So, ever get NO feedback on your wedding photos?

I shot my first paid wedding back in September. This came about after talking with the mother of the groom. My second shooter and I are pretty experienced photographers but had never shot a wedding before. We spent huge amounts of time preparing, and we were very pleased with the results (and both of us are highly critical of our own and each others' work).

It took me about 3 weeks to pull everything together after the wedding. I delivered an online gallery plus a DVD set to the bride and groom. There were 2 DVDs of images and a slideshow DVD set to music that I prepared. All were printed with an image of the bride and groom on the DVDs and, I think, looked very professional.

I showed the pictures and slideshow to some close friends and asked for critique, and all said the same thing, that they were great and the wedding couple got much more than they paid for. Basically, what they paid me for this first wedding didn't even cover our expenses, but we were OK with that.

The bride and groom returned from their honeymoon one week after the wedding, and I got an email asking how it was going with the pictures and when they'd see them, saying they were very anxious to see them. With another full-time job and as a soccer coach too, I was using any available free time to finish the pictures and deliver them.

At almost 3 weeks, I emailed a pointer to the online gallery with instructions on how to navigate around. I sent it to the groom and said he could feel free to forward it to his friends and family. I told him the DVDs would be in the mail in a couple of days and asked that he let me know when he got them. He emailed me when he received them and thanked me for "all our hard work."

Weeks went by, and when I checked gallery statistics on the online gallery, I saw more than 14,000 hits on photos in that gallery. However, not a single comment on any photo in the gallery and not a single comment from the bride and groom. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and sent the groom a quick email, saying we'd appreciate any feedback at all so we can continue to improve and grow as wedding photographers....No response. I emailed the groom's mother, my initial contact, and told her that I wasn't trying to get her son in trouble but was really wondering if they were disappointed by the photos, since I hadn't heard anything. She wrote back immediately and said, "No! Everyone was thrilled with the photos! I'm sure he'll be sending you an email soon!" That was a couple of weeks ago, and still nothing!

How odd is this? Or is this pretty typical once the bride and groom get what they want? This is a very young couple. In fact, I have two kids older than bride and groom, and I know that emailing them is like sending email into a black hole. I don't want to be obnoxious and press them for feedback, but is there anything else I should do? I'm pretty perplexed by this!

it varies...
I have couples that email me minutes after reviewing their photos, and other couples that take quite a while... I used to worry about it, now I don't - I follow the delivery tracking (when shipped) and once delivered, I stop worrying.

Just walk away.

Definitely don't push them.

Take their silence as positive feedback, because you know as well as anyone else on here that if they DID NOT like anything at all, you'd be the first to know.

Some people just have no manners or simply don't think about it.

Theyre on their honeymoon period still and maybe even busy.

Who knows?

Your job is done.

Hopefully you do hear from them but if not just move on.

Dont worry about it man. It is always like that. There is time you think you did awesome, clients are not as thrilled. There will be time when you think you didn't deliver your A game, the clients love it. Dont think about stuff like that.

It's not unusual. Some people don't think to thank you. You just did what they paid you to do.

Did you forget to lock down the gallery so now they and all their guests have downloaded everything they want?

Not unusual....I even had a couple not ever return my calls when I tried to set up delivery of their pictures (his parents set up the photography and paid for it). It was a last minute gig and in the rush I had forgotten to get an address to send the disc to.

I wouldn't worry about it. From what you described, you've done a professional job. While I understand you might want feedback that you can use for marketing purposes and also to improve, but I wouldn't really push this too hard. Some people just aren't incline to give any feedback. Just the way it is...

the old saying no news is good news.. After spending my whole life dealing with customer service you realize that some people no matter how thrilled with the service won't thank or congratulate you for it, they figure you provided a paid service and they were just happy with... However had they been dissatisfied you would know about it.

tim wrote in post #13338644
It's not unusual. Some people don't think to thank you. You just did what they paid you to do.

+1 the thanks is in the payment. I never call the guarage after they have serviced my car, I never call the restraint after a good meal. You did your jub, they payed, Nuff said!

also keep in mind... if they were really happy with the images, they're too busy posting them to FB or showing them off to friends and relatives, etc...

I think you'd be hearing something if they were unhappy with anything, so I would take no news to be good news, especially since you've heard they were happy already. It makes you appreciate the clients you have that really value what you do when you have them.

nicksan wrote in post #13338763
While I understand you might want feedback that you can use for marketing purposes and also to improve, but I wouldn't really push this too hard.

I really agree with this, it sounds like you're not confident in the job you did. From a customer's perspective, if I hired a photographer and they were bugging me for feedback on the job I paid them for, I would think it is odd.

As said before, if they were unhappy they would likely let you know.

I always get a lot of gushing from the couple when we're together. But nearly never a comment posted by anyone in the on-line gallery and only an occasional comment on my FB page. That's just the way it is. Doesn't mean they don't like the work.

You really need to make the time to sit with them to go over the images in person. It's a very important sales opportunity.

Well if you really are looking for feedback you could include a pre-stamped feedback card/mailer thing with their CD asking a few questions or something. They might take the time to do that, who knows.