I'm speechless when it comes to this kind of stupidity on the part of a photographer

JimKarczewski · November 21, 2011

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/laf/2654675640.html

Seriously? You delete all their photos after you send them a DVD in the mail? Wow.

Maybe I'm just anal, but I have every single clients DVD along with all of the files still on my server. This just defies words for me that someone would say, "K, delivered, now delete." That means they think of photography as a job, not a career. At least to me it's what that says......

Overfocused · November 21, 2011

No, you're right, that's just stupidity. Always keep a master copy of the final images archived somewhere, at least.

Shima · November 22, 2011

That's why I never delete the couples photos off SmugMug. I don't pay any extra to keep them there eternally, and I can always re-download all the full rez edited JPG's in a jiffy if need be. I also have a livedrive account that I use primarily to back up all my RAW's.

Qarik · November 22, 2011

Shima wrote: »

That's why I never delete the couples photos off SmugMug. I don't pay any extra to keep them there eternally, and I can always re-download all the full rez edited JPG's in a jiffy if need be. I also have a livedrive account that I use primarily to back up all my RAW's.

haha..and I know you can download the files from smug mug in a JIFFY!

Matthew Saville · November 23, 2011

Actually, I'm betting even worse. If I'm any good at sniffing out the truth, I bet that the photographer COMPLETELY lost the photos somehow, and the "they're in the mail and I've deleted them" is just them trying to dodge the fault.

No photographer in their right mind would drop a single disc in the mail, and then delete all other copies of the photos. Hard drives are $50 per TB these days, there's really zero excuse for keeping at least ONE copy of your images. So I'm betting there's a 99% chance that the photographer ACTUALLY had some sort of HD failure or accidental deletion, and in a panic is simply claiming that the disc was already sent out.

This is why I'm worried sick for brides who hire amateurs. As someone who has workflow'd a couple hundred weddings over the past 5-6 years, I know just how careful you have to be. I've had hard drives crash just days after a job. I've accidentally deleted hours of work. I can only imagine how often this type of thing happens to less-prepared photographers... :-(

So, as a message to all brides out there- HIRE AN EXPERIENCED, CAREFUL PROFESSIONAL!
=Matt=

Mitchell · November 23, 2011

I think Matt's right. This smells like a "checks in the mail" thing. Something disastrous happened with that photographer. I suspect he never actually had those photos.

Hire a pro.

Moogle Pepper · November 23, 2011

Matthew Saville wrote: »

No photographer in their right mind would drop a single disc in the mail, and then delete all other copies of the photos. Hard drives are $50 per TB these days, there's really zero excuse for keeping at least ONE copy of your images. So I'm betting there's a 99% chance that the photographer ACTUALLY had some sort of HD failure or accidental deletion, and in a panic is simply claiming that the disc was already sent out.

They used to be cheap, pre-thailand flood. But you are still right. Storage space pre-flood was cheap and why said photog deleted it right after "mailing" the images is beyond me. I technically wait a couple years, plus burning to DL DVDs as backups, before removing them to make space in the external hard drives.

threecubed · November 23, 2011

I'm glad I'm not the only one cynical enough to think the photographer lost the shots completely or somehow screwed them up badly enough that they couldn't show them to the client at all, so they just said they're lost in the mail. That was my first thought for sure. Even if they were dumb enough to delete them from the hard drive, it seems like they'd at least save a second copy of the DVD.

kdog · November 23, 2011

Chris Geiger wrote: »

Here is her web site... http://www.chapmansphoto.com/

Not it's not. That business is in Sarasota, FL.

Here's a photographer by the same name who is in INDIANAPOLIS. http://www.hmcphotography.com

Ed911 · November 24, 2011

Jim,

Are you sure you didn't get punked and now you're trying to drag us into it!! This whole thing sounds like someone's joke post. Have you vetted it for errors...for the truth, before you posted it here? How do you know, that the poster on Craig's list isn't pissed at the supposed photographer and trying to ruin their business? I never post stuff like this...it's like the crazy emails that get forwarded, that with little or no research, are found to have been going around on the web for over a decade and now making another round with variations. You could unwittingly be playing into the posters hands...

