Freebird Photography

riend's weddings and my summers for 7+ years) to not stick up for myself and defend my position.  It’s true- in the five or six weeks you were on contract with me it became apparent that we were not a good fit. It is however important to note that in my seven years of doing this and 125+ weddings later, this was a first for me. It was a decision I did not take lightly and I hope it’s a situation I never have to face again.  Fortunately, with 16+ months until your wedding, I felt as though I had given you more than enough time to find someone who met your needs.  For transparency purposes, and because I believe the exit email that I sent you fairly describes the events that took place, I’m just going to copy and paste that (verbatim) below.  And although your responses via email and publicly here on The Knot were fiery to say the least, I can rest easy knowing that I handled this in a professional and respectful way. As I said in my followup email to you, this whole thing really boiled down to (not) respecting and valuing my time and my efforts.  It also made me weary for what your expectations might be in the future.  Whether it's 9-hours in the car to drive to/from your engagement session or roundtrip same-day flights, I just didn't see us coming to an agreement that would make us both feel comfortable and fairly compensated.  Time is our most valuable and most limited resource, and because of COVID postponements, I have to be especially mindful of that going into my busiest wedding season of all time.  Unfortunately, your expectations just weren’t aligned with what I was willing to offer.  _______________ "Hi! Sorry for my delay in response. I was finally able to sit down today to really consider everything. I guess where I’m having a hard time with all of this is the time aspect. The engagement session in your package is pretty basic. It’s a 60-minute session. Usually I’d drive to Boston or shoot it on a beach locally. All said and done, they probably take me 4-hours to travel, shoot, cull, edit and deliver. That being said, I just feel like there’s an expectation for me to put in A LOT of time and effort here without being compensated for it, and unfortunately, it makes me feel like maybe we’re not a great fit for one another. When we were talking about driving, I was charging you for mileage only, not the 9+ hours of my time. I thought I was meeting you half-way with that, but instead I continued to get pushback on how I could do better. Then there was the expectation of me to do all 9-hours of driving in one day, before and after our shoot in the city. And while a flight would only be 75-minutes each way, there’s driving to Boston, parking at the airport, getting there early to check in, etc. — we would easily be at 4-hours one way for $100. Once I land, I’ll have all my gear to carry around in NYC until the time of our shoot, no home base, Uber’s, taxi’s, etc. For me, it just doesn’t feel like a fair and equitable scenario for a full day's work/travel for $200. Maybe we should have better ironed out the engagement session details before signing a contract; We live and learn I suppose. I'll partially own that. In closing though, I’m just getting a gut feeling that we’re probably not a great fit for each other. That being said, I've attached a cancellation of services document. Once it's signed and returned, I'll be happy to refund your full retainer via Check (snail mail) or Venmo. This is definitely uncomfortable and something I don't take lightly, but I think it's in the best interest for both of us in the long run. A wedding photographer is at your hip and by your side your WHOLE wedding day; there shouldn't be even the slightest hint of uncomfortability or resentfulness. Once you find your person, you should click and vibe with them... it should be smooth sailing and effortless. Happy to hop on a call later if you'd like to discuss further. Thanks for your time guys. I sincerely do wish you the best, Kate"