Dylan Dawson Photography

I shall preface this review by saying I did eventually get what was promised and paid for. And the album was absolutely beautiful... ...And I got it almost five years after the date of the wedding in question. So, I will go over every detail and provide all the documented/ photographed evidence to support why I will never, in a million years, recommend this photographer to anyone for anything. My mother and I contacted Mr. Dawson regarding engagement photographs as well as a wedding package (photography of prep, ceremony,  reception, etc. Plus wedding album and copies of photos on a flash drive. The wedding package was somewhere in the tune of $3k or so. Fair enough, I know these things are pricey, and my family had no objections to spending that kind of money on my husband and I.  Contract signed, all seems well. The wedding is lovely, no issues with him then. The date of my wedding was April 21, 2018. My husband had to leave on a year long deployment very shortly after our wedding (less than three months in). At this time, I'll admit to not picking out the photos I wanted in my album for a few weeks- work and my absent husband keeping my mind otherwise occupied. Mr. Dawson assures me this is fine. He delivers a flash drive with every picture he's taken (image 1) and tells me to let him know once I have picked 100 to be in the album.  Again, I have no issue with this. I finish picking out my desired pictures after long workdays and a medical emergency, but at last I send him the list of chosen images. The time is April/May 2019. I check to make sure he got my email with the numbers of chosen photos, and Mr Dawson confirms he has and will get back to me w/ layout for my perusal in a few weeks. Date of message is July 9, 2019. (Image 2) Fast forward to February 2020. He lost his copies of my pictures and requests I give him a flash drive w/ the chosen pictures I want. A bit of an annoying inconvenience, but I hand him a flash drive as requested in person. Again, he confirms he has them and will send me a layout in a few days. Date he says this is March 18, 2020. (Image 3) After several unanswered and unreturned calls over the following months,  I text him on April 7, 2021 (image 4). I inquire into the status of my album, as I have heard nothing since our March 2020 conversation. Nothing. For the next 2 years, Mr Dawson ignores any calls (even admitted to me on one occasion that he was in fact, avoiding my calls) and texts with a scattered response once in a blue moon. When he does reply, he gives another excuse, and another assurance that my album will soon be done. He blames covid, the government, and a lack of money. When prompted, he agrees he had been paid in full, but cannot at any point tell me why the money my family paid him was not used for my album. He would often cite needing to have another gig to get money to make the album. At best, this suggests he is terrible with money. Only after many ultimatums finally ending in telling him I would sue for breach of contract did I finally recieve the album in February of 2023. Was the album gorgeous and well made? Yes. Was it worth the anxiety, frustration, wait, and utter lack of professional courtesy? A thousand times no. I will let the texts speak for themselves. Note how I did not constantly hound him, and the amount of time I waited before prodding again.