Wedding Photographer Scam / Options?

I see nothing wrong with a face to face meeting (if she had an office I would have done it there over her home, but if she meet with you in her home before its fair game). It makes it very hard for someone to ignore you when you are standing on their door step. I have had to do it a few times to collect payment on jobs I have done (non photography related).

nicksan wrote in post #14445280
I personally would not have done that.

Great. Thats a great personal insight.

nicksan wrote in post #14445280
Have an attorney send them a letter demanding them to deliver or else. That would have been my first step.

Really? An Attorney? Some people (myself included) either don't have an attorney on standby, or even have one on retainer.

What's wrong with trying to solve your disputes outside of court? Why do the 'nuclear' option before exhausting other avenues?

nicksan wrote in post #14445280
I would have never have gone to her personal residence unannounced. No way. There are certain boundaries I would not cross, no matter how crappy the situation becomes.

What boundries? It's not like he broke into her home, and burglerized the joint looking for the CD.

If the photographer completely blew off all efforts to fufill the contract I have ZERO reservations about going to her home. None. In fact I applaud the OP for having the balls to do it himself.

Now if the pictures are crap, or she doesn't deliver the goods he can still persue legal options.

subscribing -- who has the popcorn?

I'm subscribing as well - just hope the OP didn't get a CD full of crap.

CMfromIL wrote in post #14446336
What's wrong with trying to solve your disputes outside of court? Why do the 'nuclear' option before exhausting other avenues?

Having a lawyer draft a letter is outside of court. And it's a lot safer than banging on the door of someone who's been avoiding you for months.

moose10101 wrote in post #14446767
Having a lawyer draft a letter is outside of court. And it's a lot safer than banging on the door of someone who's been avoiding you for months.

It is also a lot more expensive, I asked my lawyer to write up a letter for me ona 5k debt I was owed on a previous job, letter alone was going to be $300 (the lawyer and I were and have been on great terms to, not just some guy out of the phone book)

Ok, she sent our photos. Are they worth $1500.00? Maybe, for her and her assistants time. Probably.
She definitely was lazy with the pp. I mean, I guess I'm a "photographer" because I can change a color photo to B/W and sepia lol.

Regardless, we finally have our wedding photos. Only took 8 months lol.

As for the "should I have visited her house or not" debate.....
She refused to honor her contract and provide us with our photos. We sent numerous emails and made numerous phone calls, she never responded to anything. She blocked us from her facebook page and made a completely new page.
We show up at her house.....2 days later, we have our wedding photos.

Do nothing = get nothing.
Surprise visit = wedding photos.

Her thought process probably went from, "they keep saying lawyer, but no lawyer has contacted me" to "damn, those people are f'n crazy, let's get them their photos"

"You can get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than a kind word alone" - Al Capone. Chicago.

Very glad you got your photos, and yes it takes a surprise visit sometimes to shake things up, and your trip cost a lot less then a lawyer I am sure.

So did you get them RAW, or jpeg? At least you got something. And good job on a personal visit. Appears to have worked in your favor.

Six6Sicks wrote in post #14446812
Ok, she sent our photos. Are they worth $1500.00? Maybe, for her and her assistants time. Probably.
She definitely was lazy with the pp. I mean, I guess I'm a "photographer" because I can change a color photo to B/W and sepia lol.

Regardless, we finally have our wedding photos. Only took 8 months lol.

As for the "should I have visited her house or not" debate.....
She refused to honor her contract and provide us with our photos. We sent numerous emails and made numerous phone calls, she never responded to anything. She blocked us from her facebook page and made a completely new page.
We show up at her house.....2 days later, we have our wedding photos.

Do nothing = get nothing.
Surprise visit = wedding photos.

Her thought process probably went from, "they keep saying lawyer, but no lawyer has contacted me" to "damn, those people are f'n crazy, let's get them their photos"

"You can get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than a kind word alone" - Al Capone. Chicago.

Some people are born soft. Others have rough edges. I am a rough edge kind of guy... I would have visited her a lot sooner rather than waiting for 8 months. If I were you, I would tell her friends as well as others you know who have done business with her about your experience.

What in the right mind this wedding photog would do such a thing to potentially ruin one's business...that's beyond me. Maybe she is experiencing some sort of mid life crisis or other personal issues.

Wow... This is insane. The longest time it took Me to get photos to my clients is 3 months. I usually have everything ready within one- two months.

CMfromIL wrote in post #14446851
So did you get them RAW, or jpeg? At least you got something. And good job on a personal visit. Appears to have worked in your favor.

It should. I don't see why not...I mean, would the photog file a complaint against her client, the OP, about trespassing and harassment???

CMfromIL wrote in post #14446851
So did you get them RAW, or jpeg? At least you got something. And good job on a personal visit. Appears to have worked in your favor.

I asked for the RAW's but they are all jpeg's. It's fine though. I'm just happy we got them.

Six6Sicks wrote in post #14447008
I asked for the RAW's but they are all jpeg's. It's fine though. I'm just happy we got them.

She may not have even used RAW, and only shot in JPEG Just never know. Again glad you got your pictures and that you are looking at the upside of things.

Six6Sicks wrote in post #14446812
She definitely was lazy with the pp. I mean, I guess I'm a "photographer" because I can change a color photo to B/W and sepia lol.

If I do a turn and burn, I edit for color and density. Order an album or prints, I do photoshop. It's not a matter of being lazy but you get what you pay for. Pay for more time and I will gladly edit. I spell it all out in my contract.


Glad you got your images..Now have at it with selective color and Photoshop *L*