My photographer lost my pictures...Advice PLEASE!

This is why I NEVER refer groups of "pros" who are really just hired guns.

You need a full refund and any photos they can salvage, whether they like it or not. They hired an amateur and it's there responsibility to make good on this mess. Don't do it over; it won't be the same and it just prolongs your sorrow over this.

Do you guys think that im entitled to a full refund and a copy of whatever he took? Trust me they are not great but its easier for them to not deal with me in a court. Ill take my services to a PROfessional and puzzle an album with them .. Does that sound unreasonable?

Yes. They should give you everything they have and a full refund too.

Yes, they should be giving you a full refund and a sincere apology along with any photos he took.

If they give you any trouble over this tell them that you will take them to small claims court and make sure everyone knows the kind of service they give to their customers. Trust me it's much easier for them to have you go away quietly. If you do go to court you will win. You could even sue them for more than you paid for the photos personally I would sue for triple.

Here is "Act of God" as defined by The Legal Dictionary.

At common law, an overwhelming event caused exclusively by natural forces whose effects could not possibly be prevented (e.g., flood, earthquake, tornado). In modern jurisdictions, "act of God" is often broadened by statute to include all natural phenomena whose effects could not be prevented by the exercise of reasonable care and foresight.

DEFINITION FROM NOLO’S PLAIN-ENGLISH LAW DICTIONARY

An extraordinary and unexpected natural event, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, tsunami, or even the sudden death of a person. An act of God may be a defense against liability for injuries or damages; insurance policies often exempt coverage for damage caused by acts of God. Under the law of contracts, an act of God often serves as a valid excuse if one of the parties to the contract is unable to fulfill his or her duties -- for instance, completing a construction project on time.

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

Absolutely you are! You should get full refund and then another few miles! Weddings are once in a lifetime for most and so guess what he completely ruined that one day! There are things he can do to make up for it but you need a lot!

OMG, this is horrible!!! Nothing you can do now to get your pictures back, but at least I hope you can get a refund. A wedding is so important, I can't believe they don't have a backup. Professional grade cameras have two card slots to backup the pictures on the fly. If one card fails, you still can salvage it from the other card. As a photographer myself, I'd feel horrible if this happened to my client and would issue a refund.

I agree, this is horrible. I'm not sure what I would do to be honest other than be livid. Our photographer actually had a clause in the contract about this very thing to protect the deposit. I shudder at the thought.

Thank you, Celia, for raising this issue. Ladies, pick your vendors carefully! The one-stop- shop that refers you to their various "professionals" isn't the way to go, no matter how convenient, budget conscious, or great it sounds. I won't even "like" a vendor's FB page unless I know they have a stellar reputation or I've seen their work in person. Ask for referrals and look at reviews! Pros with a list of satisfied clients are happy to provide them.

I would take this photographer to court. You are entitled to a full refund. This was no act of God -- it was the act of a photographer. You should be made whole. Then, retake the portraits. See what a professional photographer can do with the non-pro pics your family has taken. I'm not a photographer, and know nothing about the art, but maybe they can do something with the raw images.

I am so sorry. Absolutely mind-blowing

Get your portraits redone then GO TO COURT! Ask for a full refund PLUS court costs PLUS whatever it cost to get your pictures redone (re-renting a tux, hair done, photographer, prints, etc.)

I'd ask the photographer to be very very specific on the "damage" to the memory card. There's really all sorts of technology out there to help repair various maladies to cards. If there is truly nothing to be done, that's one thing, but just saying "Welp, it's damaged, sorry!" is not sufficient -- although the onus SHOULD be on him to find a service to restore it. Regardless, if you can find out exactly what about it is damaged, there may still be a possibility of retaining something.

Demand a re-shoot. And a refund.

I agree with Kiley. It is VERY rare for data on the card to be completely unrecoverable through professional companies (or even paid software). Usually if he has a branded card (sandisc, whatever) they have software that will recover images as well.

You made it sound like he shot with 2 cameras and then his assistant with another - did all 3 memory cards get corrupted and are gone? Because that doesn't sound right. Since this is of your wedding, I would say start with pursuing data recovery options before the refund. You may as well get the day's shots. They're simply unwilling to put the money and effort to get these photos back but if you get nowhere, then yes, pursue a full refund and and/or threaten to bring them to court.

I noticed that you mentioned that they tried to get drivesavers to recover the images already. Are you 100% positive that they did this? Is there any email or proof because I'd want to see it. From my understanding, they charge anywhere from a grand to several for these services so if this company is not willing to even talk about refunds, I'd be wary that they'd even consider paying the money for data recovery.

I would ask for a full refund and any photos they have. As for redoing them, I,would go elsewhere. As a vendor who obviously made a mistake on a very important day, I think they should do whatever you ask!

Um...very good point, Kiley. I hadn't even thought of that.

To prove your point, the recent Jodi Arias murder trial highlighted just how far technology has come in retrieving images from seriously damaged equipment. Arias brutally murdered her boyfriend, and a hand-held, non-pro camera was going off during the murder (unbelievable, but true). As part of the clean-up, she manually deleted the photos, threw the camera in the washing machine, ran the machine, and escaped into the night (thinking she had erased the evidence). Fortunately, a lab (I know, you aren't going to pay a forensic lab -- but I'm making a point) was able to retrieve and print the pictures that showed the murder actually happening. It got her a Murder One conviction.

So, get the damaged card and bring it to a pro. He may be really helpful in retrieving what "Act of God" Photographer considers lost. The original portraits would be better than recreations.

Tell the plaza you'll smear their name in every part of the country if you don't get a full refund. I'd be so upset. I'm so sorry. Do not give up easily. As for redos, I would think of it as a second chance to wear my dress again. If it were me, I'd have my groom out on his tux, I'd get my hair done, and I'd go take some more pics--with a different photographer. I'd want some type of picture, but that might not be for everyone.

I'd seriously go crazy psycho bitch on the photog and the plaza who outsourced him.

I agree with Briggitte. sue his butt off.

you paid for a service, and he lost the work. did you give him anything stating that you wanted pictures from the ceremony or things that you didn't get? seems like if you do, that would help show that he didn't provide what you agreed on.

as for the 'act of God' I figure if you sue it would be up to the judge what constitutes as 'act of God' why he didn't have a lap top or something to back up those pictures I don't understand.

as for trying to get pictures that you now don't have, would there be a way to stage pictures like that with the officiant for someone else to take? I know it's not what you planned on, but it's a way to still get that shot. I've seen photographers stage pictures like that before and after ceremonies because they didn't' want to disturb the actual ceremony.

good luck and keep us posted! I wouldn't let him get away with this.

The type of card he used was a LEXAR PRO which is in my hands now because he tried his "forensic friends" and he also tried Driver Savers and they were unable to recover the pictures from one of his memory cards. When I got the card from him it was wrapped in a plastic and it looks like the card cover was opened because it has a drive savers sticker on it. This one memory card however, was the one with all the main events on it he used this mostly throughout the day. Id say 85% of the time. Today i took it to over four locations to try because i refuse to give up but i had no luck =( everyone thinks that its just crazy that i even have the card (but no ones heart is into recovering these photos like mine is) and they even question why the card was opened by drive savers. One person said if he took photos all night on this camera did he damage the card afterwards? because if it was damaged from the beginning the camera wouldnt have let him continue to shoot.. I'm emotionally tired!

Hold onto that card and take a break. Come back to it later.