a $50 credit on the remaining balance.” I apologize for the extra 22 days I delayed the photos and I will issue a refund in the amount of $50.00 to the client in accordance with my studio's refund policy.

When I contacted the client to inform her that the photos were finished, she requested that they be sent to her. At that time, I offered during a phone conversation to make proofs available to the client on our website in a secure folder and she declined to view the proofs. The client opted to take possession of the images, having only viewed the “rush” images that I had sent via email on Dec. 13, 2013 and at that time having made no complaints about them. Section 12 of our signed contract clearly outlines that “Once Client takes receipt of images, either digital, prints or book, the Client acknowledges satisfaction with Photographer’s and/or Videographer’s services and further waives the right to any refund.”

The client also claims that there were duplicate images. I sent 230 finished images. Only one photo (#60) was duplicated and that was to crop the photo in to a closer shot. In all, she received 229 different finished images. That is a total of 29 more than what was promised in her package. On February 26, 2014 the client and I had a phone conversation which she expressed that she was not happy with the photos. I agreed to send her all 1,109 photos that I had taken in RAW format at no additional charge and during that conversation I clearly explained to her that this would be my final action to try and satisfy her. I explained to her that she had already received 229 distinct images (more than her package called for) and the normal cost to purchase the additional 880 images at my standard price of $12 per image, would normally cost her $10,560. I even repeated that no further action would be taken on my part once she had all of the images. She agreed and sent a flash drive for the images to be loaded onto. I mailed that flash drive, which I had added all 1,109 images in RAW format and tracked the package. I waited 30 days and when there was no further contact within that month I believed that the client was satisfied with this final action.

In response to the missing images, during the meal I switched cameras because the body of the camera that I used for the pre-ceremony, ceremony, and outside post ceremony photos (which were in freezing rain) had moisture condensing on the lens and sensor. When the client questioned the numerical sequence on the phone, I explained that switching cameras would cause the numbers to be different. I did state the only other “possible” cause for any missing images could be a camera malfunction, which I highly doubt happened. I have had no other issues with either of the cameras that I used. I also reminded the client that she selected our smallest package which provides only single photographer coverage, and to best ensure every possible moment is captured, she should have purchased a package with 2 photographer coverage.

The other facts that the client has failed to disclose is that the entire wedding day was a disaster from the client’s planning standpoint. The client rushed the entire photography process because the wedding ceremony started over an hour late because they were waiting for her brother to arrive at the church. I was told by the client to disregard my standard list of photos and the list of photos that she had requested so that we could get outdoor photos. As I was leaving the church, I was instructed by the client to “rush” to the reception location to photograph the couple in some outdoor settings before dark. I arrived at the reception location and stood outside in the freezing temperatures for over 30 minutes waiting for the client and the groom to arrive. After waiting 30 minutes and watching the available light slip into darkness, I called the client’s cellphone to ask where they were. The client informed me that they had stopped at the location where she had been getting ready earlier in the day so that the groom could use the restroom. In a later phone conversation, the client accused me of being late to arrive at the reception, to which I reminded her that I was there more than 30 minutes before they arrived and that she left me standing outside in the cold for over a half hour. The meal was served late because the food was not ready. The cake was late arriving at the reception. I photographed the entire event, only stopping for a meal break which is outlined in Section 16 of our signed contract. The other mistake that the client has made, is to assume that one of my employees was a business partner when I am the sole proprietor. The client sent a defamatory email to one of my employees, making not only false statements about my business but also slanderous comments about myself in this email.

