A little disappointed in my pro photos...

[CNOS128]

I''m not going to post them, but I''m a little bummed. Some of them are absolutely beautiful, but some are just...eh. And there are a lot of shots I thought they got that just don''t seem to exist in our set of proofs. I will have to inquire.

I guess the proofs aren''t retouched or anything -- but I was kind of expecting to look better, as vain as that sounds. I know they can''t make me look like a different person (and in retrospect, looking at the photos, I kind of hate my makeup), but I sorta thought a great photographer would make me look like a better version of myself.

But, there are definitely some nice ones, at least enough for an album. So... that''s the bright side, I guess!

 

[iheartscience]

I''m sorry you''re disappointed! Do you think they''ll grow on you once the initial let down wears off? Sometimes when I look forward to something for a long time and then I get it I''m disappointed/let down at first, but then I get over it. And at least you like some-I''ve heard and read horror stories here of people hating every single one or the photographer just plain not doing a good job.

I would also definitely talk to the photographer about retouching and the missing shots. And I would still love to see the good ones if you feel like sharing!

 

[kama_s]

I'm sorry to hear your pro photos didn't turn out as well. I definitely think you should ask you for the photogs you think might be missing - maybe your photog didn't think they came out too well, but you'd rather have a photographer than none.

Also, I think as long as you have one album set, you're good. Very rarely does anyone go through aaalllll the pictures from their wedding. From our Indian wedding, we recieved around 2000 pictures and majority were absolute GARBAGE. But I had enough for a small album and that's all I look at. So even though I was initially very disappointed, it really didn't make much difference in the end.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

You know, I felt the same way. We had a lot of photography issues before the wedding (like firing my original photog a week before the big day). We ended up going outside our budget to hire a nice photog in our area who was know for really journalistic (is that even a word?) shots. We were totally excited...but on the other end when we got the proofs there was this moment of "oh, that''s it?".

Here''s the deal...you create an album. You take the best you have, lay it out interestingly enough to make it full and all encompassing...and you love it for what it is.

((hugs))

 

[Lilac]

I''m so sorry you''re disappointed.

I know how it feels - I hated ALL my pictures from the wedding with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 pictures that were decent. Unfortunately mine were so bad nothing can really fix them, but you said you have enough good ones that you can make an album out of which is great! And if they haven''t been retouched yet, it''s amazing how different pictures can look with a little Photoshopping or just even some simple retouching. I''ve seen really dark, not so pretty pictures go from that to AMAZING with some retouching!

 

[princessplease]

I''m sorry T

 

[BigDiamonds]

I''m sorry.

I had a similar experience...I expected to look like supermodel in my photos, and mostly I just looked like me with a lot of makeup. However, I will say that after the initial disappointment, I went back through and felt better. There were a lot of really good shots, but they were mixed in with about 750 other shots that were just ''meh''. I would suggest that you try to separate the photos somehow into 1) glamour/artistic shots and 2) guests/family/details. It''s just really hard to make that second group exciting. When I looked at the first group by itself, I realized that we had a handful (maybe 10-15) really beautiful shots, and some others that were pretty good too.

Try to imagine what you would think of the photos if you didn''t have any expectations. I hope you feel better!

 

[honey22]

I''m sorry you are disappointed with your pics, it would be devastating. This is one of my biggest fears I guess

 

[Laila619]

I''m so sorry. I can totally relate--we weren''t super thrilled with our photos either. In addition, the photographer didn''t get any shots of either set of my grandparents being introduced at the reception. Nor did he get any shots of me arriving at the church.

 

[CNOS128]

Thank you for your understanding, everyone! In the grand scheme of things, sub-par wedding photos aren''t a disaster, I know. I''m sure in a couple of days I''ll get over myself!

Thing2 -- the more I look through them the more okay I feel about them (but I''m still not thrilled). I guess there was too much buildup in my mind, and I think I''m also unable to view photos of myself objectively. I think every picture of DH is adorable, so that''s a good thing!

kama You''re right that all I really need is an album ( maybe a couple of prints to hang in the house ), and I''ll definitely have that much!

italia that''s Exactly how I feel. The photos were really important to me, and we spent a ton of money on the photographer to get photos that are underwhelming. Part of it is that I feel a little guilty for having spent to much money. I also kind of wonder how in 10 hours of photographing they only came up with about 1,000 halfway decent pictures. argh.

Lilac I''m so sorry you hated your photos! It really stinks. I guess it''s important to focus on the big picture (we''re still married and happy!) and hold on to the memories of the day!

princessplease Thank you!

BigDiamonds You''re completely right -- so much of it was just about the expectations, and there really ARE some beautiful shots in there (just not any of the closeups of my face...) and going through them there are plenty to look at that make me feel warm and fuzzy. My mother looked at them and said she liked most of the photos and loved about 20%, so that''s pretty good. I guess I''m also used to seeing people''s complete albums without all the other hundreds of shots that didn''t make it. I could have a really nice album!

Honey22, thanks! I definitely would have felt devastated if there were NONE I liked at all... I kind of feel stupid for having gone with this photographer, although I''m not sure what I could have done differently - I loved their portfolio and they''ve gotten great reviews. C''est la vie!

