Wedding Photographer brought daughter along

Leave a review, she sounds rubbish. It seems very hard to get a decent wedding photographer. Either crap photos or they faff round for ages.
She shouldn't have asked to bring her daughter and she certainly should have kept her out of the way I'd complain too. It won't do any good but might save someone else going through what you have.

It sounds like she didn’t have childcare but that has greatly impacted on her ability to do her work.
The photos are terrible.
The price she charged isn’t the point, she was paid to do a job and by the looks of it didn’t do it very well.
I would be annoyed at her daughter’s involvement in the wedding too.

I think the issue of the photos being bad and her DD being there are separate.

You’re within your rights to complain about the poor quality photos and the fact she didn’t capture the people you had pre agreed. As for bringing her daughter, this is unprofessional, however given all the facts stated (someone local, 5 minutes away in the village, 45 minute shoot) she probably got the impression it was much less formal than a job she was being paid £1500 to do, hence feeling comfortable in asking. Because you agreed when asked, I don’t think it’s reasonable to later complain about the child being there

It was too cheap a price regardless. You have found out the hard way unfortunately that scrimping on cost means reduced quality.

You can easily edit the child out of photos using AI tools: most smartphones have these built in now.

I used to have a mobile hairdresser that once turned up with her two very young children and a wappy Dalmatian with her. I couldn’t believe it, I would have cancelled had I known, I no longer have her, not professional at all.

Did you see examples of her work before hiring her?

Even for 45 minutes, that's just the shoot time. £200 is quite cheap for professional services including editing

I'd be furious OP. I understand bringing the child, if there was a childcare emergency it's either that or cancel the wedding photography..but I'd assume it would be a case of the child sitting in a corner with headphones on and strict instructions not to interact. It's totally unprofessional. I'd complain

I think it depends on area for price. Near me you can get a very good wedding photographer for £1500 for a whole day event, so then £200 for an hour isn’t peanuts.

I’m sorry to hear you were so messed about. As someone else has suggested, there are Facebook groups where people’ll edit people out of photos for you.

She didn't take the photos with her daughter in

Her daughter was playing with OP's daughters and happens to be in the pictures OP's DF took

She sounds like a very bad photographer even without the daughter popping up all over the place. I wouldn't be leaving a great review for sure

I would reach out to her before leaving a bad review and give her the chance to make amends. £200 is very cheap for wedding photos (a lot of the work is in the editing afterwards not just the event) but if she agreed to get the shots you asked for she should have done so. And I agree, taking photos of your children with her daughter is just bizarre.
Perhaps she could offer you a complimentary family photo shoot so that you can get some nice ones of fhe 4 of you to make up for her failure on the day?
If nothing offered only then would I leave a bad review.

Sorry you had this experience OP. I would edit her daughter out of your photos- it’s easy to do on the photoshop app. I would also leave a negative review because it sounds very poor

There are groups on Facebook that will do edits on photos for free - if you post the good ones your dad took there will likely be people who can make them look like the other girl wasn't there.

I'd leave a review of the photographer and not bother asking her for anything else. That she would just take a photo on a phone speaks volumes to me.

OP i know i said earlier you shouldn't have said yes to her child coming along (which is still true) having read everything else you've said i think you should complain or leave a bad review. Because it doesn't even sound like she's got the basics right

None of this is relevant, you were hoping for a professional to provide a service for you. Unfortunately you didn't see the value of it because if you'd have been willing to pay properly for a professional, rather than probably posting on Facebook 'anybody free to do my wedding and not charge an arm and a leg' you instead you got somebody who was likely uninsured, unqualified, brought along a child and therefore ruined your images.

Dont scrimp on your photos, you won't get the moments back.

A hard lesson but a lesson nonetheless.

This screams “you get what you pay for” I would question why anyone would charge such a low amount and would expect an amateur service at that price.

I hate it when people do this - guilt trip over their children. I would leave a very bad review of her, get the photos first. I’m sure that you can edit her daughter out.
she wouldn’t have turned away £200 so she would have come. Lesson learnt don’t ever allow people who you pay for a service bring their children.

I would complain but £200 is not a lot for wedding photographs, did she just deliver 5 images?, people bemoan the amount it costs, but its really an example of 'pay peanuts and get monkeys'

Do a review.
I think she was very unprofessional even to ask. And when you said yes you didn’t said yes to her daughter to be involved.

We had a dc free wedding except for our dc. Very tiny wedding as in invited 2 friends only.
I has 2 dd's. 1 sent a pic to my dd's the night before of her dress.... Hadn't the heart to remind her dm they weren't actually invited..
Our wedding pics show her small dd on every fucking picture in a fuchsia pink dress like Where's Wally among all our matching outfits..
Decade on I still fume..
Review her honestly op. And ask for some edited pics without her dd in them..

I'd message her telling all this. Presumably she won't want you to post negative reviews on her website or whatever (and most photographers rely on word of mouth). She should have good editing software - maybe ask if she can edit her daughter out of the photos your dad took, or edit a few different photos together so you have one with your parents.

Taking one on her phone because she cba to get her camera out again was so unprofessional!