In conclusion, I did not fail to perform my services. I have more than fulfilled my contractual obligations and have provided the client with not only 229 “basic” edited photos but an additional 880 photos valued at over $10,000 at no extra charge. In an email, she said that she plans to eventually sort through them and find some to use, which would indicate to me that she has not even taken the time to review all of the photos. I have not misrepresented my skill or editing; every photo in my portfolio was taken by my studio and edited by my studio. I am a current member in good standing with the Professional Photographers of America and have been since my studio opened in 2012. I adhere to PPA ethical guidelines in all of my business practices. I am also a Revdex.com accredited business and also adhere to the “Revdex.com Code of Business Practices.” I have not had any other complaints of this nature from the hundreds of wedding my studio has photographed. I am insulted that the client has falsely accused me of misrepresenting my skills when clearly, she refused to pay for the advanced services she is expecting. The client claims to have received “no decent” images, my response to that would be I am using images from her wedding in my current portfolio online, in my studio and at wedding expos. Having been made aware that I was 22 days past our deadline to have the photos finished, I will issue the $50.00 refund as set forth in the contract signed by the client and myself. Furthermore, in accordance with the contract signed by the client, there will be no additional refund as the client has waived the right to any other refund by taking receipt of the images which she fully acknowledges and has used some of the images as gifts for family members.

Consumer

Response:

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.

First, let me begin by saying I find Mr. [redacted]’ lengthy response to my complaint very interesting. I reject his response, and offer the following, also lengthy, rebuttal. I have reviewed my notes, phone records, voicemails and emails after reading his comments and feel prepared to offer rebuttal on the topics relevant to this situation.

I will agree with those parts of Mr. [redacted]’ response which are true: the day of my wedding was a disaster, and chaos ensued at every turn. That being said, to dignify his opinion that this disaster was in some way due to poor planning on my part, with a detailed response is a waste of time, and irrelevant to the topic of his photography. I can only say that I have no control over the freezing rain/sleet/snow of that day, other people’s actions, kitchen appliance malfunction, or interstate wrecks as a result of bad weather which delayed the cake. I agree that I chose the lowest package, although not because I’m cheap, as Mr. [redacted] seems to imply in his response, but because it was simple, and 200 photos should have adequately covered our event. I acknowledge that I saw a spreadsheet of the packages offered by sensationalimages.com; I downloaded a .pdf file which I obtained from their website regarding package options. The difference between enhanced/premier editing vs. basic editing was never fully explained, and I guess I expected that if there was a drastic difference, this would have been disclosed when we were weighing the options during my first phone interview with Mr. [redacted] on May 23, 2013. On that same day, Mr. [redacted] and I discussed his extended mileage policy, and I expected to pay the fee required for extra mileage; he said he would waive the extra fee, as he was going to continue on to Kentucky for Thanksgiving with his mother, and our venue was on the way. At that time I did explain that the wedding was taking place about 30 miles away from the reception venue, and that travel back and forth may be involved. I asked how comfortable he was with telling people where they needed to be for poses to make it quick and efficient; he assured me he would have no trouble doing this. After agreeing to contract Mr. [redacted] as our photographer, I was instructed to sign and mail the contract back with the deposit, which I did 6/4/13, and to call back 2-3 weeks before the wedding to discuss details. I mailed a check for 50% of the overall package price, instead of the 20% required for deposit with the contract.

I called back on 11/09/13 as instructed and spoke with [redacted] because Mr. [redacted] was said to be out of town at a wedding. I told him I had a few questions, and asked that Mr. [redacted] call me back when he was back in the office. Mr. [redacted] informed me he was Mr. [redacted]’ business partner, so he could answer the questions I had, and he gave me his email address and said “feel free to contact either of us” for further information. As a result of that conversation, I honestly believed that Mr. [redacted] was Mr. [redacted]’ business partner; if this employee has misrepresented himself, that’s not my fault. It was an honest mistake. I spoke with Mr. [redacted] two days later on 11/11 to finalize plans. During this call we discussed the poses for after the wedding and I said I would email a list to ensure he had a copy; they were general family poses. I told him that as far as ‘fun’ poses went, I would trust his artistic judgment, as he does this all the time. We also discussed the location of where the bridal party was getting ready and where the ceremony was to take place; that it may entail backtracking for Mr. [redacted]. We discussed the low lighting, and I asked Mr. [redacted] if he used remote external flash units to compensate for inadequate light, as mounted flashes don’t usually yield quality images in these situations; I was assured he had worked in low level lighting before and would adjust to the situation. Due to my work schedule at the time, I sent the follow-up email on 11/23 reiterating the details I had already provided over the phone. Regarding my “promise” to provide transportation, I clearly stated in this email, as I had in our conversation, “We will probably figure out some carpooling to get there and back, as it’s a good 35-40 minute drive”; at no point did I make a promise of this occurring. We did have a carpooling plan, which fell through when some family members were unable to attend the wedding due to an emergency at home.

