Luke Payne Photography

21 due to COVID. We had our engagement shoot this summer, after I received my engagement photos, I contacted him with some questions and concerns about the editing. Specifically, I did not feel like the work he delivered to me was reflective of the same quality of pictures on his Instagram page. I asked Luke if he could lighten a few photos for me to hang in my house and if, for my wedding photos, he would be able to edit out fly-aways and some acne on the day of my wedding. He refused to lighten up the photos because it did not match his aesthetic and Luke was dismissive of my questions about touch-ups for my wedding photos, suggesting that I use better hair spray and that my fiancé wear makeup to cover his acne. My communication with Luke made me feel like I was ugly and demanding - no bride should feel that way. Since then, I found out from the photographer I eventually hired for my wedding that my questions and requests for editing were reasonable. As a result of the conversation about editing/touch-ups, Luke emailed me stating he felt we wouldn't be a good fit but he would leave the ultimate decision about moving forward to me and that we could do our Adventure Shoot which I had already paid for. Given this communication, I felt uncomfortable with him photographing my wedding or even going forward with our Adventure Shoot. I gave Luke almost a year notice that he could rebook my wedding date. Considering the significant advance notice, I asked if I could compensate him for his time spent on the engagement photos and receive a refund for my remaining deposit. Luke responded that he would not provide any type of refund and, worse, that he would take Legal Action if I left a negative review. Seeing his response, I felt intimidated and anxious and ultimately contacted a lawyer. I hired Luke because I thought he was going to be fun to work with and create pictures that would make me feel my best. Instead, Luke was dismissive of my questions and blamed me for my concerns on the engagement shoot, which showed his lack of flexibility and interpersonal communication. I think a more experienced photographer could have navigated my questions in a better way. Worst of all he threatened to sue me if I voiced my honest concerns on a review site, and I feel this is something future brides should be aware of – I wouldn’t want other people to end up in my same situation.

ew photos... and then turns around and creates magic! If the rest of our photos are even half as awesome as our sneak peek photos... I'm unsure there are words for the happiness... he was such a great find, and is worth every penny!

ift us with a book of Polaroids they took. They were good at making posing look more natural and really know their stuff. Excellent people.