I have no idea why the moderator even lets stuff like this in the forum...since it could be malicious by nature. I have no problem with us just discussing backup regimens...it's very relevant to our forum, but as you can see the forum is already trying to hunt down the villian...smells like a witch hunt. If you had posted it without the photographer's name, that would have been one thing...

Moogle Pepper · November 24, 2011

Ed's right. There is also something call google analytics.

Matthew Saville · November 25, 2011

Ed911 wrote: »

Jim,

Are you sure you didn't get punked and now you're trying to drag us into it!! This whole thing sounds like someone's joke post. Have you vetted it for errors...for the truth, before you posted it here? How do you know, that the poster on Craig's list isn't pissed at the supposed photographer and trying to ruin their business? I never post stuff like this...it's like the crazy emails that get forwarded, that with little or no research, are found to have been going around on the web for over a decade and now making another round with variations. You could unwittingly be playing into the posters hands...

I have no idea why the moderator even lets stuff like this in the forum...since it could be malicious by nature. I have no problem with us just discussing backup regimens...it's very relevant to our forum, but as you can see the forum is already trying to hunt down the villian...smells like a witch hunt. If you had posted it without the photographer's name, that would have been one thing...

While I agree with your point, I think this is still something that EVERYONE needs to think about a lot more often. This kind of situation gets swept under the rug too often, because people are too afraid to name names or even bring it up in the first place.

I think it's really important for clients to know that, especially in once-in-a-lifetime situations, there are a TON of photographers out there who are simply NOT QUALIFIED. If the photographer in question is being wrongly crucified, I'm sure they'll survive. But if the bride really did lose her wedding photos because some idiot accidentally deleted them before creating a backup, then that kind of stuff needs to be "mentioned" from the rooftops.

Just my opinion,
=Matt=

Foques · November 25, 2011

^
agreed.

Besides, looking at the site of the photog in question.. I would be embarrassed to show half of the images in the slideshows..

dbveto · November 25, 2011

Ed911 wrote: »

Jim,

Are you sure you didn't get punked and now you're trying to drag us into it!! This whole thing sounds like someone's joke post. Have you vetted it for errors...for the truth, before you posted it here? How do you know, that the poster on Craig's list isn't pissed at the supposed photographer and trying to ruin their business? I never post stuff like this...it's like the crazy emails that get forwarded, that with little or no research, are found to have been going around on the web for over a decade and now making another round with variations. You could unwittingly be playing into the posters hands...

I have no idea why the moderator even lets stuff like this in the forum...since it could be malicious by nature. I have no problem with us just discussing backup regimens...it's very relevant to our forum, but as you can see the forum is already trying to hunt down the villian...smells like a witch hunt. If you had posted it without the photographer's name, that would have been one thing...

While I agree with what you are saying but after reading the ad it does not sound like they are bashing the photog it sound like they are just looking for the disk.

by the way I have copies of events I shot 4 years ago.

JimKarczewski · November 25, 2011

Yeah, I wouldn't even consider posting it if it was something like, "Our photographer XYZ screwed our wedding. She said she sent a disc and deleted all of the photos..."

I have actually investigated this some and I'm waiting for more confirmation.. In fact one of my friends who lives in Indy graduated high school with this photographer and I'm waiting to hear directly from her what she's found. But as I said, it wasn't something that sounds like they are trying to be malicious, they just want their photos.

Stuart-M · November 25, 2011

Matthew Saville wrote: »

I think it's really important for clients to know that, especially in once-in-a-lifetime situations, there are a TON of photographers out there who are simply NOT QUALIFIED. If the photographer in question is being wrongly crucified, I'm sure they'll survive. But if the bride really did lose her wedding photos because some idiot accidentally deleted them before creating a backup, then that kind of stuff needs to be "mentioned" from the rooftops.

Just my opinion,
=Matt=

What do you mean by qualified? Do you mean passing some kind of exam, or membership of an organisation, or just a responsible person who knows what they are doing?

I don't think either of the first 2 would help in this situation.

Overfocused · November 25, 2011

Stuart-M wrote: »

What do you mean by qualified? Do you mean passing some kind of exam, or membership of an organisation, or just a responsible person who knows what they are doing?

I don't think either of the first 2 would help in this situation.

A 'photographer' with lack of photographic practical/technical knowledge and common sense can be disqualifying and is risky, I'd say. Backups are something that should be learned from the get go. In school the practice of backing up is in class 101, and for this reason!

