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AIBU?

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Original poster

Terrible wedding photos

78 replies

Roiiae · 04/07/2019 23:01

Not AIBU but posting here shamelessly for replies.

Got married a few weeks ago, and the photos from the photographer are awful. I look like crap, I didn't get my hair or make up done professionally and thought I looked ok until I saw these. It was a very small wedding so the photographer was an acquaintance, but he didn't edit them.

I'm not sure what to do, just wondered if in the only bride to hate my wedding photos Sad the bride is supposed to look her very best on her wedding day and I cringe to see fhese.

OP posts:
TixieLix · 05/07/2019 14:58

I got married 30 years ago and had a 'professional' photographer. He was supposed to be the best from this particular company. Well on this day he was crap! He had no idea how to group people, there are no photos with my brother in, we have shots with us squinting into the sun. I have no wedding photos on show because I hate all of them.

MaMisled · 05/07/2019 15:02

Mine have sat in a drawer since 2005. Ive never even put one in a frame! Absolutely bloody awful!!

dontfluffthefluffer · 05/07/2019 15:09

Was the photographer an actual professional photographer? If so be very wary of editing them without his knowledge as that's against copyright.

If he's happy for you to edit them then feel free to message me and I'll see what I can do (for free obvs - I've taken some time off for summer and have twitchy fingers wanting to do some work). I'm a professional photographer and digital retoucher with many years experience in photoshop and editing work for people. (Let me know on this if you've messaged as the app doesn't have a message function sadly and I'm rarely on the desktop version).

Yesicancancan · 05/07/2019 15:11

Put them away for 10 years, you will look at them in a whole new light.
Scan and edit yourself, so many free filters on line, turn your fav into black and white.
I’m sure you actually look lovely

Zaphodsotherhead · 05/07/2019 15:16

I'm sure you look much better than you think you do. Maybe your expectations are too high, somehow? Do you look happy to be there and to be marrying your spouse - because that's all that matters.

I have the most gorgeous set of wedding pictures, taken by my daughter, it was a beautiful sunlit day and the pictures are set in a lovely meadow with spring flowers. He left me less than three years later.

Photos mean nothing, in the larger scheme of things.

TooManyPaws · 05/07/2019 15:18

Perfectly normal years ago to get photos done in a studio; my grandparents' wedding photo is a studio one. And a friend who got married in the late 70s had a studio session in between the wedding and reception - usual in her area of the UK. So you could certainly try that.

SkinThing · 05/07/2019 15:18

I'm a photographer, OP.

I do landscapes and stock photography; I stay far away from weddings as I don't think I'd be able to handle the pressure!

If you have RAW files I don't mind editing a few for you (no cost of course). I have software and spare time.

PetraRabbit · 05/07/2019 15:46

Firstly, this isn't trivial. Wedding photos should be something special to treasure. As this was fairly recent I would do your research and find a good photographer to take some beautiful portraits of you as a couple, either at the venue (if possible) or just in a studio/nice outdoor setting. It's summer which makes that easier. If outdoor, schedule them for what photographers call the golden hour or just before for the most flattering light (late afternoon at the earliest). Make your goal to take away at least two amazing photos and don't expect to replicate all the moments- cake cutting etc. Go on a local Facebook group and ask photographers for examples of their work. If it's important to you, be prepared to pay a decent amount. Good photography costs more. Also contact friends and family to ask for copies of any photos they took. There's a decent chance someone took better photos than your rubbish photographer, by the sound of it. Sorry this happened to you. I sympathise as a photographer once let me down badly and I also find if difficult not to be angry to this day but ultimately you have to let it go.

Dariuszterepkaphotography · 05/07/2019 16:56

I am a professional photographer and one thing that makes me want to scream is when a bride is not happy with the outcome of the images when the most important day of their life is left for an amateur photographer to document the day. I understand everyone has a budget for their wedding. But when you spent thousands on venue, dj, food etc..., the most important vendor of the day is a professional photographer so he can capture the beauty of the event. Sorry to say you get what you pay for.

that25cUKHeatwaveof2019 · 05/07/2019 17:05

the most important vendor of the day is a professional photographer

is it? The most important thing for my wedding was for us AND OUR GUESTS to have a blast. I can't stand weddings that are just a photoshoot with hours of posing and everybody left standing whilst the bride and groom disappear.
Keep pics as a souvenir by all means, but don't turn the whole day as a photo op', you can book a photoshoot if you really want amazing photos. Enjoy the day is so much more important.

AwdBovril · 05/07/2019 17:22

I sympathise. The photos of DH & I on our wedding day were basically useless, they were mostly out of focus. They were done by BIL, my father is also a keen photographer, & kept trying to butt in but he wasn't long out of hospital after a major stroke, & kept getting in the way, & distracted the main photographer, ruining the majority of the photos, he's actually in a lot of them by accident. BIL severely lacks confidence, & never mentioned he was having problems, we were so upset when we got the photos back. We've never told anyone in RL. We have one nice, usable photo from the day, a snapshot taken by someone else.

