Cancelling photographer- advice please!!

We met with one after doing a lot of research. Photos were very important, we did not choose the cheapest but we did get the best.

Before you look at other photographers, find out what his cancellation policy is.

Three is plenty if you liked one; if none really got you excited, look at a few more. After lots of them, they'll all start to look alike.

Honestly, I would let him take some e-photos if he isn't too expensive. I wanted to hire a photographer that was over $4k because I was obsessed with his style. FH said no. That was way too expensive. I tried the, "You get what you pay for" argument, but he insisted we'd be able to find someone else that would take fantastic photos for less. We found our photographer through WW, and we met with her. Her portfolio seemed small, and she wasn't exactly what I was looking for even though her photos were really nice. We hired her anyways. I figured, well, she only charges $200 for an engagement shoot, so if I don't like them, we can find someone else to shoot our wedding. E-pics are being taken on October 7th.

I liked her page on FB, and now I get to see all of her current photos. They are FANTATSTIC! The more I see, the more I love them! Not to mention, the original guy I wanted to hire... his photos are all the same. I like his FB page too so I can see all of his photos. CONT

Weekend after weekend, they are the SAME photos with different couples. People jumping, walking across the street, standing with their eye closed. I figured out the reason why I thought his photos were so awesome... because he puts a color overlay on them. Basically, he uses Instagram on your wedding photos. He has like 10 different "color additives" that you can choose from just like Instagram. The real test will come in less than three weeks for my photog, but as of right now, I'm super glad we chose her. Give him a chance, you might be surprised.

An engagement shoot is not a wedding. A wedding is non stop events, back to back and an inexperienced photographer will struggle with keeping up and actually getting shots as opposed to 'spray and pray" (taking a million shots hoping some come out well....)

As for 'same shot different weekend"? I see this every week. Dress on hanger; ring on shoes, jump shots.........

I researched a ton, narrowed it down to 3-4 and called each. I knew within the first minutes who I wasn't going to use and I knew right away that I wanted to go with our selected vendor. I liked all of their work, their FB page and I we had a really good phone conversation that made me feel reassured. That was all I needed!

@Celia... Yes, but at least she will be able to see the photographer's style and get an idea if he is right for her and her FH. It 's better than hiring him and waiting until the last minute to decide. An e-shoot doesn't compare to a wedding, but you are moving around, laughing, walking, etc. not standing in one place the entire time. She will be able able to see if he actually does take his time and photograph real shots as opposed to the "spray and pray" method.

Depending on your deposit and the cancellation policy you agreed you, IF you're willing to throw that deposit away then it can't hurt to keep looking if you're having second thoughts. I wouldn't cancel though until you hypothetically sign a contract with someone else. Don't cancel just for the sake of canceling and then burning that bridge if you get in a jam and can't find someone else for some reason.

I'd definitely check out the cancellation policy before you do anything else. The photographer is one of (if not the THE) most important vendors you choose for the day. No one will remember 10 years down the line if the DJ wasn't the best, or the food was cold... but those pictures will be around forever. You want to be able to enjoy them and be excited to show them to your family down the line. Best of luck!

I fired my first photog because she couldn't/wouldn't get me my engagement session pictures and there was too much drama with arranging my E session. It was the last thing I wanted for my wedding day. I was out $1000 but I'd rather lose the money than not have photos from my wedding. It also turned out the photos looked more like senior portraits than wedding/engagement photos.

Your wedding photos should be one of the most important things on your list. If you're not loving your photographer now, that could be a problem. I would take Celia's advice about not looking at too many because they really will all look the same and in the end, probably make your decision harder. So my advice is, if you can afford to lose the deposit, keep looking around at a few more. If you really think you can learn to love your photographer you have now then great! Just don't psych yourself out. I think us, as brides, tend to second guess half of our decisions in the planning process. Good luck!!

Thank you ladies for all of your advice. I have thought about it a lot and there really is very little for me to be concerned about. I think I just have anxiety about the whole thing because I know that pictures are the most important thing to me and I feel like they have to be perfect. It has almost gotten to a point where they all look the same, so it is time to stop looking. I think that I will keep my photographer for now and do an e-shoot with him so that we can really get a better idea of how he works and then we will really know how much we like him. Worst case, if I hate the photos, I can have him work with us again or try another photographer.

I also just remembered that in our meeting, he did say that he would send us a questionnaire about what type of pictures we were interested in and if there were any specific poses we like, so I am hoping that we can let him know what we like and hopefully they will turn out well!

Even though I think you have come to terms with your decision, canceling a wedding after only a couple days should not cause you to lose your deposit. There is a period of time in Ohio that you have the option of opting out of a sales contract and if you contact the photographer, I would think he would return all or most of the deposit, given the time he will have to rebook the date.

I had almost the EXACT situation....I fell in love with a photographer and she was slightly more than we wanted to spend, so I ended up finding another guy that was ok, but not what i LOVED. I told him I wanted to book with him, but holded off on sending the deposit. In the end, I changed my mind and decided to go with the person I initally fell in love with, and removed a couple things from her wedding package to get it closer to the amount we planned on paying. I say when it comes to weddings, go with what YOU really want, even if it means spending a little more than you expected....I think its worth it! Go find someone you really love....you will have your photos forever, you don't want to have any regrets!

The more I think about this, the more confused I get. But I did decide to email the first photographer that I met with because she is the one that I originally fell in love with. The only reason that I didn't book her because getting digital copies of the engagement session was $400 alone, which put us over budget. I emailed her tonight to let her know about our situation with our budget and to see if she still has our date available (we last talked almost two weeks ago). After talking to FH we decided that it's better to have someone whose pictures we love than to make a decision based on price and reviews alone (like we did with this guy).

His contract says...If the Client shall cancel this Agreement liquidated damages shall be charged in a reasonable amount not to exceed the deposit.

I can't imagine any liquidated damages because we have not even scheduled engagement photos, he has 13 months to find someone else for that date, and he hasn't done any work for us. Thoughts??