We were excited to have Joseph and Michelle Wood as our wedding photographers in September, 2016, but we ended up sadly disappointed with both their service and the product delivered. The day we met with them, they came across as cool and dista...nt, but the quality of the images they showed us convinced us to put our trust in them. We regret that we now feel that trust was misplaced.
On the day of our wedding, we were disappointed in their engagement in the event. Their focus seemed to be on posed images, and many beautiful spontaneous moments were missed. They were often seen with their attention directed to the back of the camera rather than observing the events and finding candid moments to capture. They gave little direction on group photos, to the point that my husband began organizing and directing the group images himself. Additionally, although there were many lovely locations on the reception grounds, all group images were taken in the same spot, and the resulting photos have unattractive elements in the background. Details of composition were also unpolished, with hands/feet/etc cut off. There are few artistic and creatively composed portraits. Two couples at our wedding with upcoming weddings chose to not hire them based on performance on the day of wedding.
The day we hired them, we viewed a partially-edited gallery of photos from a wedding the previous weekend, and the Woods told us they would be delivered to the customer within a few days – thus encouraging us with the hope of a timely turnaround. We were later told that we would receive the completed images in 6-8 weeks, but at 8.5 weeks we had not received our pictures nor had any communication from them. When we inquired as to when to expect delivery, we were told that their work on other shoots had prevented the timely processing of our wedding photos, and accused of being rude for having asked when pictures would arrive.
When the images finally arrived, our emotions were mixed. There are some lovely captures of our special day, and we will cherish these images forever. And there are plenty of pictures - over 1200. But that number includes many out of focus or poorly composed images. It appears to be a gallery of all the photos snapped that day, without any culling or processing. We were disappointed that, after waiting 2 months to see our wedding pictures, the images received seemed to have received little organization or editing.
The choice of photographer is an important decision in planning a wedding, and provides the only permanent record of a couple's special day. We were sadly disappointed in our selection of The Woods Wedding as our wedding photographers, and wanted to share our experience in hopes of sparing other couples the same disappointment.