Need Advice Dealing with a DIFFICULT photographer

Oh man, that is awful and scary! I'm sorry-- he sounds awful and that is a really messed up trick for him to pull

First off, whatever the cost of prints is on the contract, that should be the cost he charges you now. Unless it specifically states that orders placed later are subject to any new prices, I think charging you more would be considered a breach of contract.

I don't think there is any "going- rate" for medium definition jpegs, but regardless, he has you in his pocket now, so I doubt any higher-resolution files are going to be sale from this guy. Is the $1000 for the album or JUST the rush- fees? If it is for the album, that is probably standard-- my photographer charges $875 for a 12x12 album. Personally, I would probably start looking into high-def ways to scan images, and then just pay the $1000 to get this guy out of your life. Once you have the album, you can scan as much as you like and reproduce at your leisure.

$1K for high res pics doesn't mean that much, I paid $700 for my high res pics from my bachelorette party, and it turned out to be about 128 pics.

In terms of leverage, can you threaten to write him a bad review to get him to be more reasonable? Just be careful to stick to the facts and not let your emotions cloud the review.

Another example of someone getting blinded by low price and then getting bit later. I have never heard of anyone giving medium resolution photos. I really can't say who is at fault whether he's being a jerkface and doing a bait and switch, or if you didn't understand the contract terms. In any event, I think it's a jerkface way of doing business on his part. But that's neither here nor there. Make sure you understand contract terms before taking it further. I also agree with Care Bear, stick to the facts and don't let emotion lose the war for you.

If it came down to it, I'd pick only the ones you want for your album and buy the high resolution files from him. 300 DPI jpg and full pixel dimension.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice!

To clarify - the contract was for $5,000, which included the photography, a DVD of the images and a 35 page album - so I don't think I got "blinded" by a low price, Jay (unless that's low in the photography business). The $1,000 he quoted me was an additional "rush" fee, which I chose not to do. He also attempted to subcontract a videographer and to skim $1,000 off the top (I found the videographer's rate card on his website and ran from the situation). To say the least, there is a background of attempts to charge me more than what is in the contract. I agree with Barbara - he's got me in his pocket. I wish a negative review was leverage enough to get me somewhere, but I doubt it is - he's got positive reviews, overall. I appreciate the comments about sticking to facts and not writing reviews laden with emotion. I will heed that advice.

$5000 is on the higher end for photography. Tell him to go by his contract or that you're happy to take this to court.

Hahaha, no $5k isn't low. I'd tell him you will pay the $1k, but since he's not willing to work with you, you are going to make sure people know about this experience. Or you can always file in small claims. It may not mean much, but it's a giant pain in the ass to go before a judge and explain why you're being a dickface businessman.

Who is the photographer?

While I married a lawyer, I can't take him to court because he hasn't violated his contract (yet). He quoted me prices for prints that were higher than my contract, but I have yet to remind him our contract rates are less. I am assuming he will offer the contract rate (dif. is only $1 per pic).

The $1,000 was a rush fee that I didn't pay and is no longer in question.

The main point of my post was just to see if anyone knew of the going rate for high res (or medium res) jpegs since this is one item that was not included in my contract that I'd really like.

The big lesson here is to make sure you have everything included in your photographer's contract before signing on the dotted line!

Got you....it would have helped if I had that information from the start, disregard the low price lure reference. By rush fee, was that to get the high resolution images before the year is up? Old outdated business practice, and I never understood that. So, at this point, I am still a little confused about what it would take on your end to get the high res files, whether now or after that "rush period?" And would it be per file, or one bulk fee for all of them?

Lol! i did a really bad job explaining this in my initial post. My apologies! The rush fee was to get our album done faster and was unrelated to the jpegs - I mentioned it only to demonstrate the character of the photographer. I have not yet asked him for a price to get the high res files. I suspect he may charge an exorbitant amount or be unwilling to do it at all. His price list for enlargements is below. If he provides me with the high res digital files, he will not make the money he'd like to on the enlargements (even though I only want the files for small photo books). Do wedding photographers typically include all high res files in their packages? It's too late for me, but maybe would be helpful for others...

20x24 $275.00

11x14 $75.00

8xl0 $18.50

5x7 $14.50

4x6 $12.50

I am really sorry about your crappy photographer. I thought it was normal for photographers to include "high-resolution" images in their packages. I signed with a photographer a couple of days ago and it said just that "USB of high-resolution, edited images" in the contract. Maybe "Jay Farrell Photography" can better answer that question of where it is normal or not.