Ed911 · November 26, 2011

Overfocused wrote: »

A 'photographer' with lack of photographic practical/technical knowledge and common sense can be disqualifying and is risky, I'd say. Backups are something that should be learned from the get go. In school the practice of backing up is in class 101, and for this reason!

I'm sure you're right, for those who bothered taking even a basic photography class.

I question the veracity of the OP on Craig's list...who posts a message like this for the whole world to see...thinking that this is a good way to find lost mail. Hmm...I don't think they've seen the ball lately.

I further find it suspicious that they describe the wedding CD as..."A CD from ABCD photography containing hundreds of pictures from a "KOVAL WEDDING" on August 6, 2011! The CD will have a white label with photographer's information." I guess this is information that, that special someone who unlawfully opened their mail will want to know. I know that I've never shipped a Disc, naked with a label on it.

Shouldn't they instead be saying, "the envelope was addressed to us...the Koval's. We think that possibly the photographer addressed it incorrectly....yada, yada, yada."

Look around yourself...do you have friends that you could honestly say would think, "Oh, I know, I'll put a message on Craig's list...maybe someone out there has seen our mail."

I propose this...maybe the OP on Craig's list just got scammed. The photographer was using someone else's name...took their money...and took off...leaving them to believe that the pictures are in the mail.

Well, maybe you find that redirection a little silly...but why not...you see all kinds of scams on TV these days...couldn't it be possible. Without eveidence...anything remotely close to the truth is possible. It's called Parlor Logic. Extending circumstances to fit feelings...without any actual evidence. In discovery, it's called conjecture, an inference from defective or presumptive evidence.

I await the final verdict...proof or disproof, that the Craig's list poster is real...or, that the circumstances are as stated.

Quincy T · November 26, 2011

Foques wrote: »

^
agreed.

Besides, looking at the site of the photog in question.. I would be embarrassed to show half of the images in the slideshows..

My thoughts exactly...I keep everything on smugmug, but I wouldn't show 80% of them outside of the safe confines of my personal galleries.

Matthew Saville · November 26, 2011

Stuart-M wrote: »

What do you mean by qualified? Do you mean passing some kind of exam, or membership of an organisation, or just a responsible person who knows what they are doing?

I don't think either of the first 2 would help in this situation.

While everybody knows that passing an exam or being a member of an organization does NOT automatically imply absolute qualification, I honestly do think it would be a HUGE help if the industry of "wannabe pros" started having some sort of well-known standards.

Of course I would NEVER say yes to any sort of government-run, bureaucratic "bar" exam; that would be a disaster and a huge waste of time and paperwork. But at the very least, there should be some sort of minimum "photography intelligence level" that everyone achieves before calling themselves a pro.

The main thing of course being data safety. There are so many horror stories out there, of clients who have lost absolutely everything because they hired a "professional" who barely knew how to take their SD card out of their Rebel and plug it into their computer, or who shot back-to-back wedding events (on the same memory cards) ...and then had a single hard drive failure wipe out an entire job or two.

There was another story a while ago, that also sounded fishy as heck, about a "pro" who shot a wedding on a SINGLE memory card, went home and didn't download or back up anything, went out shopping with their kid, and (allegedly!!) ...their house got burglarized and someone stole the camera. Again, that just sounds to me like the "pro" screwed up somehow, and then tried to avoid any blame.

All in all, I just think we need to be a little less sensitive about this kind of stuff, a little less politically correct, and just say it like it is- If you're new to the whole concept of data safety, if you just bought your camera a few months ago and barely know how to use it but you have "an eye", ...then maybe you should hold off on photographing someone's once-in-a-lifetime event a little while longer... I am NOT opposed to beginners and hobbyists who aspire to be professional, mind you. There are PLENTY of things you can shoot professionally that are less critical than a wedding. The problem is the glamor factor. Nobody wants to say "I honed my skills shooting headshots and senior portraits and families, then got into weddings". Or, nobody wants to say "I've been a hobbyist for five years, and have finally decided that I'm ready to shoot professionally." No, for some reason people catch that bug just 1-6 months after they pick up a DSLR, they want to be the next big wedding photog rockstar, they want to build their brand and "sell themselves", before they even know the difference between RAID 1 and RAID 0. Before they stop calling ALL external drives "backup drives" ...even though the external is just an un-safe overflow of their inboard HD. ;-)

I know I sound mean or elitist about all this. And I also know that even professionals aren't immune to data loss. It happens, the trick is to simply stack the odds in your favor. That's your job as a PROFESSIONAL. I just think if the photography community were a little less tip-toe-y about this issue, we could significantly reduce the amount of data loss caused by careless accidents and downright stupidity.

