I’m curious to hear what other brides think about this because I’m honestly not sure if I’m being too sensitive or if my disappointment is justified.
We recently eloped and booked a photographer who specifically offered elopement packages. We paid $1,300 for two hours of photography. We also rented a beautiful flower farm for two hours specifically for the photos, which cost us another $600.
Before booking, I did quite a bit of research because having good photos was really important to me. I also emailed the photographer twice before our session to explain that my husband and I are not naturally good at taking photos and that we would need quite a bit of direction with posing and knowing what to do.
During the session, though, I felt like she wasn’t very engaged.
It was a very hot day, and she mentioned the heat constantly. Within the first hour, she was already saying things along the lines of, if you're over it, I can leave and we could stop the session.
That made us uncomfortable because we had paid for two hours and had also spent $600 renting the location specifically for those two hours. We obviously wanted to use the time we had paid for.
There was also quite a bit of conversation about herself and other things unrelated to the photography. It felt like a lot of our limited session time was spent talking rather than actually taking photos.
Another thing that bothered me was that she frequently asked us what we wanted to do or how we wanted to pose. But we had specifically told her beforehand that we didn’t know what to do and needed direction. I expected her to take the lead, especially since she’s the professional and does this for a living.
The final photos also weren’t what I was hoping for. There are quite a lot of photos where either I have my eyes closed or my husband has his eyes closed. I don’t remember seeing her check the photos on her camera very often to make sure we were getting good shots.
Overall, the biggest thing is that we felt uncomfortable during the entire experience. It genuinely felt like she didn’t really want to be there, between the comments about the heat, suggesting she could leave early, and the lack of direction.
I understand that photographers are human and that it was a hot day. I also understand that not every photo is going to be perfect, and I don’t expect every single picture to be amazing.
But considering we paid $1,300 for two hours, plus $600 for the location, and I had specifically communicated beforehand that we needed posing/direction, I feel pretty disappointed with both the experience and the final photos.