I wished you best of luck Private User in resolving this issue.

Thank you, Care Bear. You are truly a Caring Bear

Ok...what a dick. lol. Not all photographers supply high res files, but this guy's business model is pretty outdated....guessing he's a bit older? I don't understand the medium res files. Customers don't understand that shit, many will print large anyhow and then it only represents his work poorly if the print looks crappy. The print prices are a tad high, but not unheard of. I personally do supply hi res's (that many people have no idea what to do with) and honestly I don't like it....but it's the expectation these days. SO I do it. I'd rather let customers let me handle printing and albums, most do let me do their albums. I educate them on the front end about quality of print etc, so they see good and bad printing. The way he's doing it seems confusing to customers, and almost nickel and diming.

I would get a price on his album as you want it and ask about purchasing hi res's from him, just the ones you want for the album. If no hi res files are provided, I'd buy the album and prints you want, and weigh your options. From what you're saying, I get a direct customers' perspective that his business model isn't resonating well.

Both my father and my friend, the latter who won an award here last year, supply hi-res files. I don't think they will give out anything but.

Sorry your photographer is being difficult.

Thanks, Jay, for your response(s). Yes, he's very old school (but I did not know this when I met with him). He's in his 50's. I agree with you. He is a dick and has demonstrated that on multiple occasions. I just want to be done with him.

Clarification on files - when I say "medium res," i'm referencing file size. The ones he gave me are 200-500KB. I'd like some in the 900-1300KB range so I can use them in photo books. I don't know if that size is "medium" or "high" res - I just need bigger than what he provided. The files I want are actually NOT in the album - they are less important to us, but are important to other family members. I'm stuck between a rock and hard place with this…

You're very welcome. I can understand wanting to make a living, as I do too...but holding something over someone's head I don't get....it should at least be readily available at a price, from the get go. Those medium res files are useless. You only need 100-300 kb for web use only, 200-500 won't really be good for anything more....even the size you want will only print 3"x5" or maybe 4"x6" without digital artifacts. I would be very matter of fact, approach him together, and get a firm understanding from him, about what it will take to get exactly what you want. Even 900-1300 kb are not high res. Unless shooting with a 3 megapixel point and shoot from 2003, lol. I'm sorry you're going through this. No one hates the cheapening of the photography industry more than me, but to go about it like that is the wrong way IMO and as seen here, will only confuse customers. Good luck and keep us posted.

My MOH went through this same sort of disaster with her photographer when she got married a couple years ago. She warned me to make sure high res digital images was spelled out in my contract, because he too tried to supply her with super crappy quality ones and refused to give her the proper ones until she ordered all her album photos first (at a much higher price than she was originally led to believe and than what her album credit was included in her package). When I was photographer shopping I noticed that a lot of the "younger" photographers were including high res images, either on a disc or on a USB, as part of the package. the "older" photographers that have been in business for 30 years either refuse to do that or charge a fortune for it. for example, I won a free engagement shoot with one of the most established guys in my city. the shoot ended up being a joke. it was about 40 images across 6 different poses. only half of them had my fiancé and I both with our eyes open at the same time, and only 12 of them were remotely decent. to get any digital form of these 40 images, without editing, he wanted to charge $350. um...NO! i'm so sorry you are dealing with this stress...there is not much you can do after the fact, but I do hope you come to some resolution with him soon!

Good points Kristy...and yea that sucks too. I guess I'm middle aged (pfft) lol. I supply hi res's, but figure that into the cost of the packages. Some of the inexperienced shooters give them away for peanuts and do not understand how the business operates or what makes a successful image, and are making a mockery of it...but it's going to mean different types of clients. Sure, people considering me know they can go for cheaper elsewhere, but they know exactly what they're getting, and for how much, and when. I don't deal with lawsuits or pissed off customers because of that, I like it this way

All of the photographers I researched supplied high-res edited photos on disk or USB as part of their packages. I think this is normal / common now. I'm sorry you're dealing with this jerk!

This is a great string of discussion. Oh how I wish I had it to do all over again! It's painful to look at hundreds of pics and not find any that I really like. Kristy makes a very interesting point about young photographers vs. old ones. I wish someone had told me to make sure to negotiate for HIGH RES pics on the DVD (and I thought I was smart to ask for the DVD!). Thanks again to everyone!