Laila I''m sorry you didn''t love your photos either. Part of what disappointed me was that there were WAY more photos of DH''s parents than mine, for no apparent reason. And there were certain photos I specifically asked them NOT to take -- but there are a bunch of those. I just don''t understand!

 

[AsscherGirl]

I think this is a totally normal reaction! I was disappointed in my photos as well and spent a LOT of time feeling sorry for myself. Then when my hubs & I went to pick the pictures for our album, we had to pare down our choices by like 60 pictures or something! We realized we had more than enough beautiful photos for our album and in the long run that is the only thing that we will look at 25 years from now. I had some other issues with my photog. that makes me unable to recommend them to people, but those who just see my album are always impressed (as am I!) I LOVE my album, it''s beautiful and the shots I wish were in there are not thought of when I''m looking at the album. Now when I look at my proofs, I am overall happy with my wedding photos (2 years out!)

1,000 photos for 10 hours is pretty good. I had my peeps (2 photogs) for 8 hours and had about 600. When I look at other people''s proofs I realize my photogs did not take 20 of the same shot and give me every option. We probably had 1 or 2 of every portrait and only 1 of the more candid moments.

The photog. can def. edit/retouch the photos for your album or prints if you want. You can also post your favorite ones on PS and everyone will tell you how beautiful they are .

 

[Jen_91909]

oh wow, I''m sorry T. I have to say, I am nervous about the same thing happening to me... I am putting a lot of stock in the pictures, hired a great photographer and I worry I will be let down.
Really, I''m worried b/c we had an engagement session with the photographer that I was so excited about afterwards and then when I saw the proofs it was kind of like "oh....really?"
And ya know, they were technically amazing pictures, but I think b/c of the journalistic quality of them there were a lot where I was caught mid-laughter or something that didn''t look particularly flattering. And I thought he was going to turn me into a model or something, ha. So I can imagine how you''re feeling right now. It is great you think you can get a wedding album that you''re happy with out of them, I suppose going forwards that''s the most important thing.

 

[Allison D.]

I''m sorry you''re underwhelmed, but I''d suggest going back through them a few times with an eye toward what might be done to take them from eh to WOW!

You''d be amazed at what can be done post-shoot to improve on photos; don''t underestimate the impact that color and exposure correction can have on the photos.

Also, photographers tend to take wider angle shots because you can always zoom in, but you can''t replace what you didn''t get. A photo that might look meh today could be cropped to produce a wow photo tomorrow.

With that in mind, I''d sit down and go through them again to look for potential and then talk with your photographer about what can be done to make them photos you''ve love.

 

[CNOS128]

Thank you Danielle, Jen, and Allison!

The more I look at the photos, the more I really do see some wonderful ones. Those friends and relatives we''ve shown the pictures to all think they are fabulous, so maybe the problem is just me. . . even so, I definitely have a few that I absolutely love, and many that I would be happy to put in our album (especially with some extra-special editing!).

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Date: 8/2/2009 10:48:24 AM
Author: TheBigT

BigDiamonds You''re completely right -- so much of it was just about the expectations, and there really ARE some beautiful shots in there (just not any of the closeups of my face...) and going through them there are plenty to look at that make me feel warm and fuzzy. My mother looked at them and said she liked most of the photos and loved about 20%, so that''s pretty good. I guess I''m also used to seeing people''s complete albums without all the other hundreds of shots that didn''t make it. I could have a really nice album!

TBT, is it possible for you to edit out some of the ones you DO like to focus on your face? Kinda cropping out everything else out?

Did they give you the digital images? If so, are they high resolution? Our engagement photos were great, I got about 50 shots that are amazing and then I edited further and even with all the cropping I was able to get very good 5x7 and even some 8x10 images due to them using the highest resolution possible.

Hope that helps a little! And I send you hugs. Photography is probably my biggest slurge, and that is also my biggest fear!

 

[Dreamgirl]

Aw man that stinks big time. I''m sorry about that. Gosh I would be so upset! I''d let them know you didn''t get all the shots you wanted...

 

[CDNinNYC]

TheBigT, I think what you're feeling is completely normal and I'm glad to read the photos are growing on you.

I think part of the issue is that the proofs haven't been touched up yet. Once they are, they'll look all that much better.

I think another issue is self-image. When we received our photos, I was thrilled with them but, honestly, a tiny part of me was a little disappointed in how I looked (and I hate how vain that sounds). I too "thought a great photographer would make me look like a better version of myself." I got over it quickly enough, though, because she did such a great job documenting the day. I'll just edit out those 'not so attractive' photos from our album.

 

[CNOS128]

Thanks, Dreamgirl - I''m definitely going to do that, although I''m not sure if there''s anything that can be done now....

CDN - You''re absolutely right that a lot of it is self image. When I look at the photos of almost everyone else I think they are fabulous, for the most part. That leaves the self-image factor. But as my DH pointed out, the most important thing is that when I look at the photos, I remember the day and how wonderful it was, which is really the whole point...