In my original complaint I already reviewed my disappointment in the quality of the photos taken during the ceremony, and what I originally received from Mr. [redacted] as my package photos, so I will not delve into that again, except to say that I asked about lighting compensation, very specifically, during our original interview, made a suggestion for compensation, and it was not considered. As a result: grainy photos. The lighting does not however account for the fact that most were taken at a slight angle, none of the original photos of my bridal party showed them at full length coming down the aisle; I received a lot of shots of the backs of heads. As I told Mr. [redacted], it was almost like he was afraid to get into the positions required to get good angles for these shots.

I agree trying to get photos after the ceremony was chaos. Some of my family had to leave immediately who were supposed to be in photographs, the younger flower girl had a meltdown and her parents wanted to leave, the groom’s extended family wouldn’t follow directions, etc. I had made a list of shots I wanted at the church, which I emailed to Mr. [redacted], and he had available on his phone instead of printing a copy to have on hand; this added to the confusion. In the end, I believe we got most of the shots on that list. I’m not aware of what is contained on Mr. [redacted]’ referenced “standard list of photos”, as he never sent me such a list, and therefore I have no idea if his claim that I “rushed” and told him to disregard them is true or not; I’m inclined to say that if I didn’t know about them, I couldn’t ask for them to be skipped, which would make this a false assertion. I assume he photographed some of them, however, as I have multiple photos in various poses with the minister which were definitely not on my list. The groom asked Mr. [redacted] about the hanging microphones in the sanctuary before we started photos, and requested they not be included in the photos if possible. There was also a white mat that was placed over a grate in the maroon carpet, which I said I didn’t want in the photos; Mr. [redacted] responded both queries with: “those can be edited out”. This was the basis of my asking if items could be removed after receiving my photos; not because I wanted advanced editing once I saw my photos. Mr. [redacted] is correct in saying I was impatient to get back to the venue to do outdoor photos, as we were late already and I wanted those more than posed shots in the church. He did leave before we did, arriving at the reception venue before we did. He stated in his response that I accused him of being late arriving there; I did have a moment of confusion and later that morning clarified that I had reviewed my information and apologized to him for that accusation during our last conversation on 2/26/14. When we were getting ready to leave the church, I learned that the groom’s brother, who was supposed to drive us to the reception, ended up choosing to ride with his parents and had no way to get us out of there immediately. As a result, my husband and I rode in separate vehicles to our reception, and both Mr. [redacted] and I were forced to wait for photos until the groom arrived; icy roads made for slower travel, and he was delayed. I took that opportunity to use the restroom, which I had mentioned needing to use when we arrived at the ceremony; at that time, to the disbelief of my bridesmaids and honor attendant, I was told by Mr. [redacted] “not right now; you don’t have to go until after the ceremony…”; I don’t know if he as trying to add humor to the situation, but he was definitely serious. I texted Mr. [redacted] to let him know where I was while he waited, and to say that we would meet him at the office of the reception hall when the groom arrived. When the groom finally got there, the rain was turning to freezing rain, Mr. [redacted] was standing outside on the covered porch of the building, and I asked at least twice if he wanted gloves or an umbrella; he declined. We took some photos, cut it short because we all agreed it was freezing, and went inside.

