Can I sue a wedding photographer who did a lousy job?

Hi All! This disappointing event happened many years ago when we

hired a wedding photographer for our wedding. Even though many years

have passed, i still feel we were treated unfairly by the

photographer who claimed to be an experienced wedding photographer,

but in fact he was just an amateur in this business. Our best

friends recommended their wedding photographer to us for our wedding

day. After looking at his porfolios and checking out his price, we

hired him. On our big day He showed up at my wife�s house with his so-

called personal assistant early morning (later, we found out she was

his girl-friend). Instead of getting to work right away, they sat

down with our guests and ate their breakfast (foods for our guests).

Throughout the day his girlfriend just enjoyed talking with other

guests and partaking the meals; no assistance to the photographer

whatsoever. After breakfast, He then couple pictures of the flower

arrangements and some indoor decorations. After that, he and his

girlfriend again joined our guests� conversation before the bride

came down from the second floor. He did not go upstair or asked us

should the bride�s preparation be recorded. He did not take note of

who are the family members. He did not shoot a single picture of

the wedding limousine we had paid big buck for, and the beautiful

flower arrangements my bride loved so much inside the church. AT the

park for outdoor shot, he screwed up a big family picture which was

assumed to be our gift to all of our family members � the picture

turned out blurry because he did not use a tripod. In

most of the outdoor pictures our faces were dark and our poses were

ugly because he did not offer any right posing tips.

 

He promised an unlimited shot but refused to shoot more than 200

pictures as the day went. His excuse is we already had more outdoor

family/relative/friend portraits than he had in mind. It is fine! I

was ok with that. He and his girlfriends were never invited to

partake the evening reception with us; however, they sat down and ate

as our program was proceeding. Every time I needed a picture taken

during the reception, I had to ask our wedding coordinator to remind

him of the program and when was the time he had to take some

pictures. Because of his attitude we missed some memorable pictures

during the reception. The worst is yet to come. My wife, after

looking at the proof which is full of amateur quality pictures, made

a claim that she wanted a refund. The photographer said no and

insisted that without paying the rest of the money, we had no right

to the pictures. After a long thought and struggle, we got the

products we don�t like.. A question ocassionally lingers in my mind,

is it possible to sue him back then since he is such an irresponsible

photographer?

 

Last month, our friend hired a photographer for their wedding. The

photographer, with all the fancy Nikon lens and a carbon fiber

tripod, was very diligent and nice. After he showed the picture

proof online, we all were disappointed with the poor quality of a so-

called professional photographer who has a website full of flashy

pictures and A plus customer feedbacks. If i were my friend, i would

choose to sue the photographer..........

sounds like your out of luck, unless he violated the contractual agreement in any specific terms.

In the USA, just about anybody can sue just about anyone for just about anything.

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Whether you can obtain a judgement is another question, and assuming you can win, whether you can collect is yet another question.

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Winning a suit depends very much on the contract between the parties, as well as the laws of the state and/or locality where the incident took place. If you're thinking about a lawsuit, the best starting place is to bring your copy of the contract to your lawyer's office. <p>

And don't trust web posts (including this one) when it comes to legal matters.

Do you have a question? Don't come here looking for legal advice about sueing someone -- that is complete nonsense (your premise). If you had a problem(s) with your photos "many years ago" then it is too late to do anything about it. Would you sue your friends too for their lousy advice? With friends like that... What does your contract say? In any case incompetent people are in all walks of life. Sometimes too it is helpful to choose friends who can tell their left hand from their right. No one can stop you though, you sound so sue happy.

You're still nurturing this bitter resentment over an incident years ago? Maybe you should, I

dunno, hold a big anniversary party and hire a good photographer and bask in the new happy

memories rather than hoarding this cold lump of bitterness.

If you want real world legal advice: call a friendly lawyer and set up a meeting.

 

And don't forget to bring a copy of your contract to the meeting.

What a jerk!

 

Lets go to a wedding photographer forum and ask if we can sue a wedding photographer. Would you go to a doctor and ask him if you can sue another doctor?

 

Yes you can sue. Anyone can sue anyone anytime. Plain and simple. Will you win? Thats the question. I already see your a winner!

 

Do you not look at the portfolio before booking? Is the portfolio so much different then the pictures he took of you? Did he mis-represent himself?

How about suing your best friends for their recommendation?

And why are you asking this kind of question on a forum for wedding photographers? We are not lawyers. This forum is for wedding professionals to discuss their work and help each other to provide best service to their clients.