=Matt=

Glort · November 27, 2011

Seems this raises a few issues to me.

If the pics WERE deleted, why not try a recovery of the HDD? May work, may not but it's amazing what you can get back even if overwritten.
Same goes for the card. I have recoverd stuff off card I shot years before and have filled the card completely endless times.

That's taking the story at face value of course. The rest is a mine field.

All in all, I just think we need to be a little less sensitive about this kind of stuff, a little less politically correct, and just say it like it is- if you just bought your camera a few months ago and barely know how to use it but you have "an eye", ...then maybe you should hold off on photographing someone's once-in-a-lifetime event a little while longer...

I am NOT opposed to beginners and hobbyists who aspire to be professional, mind you. There are PLENTY of things you can shoot professionally that are less critical than a wedding. The problem is the glamor factor. Nobody wants to say "I honed my skills shooting headshots and senior portraits and families, then got into weddings". Or, nobody wants to say "I've been a hobbyist for five years, and have finally decided that I'm ready to shoot professionally." No, for some reason people catch that bug just 1-6 months after they pick up a DSLR, they want to be the next big wedding photog rockstar, they want to build their brand and "sell themselves", before they even know the difference between RAID 1 and RAID 0.

I'm well past being politicaly correct or of charitable disposition. There are so many licences and qualifications you need these days, i don't see why being a licenced shooter should post an insurmountable difficulty. Just like being a licenced driver dosen't mean you are a good driver, it does go some way to giving one a basic level of saftey and compentency.

I remember holding off approaching wedding venues and the like for years thinking I wasn't good enough to shoot weddings and then when an opportunity was put in my lap and I saw what other people had been doing, I realised I was doing better than that at least 3 years ago!
These days it's like if the image appears on the screen its a good shot so off I go as a "Pro" shooter.

As for the " I got a Digicam for Christmas and Now i'm a photographer" brigade, i have had it to the back teeth with them. Seems I can't do a job these days without hearing at least 2 horror stories and i'm also sick of being undercut on jobs by those with big mouths and little ability who end up stuffing and wasting the opportunity for everyone.

It does cut both ways though. Sometimes I feel little sympathy for those that pay insufficent due dilligence to the people they hire and work on price alone then bitch when it goes pear shaped. Many deserve exactly what they get ( or don't get). I have lost count of how many times I have had people come back to me after hiring anotherr wedding shooter complaining the pics are crap and asking what can they do about them.
Inevitably the reason they hired the other guy over me was the other guy was cheaper.
Even though you can try and educate people, they will only listen to what they want to hear.
I give those that were stupid the first time to correct their mistakes by hiring me for a reshoot but a lot still want to keep $$$ in their pockets and have a wedding album fit for royality.

With the amount of new shooters coming along every day servicing once ( or 3 times) in a life time work like weddings, Many don't know who has been around 20 years or a week and only go on price or perhaps a reccomendation made on a kickback.

I purposefully distance myself from work segments that are prone to the Johhny snap latleys these days but it still cheeses me off how some twits will take work away from me and any other working shooter and then stuff the opportunity for everyone and do it repeatedly

Overfocused · November 27, 2011

So guys... I'm available as an assistant photog for weddings around Chicago with 2.1TB free space, and 145 blank DVDs!

Matthew Saville · November 27, 2011

Overfocused wrote: »

So guys... I'm available as an assistant photog for weddings around Chicago with 2.1TB free space, and 145 blank DVDs!

Hey man, if you back up your work and act professional, you can 2nd shoot with me any time! Next time I'm in Chicago I'll let you know heheh...

Matthew Saville · November 27, 2011

Glort wrote: »

Seems this raises a few issues to me.

If the pics WERE deleted, why not try a recovery of the HDD? May work, may not but it's amazing what you can get back even if overwritten.
Same goes for the card. I have recoverd stuff off card I shot years before and have filled the card completely endless times.

