Friend Photography

Our One Wedding Regret: Friend Photography

We have all had those experiences that leave us wondering “how does this person run his/her own business?” That’s exactly how we felt after working with Kelly. It’s difficult to encapsulate the many issues we had with Kelly in a few sentences. Instead, I’ll list them out so... Read More that all the brides-to-be who may be considering her might get an idea of what they are in for. 1. We hired Kelly to photograph a simple civil ceremony. Because we would be dressed up for the occasion, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take some professional photos at the monuments. A week before the ceremony I sent her a file with sample photos I found on Pinterest to give her an idea of the locations and shots I liked. I should have saved my time. She never bothered to look at the email. 2. Her external flash unit would not work through our whole session (but we got to stand there in the 40-degree cold while she continued trying to use it). 3. Kelly offers to post the pictures you purchase from her on Facebook with her company logo and tag you in the photos so that your friends and family can see them digitally. A couple weeks after we purchased our prints we had to ask her to please post the photos - she forgot. 4. Kelly also forgot to make prints of all the photos we ordered. We had to go to her home twice to pick up our photos. Both times we coordinated with her ahead of time. The first time, my husband arrived at the agreed-upon time and she was still in bed. He and our dog had to wait in the rain for thirty minutes for her to finally get out of bed. You would think that because she inconvenienced us the first time we tried to make a pick-up, that when the rest of our order came in (that she forgot to order) she would either drop the photos off to us, or put them in the mail. No, she had us come pick them up again. And again, she couldn’t get her butt out of bed at the agreed-upon time. My husband AGAIN had to wait outside in the rain. This time she didn’t even bother to bring them out herself to apologize. She sent her husband. 5. My dress ripped during the first half of our photo session. When we ordered our prints I asked her to fix the rip whenever it was visible. None of the photos had been fixed. 6. Kelly’s prices are outrageous if you are doing anything outside of a cookie-cutter wedding and reception. We hired her for three hours of photos on a Sunday afternoon (no wedding demand on a Sunday I’m sure) and used her for two and half. We picked her up and dropped her off at her home so she wouldn’t have to deal with parking downtown. We ordered a handful of 4x6 and 5x7 photos ... and paid a total of almost $900. When we asked to buy a CD of the photos so that we would have back-ups in case anything happened to the ones we purchased, she offered to sell it to us for an additional $500. An additional $500! So what we are talking about here is $1400 for less than three hours of photography work and lousy service on a Sunday afternoon! Meanwhile, for your cookie-cutter wedding she offers a package including full-day coverage with her AND an assistant, online proofing, an image box with all the photos, and even a free engagement session for $2300. Kelly Friend can’t even get herself out of bed to walk 10 feet to the door to give her clients their overpriced photos. She thinks her time is more valuable than her clients. She doesn't deserve your business.