Dave - sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

As for suing, you need to talk to a lawyer for two reasons: first, to determine whether or not the photographer did not do something he said he would (ie. did he promise a certain XX of images? or a certain 'quality' of images? probably not), and then, whether or not too much time has passed to sue. There is a statute of limitations in many states and countries that says that after XX years, you can't sue someone for something. These tend to be very generous - ie. 25 years for a murder case - but if it.

 

What about your friend who gave you the recommendation for the photogrpher int he first place? Did you see their proofs?

 

I always tell my clients that it is entirely acceptable to ask to see an entire wedding, as it was presented to a client.

 

Next time you get married or have a party, make it simple and hire me. My clients are consistently thrilled, and you deserved no less on your wedding.

 

Conrfad

Sounds unfortunate.....you guys thought you were getting a pro but, too many assumptions. Your post illustrates how important it is to see full weddings by a photographer and establish some real credentials before you sign a contract. After the fact is too late, there will never be those moments again to re-capture. I guess you can sue, I donno,....but, what for? It's over.....

Please don't take me wrong! I am not here to ask for legal advice , neither here to create an unfriendly atmosphere. I respect wedding photographers for their hard work, dedication, and professional products. I am just not happy with those hypocrates out there running covered with a sheep skin! I have many portraits done by profs and i am happy with their service and professionalism. I just wonder is it a legal action possible. By no means i want to sue....

I wonder what the statute of limitations are for this type of thing.

 

I think that some of the responses here are from inconsiderate people that slam you for asking a reasonable question.

 

And what does coming here to ask about sueing a photographer have to do with asking other photographers? Often the lawyers that handle medical mal practice are themselves medical doctors too. Most of the time this site is very helpful. Sometimes, as you can see from some responses her, you'll get responses from rude people.

 

Like it has been already mentioned, your best advise is from an attorney....but I wonder if the statute of limitations has already expired.

 

I would guess that a so called pro photog can be held liable for cruddy work, and one should be able to sue the dickens out of him, to be sure.

 

The problem I see is that what one considers quality or lack thereof of images IS SO SUBJECTIVE.

 

So this issue is not so black and white (pardon the pun).

 

I hope that the few here that gave flippant answers will consider calming down their remarks, but of course this is the internet for heaven's sake, and to expect that is like dividing a number by zero and expecting an integer number.

 

Peace to you all.

Maybe i need to rephase my writing a bit. Let's say i want to hire a photographer for my daughter in the future, Should i include a clause in my contract like this: If your products don't match up to what you have shown me (porfolio)I want a refund? Now it sounds less lawyer- like! I think refund is more appropriate.

Dave - for the future, IMHO, it's tough to make a contract that is legally enforceable over the issue of 'quality'. what is quality? nice lighting? focus? exposure?

 

I think that your best strategy would be be to first get MULTIPLE references for any photographer you are considering. Sit down with them and ask a few questions - ie. can I see all of your work from one assignment as it was presented to the client? How long have you been doing this? etc, etc. tell him about your previous experience and see what they say.

 

second - do NOT sign ANY contract until you meet with three photographers.

 

I think you have the wrong mentality if you go into it thinking that you are going to put something in the contract. I think that you need to find someone who does a good job, does it consistently, and is proud of what they do. When I shoot a wedding, I work hard to get good results, but not just b/c i have a contract, but also because enjoy it and I want to be proud of my work and keep my reputation up.

As far as quality, it would have to be have to be quite a differance in quality to be able to sue over. I don't know anyone who sign that. Who judges quality? You? Photographer?

 

Just check referances and portfolios.

It sounds to me like you got what you paid for.

A bad experience. But please Dave, if you

 

Were bleeding from the ears would you call a doctor?

If your house, heaven forbid was burning perhaps you dial 911

And if you want to sue someone into oblivion you would talk to a lawyer. I would like to hear what the photographer's side of the story is.

 

Odd of you to post before what is more or less a partial group of peers. If you called a lawyer you could have had this filed by now.

Conrab, Jon - I understand quality is subjective. Still we can tell a blurry picture from a sharp one. Yes, I learn from my mistakes but i don't hold any resentment against that photographer. What is done is done. (Sorry that my writing give hint of resentment. I should not have channelled my emotion into my writing) I just hope that the same bad experience will not happen to my family and friends or others. Yes, porfolio and references are the key.