That's taking the story at face value of course. The rest is a mine field.

Oh, I totally agree. Any photographer in their right mind would know to immediately cease using the compromised media, and run a scan / recovery of it. I'll happily admit, I've had to do this before and it works like a charm.

But again, we're not talking about "any photographer in their right mind". We're talking about beginners with VERY little understanding of data storage and safety / recovery.

And that is one big problem with "creatives" today. So many talented people are picking up a camera, which I think is great. Many barriers have been eliminated simply because people can see their images right away, and improve right away. ...But they're often technophobes at heart, and so while they create brilliant bodies of work, they neglect our one remaining tradition- PROTECT YOUR PHOTOS FROM HARM. In the days of film it was pretty obvious; make prints of your best images, and KEEP YOUR NEGATIVES SAFE. But now with digital, much of that has gone out the door as people rush to take their hobby and make it pay their bills.

That's all I'm saying. People need to pause, take a deep breath, and learn a little bit about data safety, let alone how to run a business properly, ...before proclaiming themselves a professional.

Glort wrote: »

I purposefully distance myself from work segments that are prone to the Johhny snap latleys these days but it still cheeses me off how some twits will take work away from me and any other working shooter and then stuff the opportunity for everyone and do it repeatedly

I know what you mean. As glamorous as wedding photography appears to be, there is still great money to be made in doing business with other clients. One of my best clients is a warehouse of TV / movie set pieces for Hollywood. No fussing with the MOB, no trying to get drunken groomsmen to lineup; I just photograph couches and chairs all day! If only human beings were that obedient...

Akoval · June 10, 2012

It's been a while!
Almost a year later, 10 months and 4 days, since marrying the love of my life. Yes, I am the original poster to the CL ad for missing wedding photos. No, it was not a "scam", and *of course* I was bashing the photographer! She still has not contacted me about our photos and refuses my phone calls/texts. I'd imagine you all would do the same. And yes that CL ad was a plea for anyone who happened to get it in the mail to google "lost koval pictures" and find the ad on CL. Obviously, I am still searching-which led me here.

You cannot imagine the grief and utter chaos that went through my mind when our photographer admitted 3 months after the wedding that our photos were indeed lost. As for hiring a professional, I can't tell you how many times i've wished that. that i could just go back and change that one stupid mistake. At the time, she appeared very "professional."

For those of you interested, my husband and I are 20 years old, 19 at the time of our wedding, and managed to pull off a very slim budgeted wedding, and a FUN one at that: but with no photos to prove it

So for those of you still reading, I sincerely ask you "WHAT DO I DO NOW????" Should I go to her house, demand her computer and SD cards and try to have the photos recovered? How much would it cost? and any locals know of anyone trustworthy and competent for such an important task?
Please reply if you're here. Obviously, I care. I joined a photographer's forum just to get in my 2 cents of hoping to see our wedding pictures!!!! I beg you.

Art Scott · June 10, 2012

Maybe a letter from an attorney would help...... I have used different recovery software that was able to recover images even after I had formatted the memory card several times with other images shot over the them also....but I would have an attorney contact her that might scare the crap out of her.
Good Luck....I can only imagine the anger you feel about this.

Glort · June 11, 2012

Akoval wrote: »

So for those of you still reading, I sincerely ask you "WHAT DO I DO NOW????" Should I go to her house, demand her computer and SD cards and try to have the photos recovered? How much would it cost? and any locals know of anyone trustworthy and competent for such an important task?
Please reply if you're here. Obviously, I care. I joined a photographer's forum just to get in my 2 cents of hoping to see our wedding pictures!!!! I beg you.

What do you do???
Nothing you can do but learn from your mistake.

The chances are that the amateur you hired may well have lost the pics before they even had them. I wouldn't go hoping or wasting time on them turning up, they aren't out there to begin. The photographer is just trying to duck shove the responsibility.

They could have formatted the card, lost it or anything of 100 different stupiditys. Even as an Incompetent, I'd say there is little chance they would not give them to you and avoid all the possible grief if they had them to give you. It would make things easier for them by a long shot.
The "sent then deleted" excuse is just that in all likelihood.