Inside the reception, the cameras started rolling, and here is where I have the biggest problem with the service I received from Sensational Images. Like all wedding receptions, we did the usual dances, bouquet toss, garter toss and cake cutting traditions. Mr. [redacted]’ photos from the reception prove that he photographed all the dances, speeches, guests dancing etc. When I asked where photos of the 3 latter traditions were and he could not locate them, I was told on two separate occasions a version of the “sometimes the digital camera fails to capture”, including the ‘digital era’ spiel, and one conversation where he tried to tell me we must have done those things after his contracted time was up and he’d already left. My wedding video shows that he photographed the bouquet toss, garter toss and cake cutting; all of those photos were lost in some way by Mr. [redacted]. The video clearly shows that having one photographer was adequate for the 80 or so guests present in a roughly 1000 square foot room. The argument that two photographers would have yielded better results, or that this had been suggested to me more than once, is an exaggeration. At the end of our contracted time, Mr. [redacted] left the reception. The weather did not permit the exit we had planned for, so that was fine.

My next contact with Mr. [redacted] was on 12/3/13 when I emailed to thank him for coming. I was told that they were busy and would get to my photos as soon as possible, and I would be kept “in the loop as to the progress”. I emailed him again on 12/8 at the request of my mother-in-law to see if he would send me 3 photos: one for thank-you cards, and 2 for the family Christmas card. I made it clear that if he didn’t have time, I understood; Mr. [redacted] did not have a problem with that at the time, and sent 3 poses that worked for that use. I cropped and edited the color myself when I received them. To this date, that thank you card is the only photo from our wedding that any member of my family has seen, much less has in their possession; to say that I gave them away as gifts is a false assumption. Mr. [redacted] also states that during a phone conversation he offered to make proofs available online on their website in a secure folder, and that I declined that offer. I very rarely make purchases without viewing, trying on, or test-driving the product first… I would be interested in knowing when this conversation took place, and at what phone number? After reading this, I pulled the call logs for my cell phone, which is my only phone, and have no record of speaking with Mr. [redacted] between my wedding and 2/3/14 when I placed 3 calls to him which all lasted less than 1 minute. I also found nothing when I looked at my mother-in-law’s phone records, which was the only other phone I might have used. I do not remember having a conversation where the offer was made to see my photos, which I had been anxious to see, and I can’t imagine declining that invitation. I’m not saying the conversation definitely did not happen, only that I can find no record of it occurring, and no record of communication with Mr. [redacted] between December and February. I payment immediately, when I did not receive them by Feb. 19, I sent an email asking when they were mailed; Mr. [redacted] claimed to have mailed them out and said he would mail another disc with tracking, which he did. I received those photos, and viewed them on 2/25. After viewing them, I contacted Mr. [redacted] by phone because I was disappointed. I then switched to emails because they’re easier to keep track of. I asked him about a pose I was looking for, but couldn’t remember if we’d taken; he said he’d look. I asked about editing out the microphones, to which he responded that that was involved with his advanced editing, even though he’d told the groom when asked after the ceremony that they could be edited out. I expressed issue with the posing placement; the groom’s family shots are good enough; the bride’s family shots have gaps between people through which the altar tables are visible, and awkward angles between people. I told him my mother is scowling in almost all the photos, and surely there were some better ones than the ones he sent. The front pew obstructs the bottom of all posed shots, and nearly obstructs the flower girl in the one photo she was part of. We talked again on 2/26 for that last time, and he agreed to send me the RAW images if I wanted to go through them and try to find some good shots of my mom. At no point during that conversation did he say those photos were “worth over $10,000”; one of my coworkers can attest to that because we had that conversation over speaker phone, and he was able to hear the entire conversation. We discussed that maybe some of the editing was lost when he saved to a .jpg file, and I asked if he could send the photos in .TIFF format instead for lossless compression, to “better reflect the effort [he] put into editing”. He emailed on 2/28 to say he got the flash-drive I’d ordered and sent me the tracking number. Once I had the RAW images, I could see where the sequence from 783-1046 was missing. I asked about it, and was told he “may have used the other camera body” and that it could cause variance in numbering. The time stamps on images 782 and 1047 indicate that a period of about 1 hr and 15 minutes is unaccounted for, during which time, the 3 events I mentioned took place, from 7:23pm-8:45 pm. Mr. [redacted] now insists he was photographing the entire time, and I have him on video doing that. Based on that video evidence, I should have photos documenting those events, and I don’t. I feel my annoyance is justified.