MIL made our wedding cake, & a lot of it wasn't edible. We never told anyone about that either.

Don't let it ruin your memories of the day. It's just one day, to celebrate the fact that you're now married, which is the bit that's actually important.

Moralitym1n1 · 05/07/2019 18:02

@dontfluffthefluffer

What a kind offer to op!

People like you renew my faith in human nature.

mazv1953 · 05/07/2019 18:14

Our son's photos were bloody awful - and horrendously expensive. But we printed off loads of pics from family and friends and some of them were lovely. Feel sad for you and hope you find some nice ones somewhere

IamWaggingBrenda · 05/07/2019 18:35

I agree with others - find out if other people have photos you could have copies of. We hired a photographer who was a friend of my in-laws. He was awful, and made it clear after we hired him, had him take the photos and then showed us the proofs, that he really didn’t want to do our wedding as he had already retired Hmm So yes, our official photos were bad, but we got some great photos from friends and family.

BellatrixLestat · 05/07/2019 18:36

My photos, quality wise, were excellent. I didn't like the way I looked in them as I hated the way I had my hair (my own fault I chose the style).

SerenDippitty · 05/07/2019 18:37

I asked the husband of a work colleague to do them. He didn’t actually do wedding photos for a living. The photos were ok but nothing special. I had a slight wardrobe malfunction in that my hooped petticoat went funny and the dress wouldn’t hang properly at the front. That wasn’t his fault, but he did take one of us in the church garden standing In front of some pampas grass. Didn’t know its significance then.

Hepte · 05/07/2019 18:45

I hated my wedding photos and was so upset by them. We did pay a photographer but we were on a tight budget so he wasn't very expensive compared to some. We've been married for 6 years now and this is the first year I've been able to look at them without getting upset. I just think about how amazing the day was and how happy I felt at the time and try not to dwell on the photos.
You will feel better about them eventually x

Laiste · 05/07/2019 18:48

I didn't really like my wedding cake :(

I was disappointed when i saw if for the first time and when ever i look at my wedding album (about once every 3 years ... married for 6 years) i get to the cake shots and think '' ........ oh yeah. that cake''.

BUT hey ho. I mind less with every passing set of 3 years Grin

that25cUKHeatwaveof2019 · 05/07/2019 18:50

he did take one of us in the church garden standing In front of some pampas grass. Didn’t know its significance then.

GrinGrinGrin

TaxiPlease · 05/07/2019 18:54

OP, the first thing you need to do is check if you / your friend has RAW files. This is important because it determines how much can be done editing-wise. If you don't have them, there's unfortunately much less scope for improvement.

pictish · 05/07/2019 19:01

I hated/still hate our wedding photos too. We did a quickie wedding on a budget owing to my mum’s terminal illness and wanting to see me get married. Dh’s aunt, who is a lovely generous person, offered to do the photos as she had a very fancy camera and seemed passably good at taking photos.
Well, they were/are bloody awful. Not one flattering one of me and only one flattering one of dh, which was a fluke. I was so disappointed and upset and had to fight not to cry in front of her when she brought them round for us to to see. They have never seen the light of day, sadly. We’ve been married 14 years and don’t have a single passable picture of our wedding day.

The good news is, I never think about it. It doesn’t impact on my life in any tangible way. We have other great pictures of us together so all is not lost. Sorry your photos are rubbish. It’s a shame.

Gemz92 · 05/07/2019 19:09

Sorry you had such a bad experience with your photographer Hun, I'm a photo editor and be more than happy to make your photos look amazing and I don't charge a penny

Dariuszterepkaphotography · 05/07/2019 20:09

A professional photographer is there for guests not to see him and not to interfere with the fun, if he/she is good the planned portraits are done without anyone getting annoyed or bored. I have done many weddings and I have been a part for many I know when a photos good by the fact I don’t really see them because of interference of the moments.

that25cUKHeatwaveof2019 · 05/07/2019 21:11

if he/she is good the planned portraits are done without anyone getting annoyed or bored.

depends on the bride and groom requirements too. Some people are happy with "candid' photos who don't stop the flow of the party, others want a collection of pictures and hundred of poses, and it's ever so boring. They end up with maybe great photos, but not a great day at all.

ColinM · 06/07/2019 09:19

Hi, I saw this post and felt dreadful for you! Do you have the original images? Did the photographer shoot in jpeg file or Raw?
(It will be the last 3 letters at the end of the image)

I'm a professional photographer and I'm happy to have a look and see if I can at least make a few of them look okay..

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