I also have to say that if find it rather incredulous that you seem so desperate to see your pics yet put so little diligence into finding a shooter in the first place. I'll bet if you are honest, you spent a damn site more time and money on looking at the wedding dress and bridesmaids outfits that you put into researching your photographer.

It's all well and good to say you are young etc but lets face it, you were old enough and took on the responsibility to get married. You'll have to be responsible for this unfortunate mistake and learn from it for the future. Whatever you do don't rush into having kids. Think that one through well and truly first.

I have also shot a lot of weddings for people in your own situation. Often these budget weddings are not organised a long time in advance or in busy periods. I have had people come to me, say money is tight, we like your work, what can you do for us? If the date has been close I have been happy to shoot, give the people a disk and make some pocket money to take the family out to dinner with that night.
The payment is not the cash, it's the Karma and ego trip in knowing you have done someone a good turn and hopefully racked up a few brownie points in credit for someone doing the same for you.

The only thing I can see you can do now is hire a PROFESSIONAL shooter to do a reshoot of your wedding pics. I have done loads of them, for about 2 years or more I was doing more 2nd shoots than first ones.
People say they are not the same. Damn right they aren't, they are always better. A lot of the reshoots I did were because of bad weather on the wedding day aside from trying to regain some memories stuffed up by idiots with a camera.

When you have the whole day to do what you want and there is no pressure or time restraints, it's inevitable the shots will be a lot better just from your more relaxed expressions alone.
You can also get to locations and say, " I think we'll wait 20 min for the sun to move" or whatever which is a luxury you don't have on the day itself where the clock is always ticking.

I'd give up the hope of the original pics and do something more concrete about getting some new pics if I were you.
You never know, if you are open to that, someone here may be open to helping you out at a reduced rate.

It would also be wise to learn from this early lesson and don't take things on face value nor hire people by price alone.

Overfocused · June 11, 2012

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Hey man, if you back up your work and act professional, you can 2nd shoot with me any time! Next time I'm in Chicago I'll let you know heheh...

Lol, I never saw this post.... a new post + my thread subscription brought me back here, hah.

guitstik · June 11, 2012

I have done plenty of re-shoots for couples after the fact, even years later, for a myriad of reasons. Here lately, I have been working on a project that has my wife cringing and wedding dresses going up in flames

. I feel for your loss but can't stress enough the need for researching the photographer you use. I have a portfolio that I carry with me of my latest and best work plus I sit with the bride and her family months in advance to go over all the minutia that is involved in a wedding. About a week prior to the big day I again get with the bride and do "art" shots and reiterate the plan for the big day. For me, at least, a wedding shoot is not a one day thing but four or five depending on the circumstances, this is one reason why I only do about 10-15 weddings in a year.

sphynge · June 11, 2012

I'm sincerely sorry to hear this happened to you.

Most of us here are pros, and just speaking for myself, I would not, actually, ignore your calls and emails. I had a different situation but a problem nonetheless, and I made a point of calling my clients right away, telling them what I'm trying to do to fix the problem, and what I'm offering for the inconvenience. But it's a business, and everyone operates differently.
Unfortunately you don't have a lot of avenues right now. Your photographer has admitted to losing the photos. A year later, the hard drives and memory cards have probably be re-written over multiple times, which makes it near impossible think the photos are recoverable. Recovery can easily be thousands of dollars, IF/WHEN it's possible.
If you wanted to pursue any action, it would have to be through a lawyer, if she refuses to mediate directly. The question you have left is: knowing you can't get any photos from that photographer, what would you want? That will dictate which steps are next for you.
Good luck with your unfortunate situation...

Akoval wrote: »

Almost a year later, 10 months and 4 days, since marrying the love of my life. Yes, I am the original poster to the CL ad for missing wedding photos. No, it was not a "scam", and *of course* I was bashing the photographer! She still has not contacted me about our photos and refuses my phone calls/texts. I'd imagine you all would do the same. And yes that CL ad was a plea for anyone who happened to get it in the mail to google "lost koval pictures" and find the ad on CL. Obviously, I am still searching-which led me here.

You cannot imagine the grief and utter chaos that went through my mind when our photographer admitted 3 months after the wedding that our photos were indeed lost. As for hiring a professional, I can't tell you how many times i've wished that. that i could just go back and change that one stupid mistake. At the time, she appeared very "professional."