Digital cameras contain metadata embedded into every shot taken with that camera. Depending on the manufacturer, more or less data may be available. Switching cameras will alter the metadata recorded by changing the serial number associated with the camera being used. Mr. [redacted] claims in his response to have switched cameras during dinner at the reception because moisture was condensing on the lens and sensor. In an email on 4/6 Mr. [redacted] states he “purged all [my] files from [their]network and backup drives to make more space” and mentioned for the first time switching cameras, which he expanded on photos in his response, so I followed up by making an inquiry with a colleague of mine whose specialty is photography, and he said it’s not impossible for the sensor to have problems when exposed to extremely different temperatures, but it’s unlikely, and he’s never seen it happen before in his experience. He agreed it would alter the numerical sequence of photos should the camera body be switched. The lens I can totally understand having to change going from cold to heat. I then checked the metadata for the images I received from Mr. [redacted] and was not surprised to see that one serial number ([redacted]) was associated with every single photo taken that night, which indicates that the camera body did not change, as the serial number did not change. The lens definitely changed; the first 777 photos were shot with a [redacted] lens and then switched to a[redacted] for the remainder of the evening. Perhaps the metadata was wrong, or camera malfunction resulted in my lost photos. Perhaps not; we honestly will ever know. After the claim that Sensational Images is using photos from our wedding on their website, I went to their website and could find no photos of our day in any of their galleries or albums. I have no way of knowing if they’re using them in their studio or at wedding expos, but I would doubt it, unless they used advanced editing on them for that sole purpose.

I will briefly address the issues Mr. [redacted] presented by stating that my “entire wedding day was a disaster from client’s planning standpoint”. I agree that it was a disaster; however most of the reason why was completely out of my control, and to imply it was, is unprofessional and irrelevant to my complaint against him and the product he delivered/failed to deliver. Between the freak storm that poured rain all day (despite the forecast being 40%) which changed to sleet and snow over the course of the evening and slowed people down driving, uncooperative members of the wedding party before and after the ceremony, the caterer messing up an order which then made the brother of the bride late because he had to wait until it was ready, the stove being used for food prep malfunctioning, and the cake delivery being delayed by a car wreck, I would agree wholeheartedly that it did not go smoothly. None of those things were my fault, and nothing except the catering incident could have been prevented by me or attributed to my poor planning. I cannot plan or control the weather, other people’s actions, or appliance failure. I found the remarks and inferences Mr. [redacted] has made about my “refusing to pay for the advanced services [I am] expecting” to be demeaning, spiteful and petulant. If I cared about what people thought of me, I could even say that is directly a slanderous remark, as it defames my character, which is important in my profession. I contracted Sensational Images to document my wedding and reception. In regard to the reception, Mr. [redacted] failed in this respect; to say that he fulfilled his obligations is untrue. No amount of editing can fix a truly bad photo…I am trained to look at evidence, and ignore irrelevant or erroneous information. The evidence I see when I look at my original package photos is graininess caused by lack of lighting compensation, out of focus shots, reflections of Mr. [redacted] in glass in two instances and a lack of documentation of those events at my reception which I have mentioned, regardless of the video showing Mr. [redacted] was there taking photos of those events. Deduction leads to the conclusion that they were lost by Mr. [redacted], either by personal error or equipment malfunction, which I find unacceptable, and a large part of the basis of this complaint with the Revdex.com. Data retrieved from the photos also shows me that the serial number embedded in his images is not consistent with changing his camera during the reception, only the lenses, which seemingly contradicts Mr. [redacted]' explanation. This entire ordeal is a huge disappointment, and I could not in good conscience recommend Mr. [redacted] to another bride.

Regards,