 

Dan - Thanks for calming the flame dowm.

Steven - so you mean paying big money can be a solution. I kind of diagree. My friend paid a big buck; however, their pictures are suck!But anyway, sorry to post a question like this here.

When you have a wedding (in the future) for your daughter, it will not be considered a fault to inquire about past references from the photographer. The photographer should have no un-easy feelings in providing you with past client phone numbers, if needed.

 

 

 

 

Just do not take 'advice' from your friends who know someone who is a good photographer.

Hi Dave, sorry to hear such a story of disappointment and obvious frustration at being

powerless to anything about it. No one who shoots weddings likes to hear a tale of woe,

and maybe some here are bristling a bit too much at you.

 

It's actually an excellent reminder of how important this work can be to many people.

People who aren't experts, just a couple who wants their wedding day to remember years

from now.

 

From your post here Dave, you seem to have had certain expectations. That is what a

contract is for, to get those expectations in writing. It's no different than a contract for any

service. "For this, I will pay you this".

 

BTW, subjectivity is one thing, but blurry photos is another.

 

As to the recent friend's wedding: Proofs are not always the last word in what the album

or enlargements will be like when finished. Proofs are there to select for content, but can

be cropped, corrected and enhanced to a more finished polish. On-line proofs are often

very low resolution so clients can't just copy them ... and then not buy prints from the

photographer who depends on prints sales to make ends meet.

Dave,

<Should i include a clause in my contract like this: If your products don't match up to what you have shown me (porfolio)I want a refund?> Who makes the decision? You? If so, are you willing to say "Ok, I don't like the pictures. I want a refund, but I understand I will have to give up all of the pictures as a consequence". I would bet not. As to your friend and the proofs from last month's wedding: Proofs are just that--proofs. They give an approximation of the finished product which, after being retouched, color balanced,cropped, and placed in an album to tell a story will show considerably different than the proofs. Your comments are the reason I have never been a big fan of throwing proofs up on a web site. It is a shame, however, that you had such an unfortunate experience with the photographer at your own wedding. It sounds like he was most unprofessional.

hi Dave,

I'm sorry your pictures turned out poorly and that you're not satisfied with them. It may be too late to sue, though, if this happened years ago. The right time would have been immediately, I think.

 

Can you tell us about your contract? What did he promise to you in the contract? Was there a little segment about food for the photographer? Many times photographers add a clause saying that they get to eat at your reception, and you might not have noticed that if you were busy with other details.

 

To take a devil's advocate point of view, perhaps the assistant was trying to be friendly and get the bride & wedding party relaxed and happy so that her boyfriend could get better pictures? (Although I know you still were not happy with them!) Some assistants don't appear to be full of action, but they take care of hundreds of tiny details before and during the event.

 

Did you go over a "shot list" with him prior to the event? You know, where you look at the huge master list of potential shots and tick off all the ones you need, such as "bride dancing with father," "group portrait with in-laws," "bouquet toss," etc. If you did that, and he did not give you many of those shots you asked for, you may have a right to complain. If you did NOT do that shot list, then he was probably just trying to get "good" shots for you and may have missed moments that were critical to you.

 

It's possible some of the old shots can be salvaged. Are you savvy with photoshop? If not, you can certainly hire someone to fix up and "pretty up" some of the shots for you. It sucks to spend extra money on this, I know, but at least you'd then have a good memory picture for the wall. :)

 

Now I'm curious. Can you post examples of his WORST and BEST pictures for us? There's nothing I can do (except commiserate with you!) but I'd like to see and judge them.

 

sorry for your bad luck!

Jennifer

Dave, I am surprised that you did not see his portfolio first. How can you hire a photographer on what someone reccommends alone? I have never heard of someone hiring a wedding photographer without seeing actual printed photos of a wedding in an album. That is the first thing clients want to look at. A website can show fictitious products from other photographers. You don't order a car over the net and then sue the car dealer because your friends told you the car had ABS brakes and leather seats which yours didn't have. I think you have learnt an important lesson to do better research in the future. This photographer sounded pretty rude and disrespectful to me so I'm surprised anyone can recommend him. Sorry you got a bad deal!

Dave, live and learn. At my wedding, my wife's cousin took informal snapshots and that's all the photography there was. Just as well, we haven't looked at those photos in years. So you're out some money. Half the people that get married have wonderful photos and their marriage sucks. So if your marriage is going fine after many years, count yourself lucky and don't sweat the small stuff.