For those of you interested, my husband and I are 20 years old, 19 at the time of our wedding, and managed to pull off a very slim budgeted wedding, and a FUN one at that: but with no photos to prove it

So for those of you still reading, I sincerely ask you "WHAT DO I DO NOW????" Should I go to her house, demand her computer and SD cards and try to have the photos recovered? How much would it cost? and any locals know of anyone trustworthy and competent for such an important task?
Please reply if you're here. Obviously, I care. I joined a photographer's forum just to get in my 2 cents of hoping to see our wedding pictures!!!! I beg you.

WillCAD · June 12, 2012

Akoval wrote: »

Almost a year later, 10 months and 4 days, since marrying the love of my life. Yes, I am the original poster to the CL ad for missing wedding photos. No, it was not a "scam", and *of course* I was bashing the photographer! She still has not contacted me about our photos and refuses my phone calls/texts. I'd imagine you all would do the same. And yes that CL ad was a plea for anyone who happened to get it in the mail to google "lost koval pictures" and find the ad on CL. Obviously, I am still searching-which led me here.

You cannot imagine the grief and utter chaos that went through my mind when our photographer admitted 3 months after the wedding that our photos were indeed lost. As for hiring a professional, I can't tell you how many times i've wished that. that i could just go back and change that one stupid mistake. At the time, she appeared very "professional."

For those of you interested, my husband and I are 20 years old, 19 at the time of our wedding, and managed to pull off a very slim budgeted wedding, and a FUN one at that: but with no photos to prove it

So for those of you still reading, I sincerely ask you "WHAT DO I DO NOW????" Should I go to her house, demand her computer and SD cards and try to have the photos recovered? How much would it cost? and any locals know of anyone trustworthy and competent for such an important task?
Please reply if you're here. Obviously, I care. I joined a photographer's forum just to get in my 2 cents of hoping to see our wedding pictures!!!! I beg you.

Your story is a horrible tragedy, and a cautionary tale for anyone who is planning a wedding.

As many others have said, there isn't much you can do now. Your photos are gone - if there was any possibility of getting them back without hiring an expensive pro recovery service, the fauxtographer who shot your wedding would likely have done so immediately. Likewise, due to the elapsed time, there is little chance today of even a pro recovery service getting them back.

And all of this assumes that the problem was lost pics, as opposed to possibilities such as the fauxtographer simply forgetting to put a memory card into the camera, or having auto focus turned off, or white balance set wrong, or some other rookie mistake that completely trashed every frame, and she's simply too embarassed to admit it. After all, lost pics can arguably be chalked up to an act of god, but camera operator error is entirely due to incompetence.

So, here's my advice, which is probably worth what you're paying for it (i.e. El Zilcho):

1) Hire a reputable photographer to do a re-shoot. I'm sure you still have your gown, and your bridesmaids probably still have their dresses. You may still have the boquet. It shouldn't be difficult to get hair and makeup to match. Your husband and his groomsmen should still be able to rent the same tuxes they had for the wedding. You can use your guests' photos as guides to match up the looks. And it may be possible to do the shoot in your church (or wherever the ceremony was held and the actual photographs were shot). As Glort said, re-shoots are less stressful than wedding day, and can produce wonderful results. RELATED TOPIC: I even know a bride who had her photographer shoot some pre-wedding pics in the gown, and had one printed poster-size as a signing board for the reception. The result was beautiful and created an awesome keepsake for her and her husband. It also let her work with the photographer ahead of time to guage how well they worked together, the quality of his technique, and his responsiveness.

2) Share your story. It's an excellent cautionary tale for young couples who are preparing for their weddings. It's happened to you, and there's nothing you can do to fix it, but maybe you can prevent it from happening to others. Write your story out like a magazine article, send it to everyone you know, post it on any message boards where you are a member, and post it on Facebook. Others can learn from your tragedy, the point being not to trash the fauxtographer who lost your pics, but to help other couples choose a more reputable, experienced, and competent photographer for their own weddings.

QUESTION FOR DGRINERS: Anyone know of a good online tutorial for couples who need help choosing a photographer? Something that *Mrs. Koval can include in her story?

*You still getting used to being called that?

I'm speechless when it comes to this kind of stupidity on the part of a photographer

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