Photographer/Photography Help
This is from a reply I gave to another post looking for info about my photographer, B-rett M-atthews. But I thought it could be generally useful for anyone who is looking for a photographer or even if you've already booked:
They photographed our wedding in May and we just received our proofs this week. While we were really happy with the pictures themselves (despite a few key moments that were absent: no picture of my Dad hugging my husband when he gave me away, only one picture of my husband as I walked down the aisle, and no close-ups of our faces as we said our vows, to name a few) I am taking issue with the format in which we received our proofs. It didn't occur to me when we booked them, because it seemed like a given, that you only get physical proofs and they do not give you your pictures in digital format. I.e., there is no way for us to share these photos with any of our friends and family, unless they come to our house to look at them or at our album when we eventually get it. This is impossible since everyone lives all over the world. They won't work with me on this and they claim that they will never release them digitally in order to preserve the quality of the photos. They do offer to put your favorite 25 photos on their website for free. Any additional photos will cost you $1.00 to post on the site. Since we received almost 1,000 proofs ... you can do the math. Also, if anyone (including us) wants to order prints for themselves, the prices are prohibitively expensive. For example, a 4x6 photo is $10. Had I know all of this from the beginning, I would not have used them. We will now end up with just our album and the few enlargements that were included in our contract. It is way too expensive to order our parents albums for themselves or for us or anyone else to order additional prints. Even to do a photo enlargement for gifts for grandparents, etc. will be out of control expensive.
Just thought you'd want to know as you make your decision. You should always ask what format you will be given the pictures for any photographer. I didn't think to do this and I now regret it. Also, ask for their full price list up front. Some photographers might be more expensive than BM, but they may post your photos on a site like Pictage where everyone can view them and order prints themselves (for less than $1 per print, I believe) or even let you upload the photos to a personal photo site like Kodak Gallery. You may pay more on the front end but you'll be happy you did because then you'll at least be able to share the moments with your loved ones and order additional prints as you need them.
Sorry for the rant but this really irritated me. I was initially very impressed by BM and fell in love with their work immediately but, after this whole thing, I would not recommend them.
They photographed our wedding in May and we just received our proofs this week. While we were really happy with the pictures themselves (despite a few key moments that were absent: no picture of my Dad hugging my husband when he gave me away, only one picture of my husband as I walked down the aisle, and no close-ups of our faces as we said our vows, to name a few) I am taking issue with the format in which we received our proofs. It didn't occur to me when we booked them, because it seemed like a given, that you only get physical proofs and they do not give you your pictures in digital format. I.e., there is no way for us to share these photos with any of our friends and family, unless they come to our house to look at them or at our album when we eventually get it. This is impossible since everyone lives all over the world. They won't work with me on this and they claim that they will never release them digitally in order to preserve the quality of the photos. They do offer to put your favorite 25 photos on their website for free. Any additional photos will cost you $1.00 to post on the site. Since we received almost 1,000 proofs ... you can do the math. Also, if anyone (including us) wants to order prints for themselves, the prices are prohibitively expensive. For example, a 4x6 photo is $10. Had I know all of this from the beginning, I would not have used them. We will now end up with just our album and the few enlargements that were included in our contract. It is way too expensive to order our parents albums for themselves or for us or anyone else to order additional prints. Even to do a photo enlargement for gifts for grandparents, etc. will be out of control expensive.
Just thought you'd want to know as you make your decision. You should always ask what format you will be given the pictures for any photographer. I didn't think to do this and I now regret it. Also, ask for their full price list up front. Some photographers might be more expensive than BM, but they may post your photos on a site like Pictage where everyone can view them and order prints themselves (for less than $1 per print, I believe) or even let you upload the photos to a personal photo site like Kodak Gallery. You may pay more on the front end but you'll be happy you did because then you'll at least be able to share the moments with your loved ones and order additional prints as you need them.
Sorry for the rant but this really irritated me. I was initially very impressed by BM and fell in love with their work immediately but, after this whole thing, I would not recommend them.
