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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Rushed photoshoot

75 replies

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 06:22

I had a photoshoot for my newborn and unfortunately it took my baby a long time to fall asleep. As a result our family pics at the end were very rushed and My husband and I got the feeling that the photographer didn’t seem very interested in doing them even though I had mentioned that the family pics were important to us (she did do them but just seemed much more interested in the baby shots). I was feeling quite flustered by the end because she was rushing us/seemed uninterested and I think this was evident. My previous experience for my first child with a different photographer was quite different, it was much more relaxed and there wasn’t any clock watching so I was a bit surprised. I wish I had thought to offer her a bit of extra money to extend the session but it didn’t occur to me at the time. Am I being unreasonable to feel disappointed? Should I give feedback or leave it?

OP posts:

majesticallyawkward · 19/07/2020 07:27

Was it a newborn shoot you booked? As these are photos of the newborn, not a family shoot which may be priced differently so I could understand why the photographer wouldn't want to give you essentially 2 shoots for the price of 1.

TokyoSushi · 19/07/2020 07:27

What did you book? Did you book a newborn shoot and then add on some family pictures, or something else?

Evelefteden · 19/07/2020 07:34

Ah yes, was it a baby shoot or a family shoot that you paid for?

If it was specifically a baby shoot I can see why she was disinterested in taking pictures of you all.

ihatelockdown · 19/07/2020 07:43

Wait until you ACTUALLY get the photos before you start moaning ffs 🙄

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 07:44

It was a newborn shoot that I enquired about initially but before booking I made clear that I wanted some pictures of my eldest child and some family pictures, which she agreed to. I think she should have said then that I can’t do that or that you need to pay extra. I even said in my email that she should let me know how much extra she would charge for the session and she said there’s no extra cost but that if I buy more pictures than in the package I will need to pay more.

OP posts:

blackrabbitwhiterabbit · 19/07/2020 07:46

Another one here asking why baby had to be asleep? We just had newborn pics done last year and he was v much awake in all of them.

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 07:48

For the newborn poses they want them asleep I think because they’re easier to position.

I think it would have been fine for the baby to be awake in the family pictures which is why I suggested that she did those first or my eldest child’s pictures first and then hopefully by that time the baby would have been sleepy, but she didn’t want to do that.

OP posts:

Pinkyyy · 19/07/2020 07:53

You can't expect her to wait around for 45 minutes and then moan that she rushes an extra service that she isn't charging for. YABU and a CF.

Dramallama19 · 19/07/2020 08:13

Have you actually read the Op's replies, it was the photographer who wanted the baby asleep!!

Peeza86 · 19/07/2020 08:13

It’s pretty standard around here for a newborn shoot to include family photos. At ours she took the family shots first and then waited 30 mins or so as I fed baby and then took his photos when he was asleep. A good photographer should put you at ease, not make you feel rushed. I can see why you are disappointed but you might be surprised when you see the photos.

Silvercatowner · 19/07/2020 08:15

I work in a different field but with clients and sometimes things go wrong and we end up working beyond what’s agreed for free (within reason of course).

Just because you do that, doesn't mean your photographer is willing or able to do that. YOu have no idea about their other commitments.

MrsExpo · 19/07/2020 08:16

You say you booked a newborn shoot. That’s pictures of your baby.

Did the photographer know you also wanted family shots? Was the studio setting set up for group shots of adults? If you just booked a newborn shoot and then told asked for family shots when you arrived I can’t blame the photographer for rushing them. That’s not what you booked for.

(For background, I do a lot of equestrian portrait photography. I get a booking to turn up to photograph a horse, and then often get asked to do a few of my dog/cat/the kids with the horse/a different horse as well etc etc. I end up taking far more time than originally planned and, crucially, then have to spend a lot of extra time post processing the images, on top of the original commission. Extra work for which I was not booked but am expected to provide anyhow).

IfIHadAHeart · 19/07/2020 08:21

YABU to book such a photo shoot in the first place. There’s something about all those posed pictures in stupid costumes that really freaks me out and makes me uncomfortable

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 08:22

@Peeza86 That’s what I’m hoping!
What you had ie family pics first is what I suggested. Newborns struggle to stay awake for long periods. If we had got the family shoot done first we would have made good use of the first 45 mins

OP posts:

MarthasGinYard · 19/07/2020 08:22

That's a long duration for a newborn shoot. Hopefully you will like the pictures.

Why would you give feedback before you've seen the finished work?

Evelefteden · 19/07/2020 08:27

The photographer is at fault. When these emails were being exchanged the photographer at this point should have told have told her either that she had to buy another package or it would cost more, She didn’t. She agreed to the extra family photos at no extra cost even when OP specifically ask to know the extra costs and would pay them.

OP. Even though you were clear in what you wanted and were willing to pay extra I’d just take this on the chin and not use her again.

Hope they come out nice

ExplodingCarrots · 19/07/2020 08:28

Is anyone actually reading the OPs posts ? She said she asked the photographer for family shots and she agreed.

I think the photographer sounds difficult. She could have easily made use of them 45 minutes doing the family pictures and the pictures of your eldest. Did she say why she wouldn't do them first?

SerendipitySunshine · 19/07/2020 08:29

Newborn and full family shoot are two different things. I'd book family photographs separately if that's what you want.

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 08:31

I will hold off giving feedback. She had actually emailed me after the shoot and I didn’t know what to say to her. Will just keep it simple and not say anything about the experience for now.

@Evelefteden I wish I had offered more money during the shoot as well but because I was stressed I wasn’t thinking straight!

OP posts:

Ohyesohyeah · 19/07/2020 08:32

I'm guessing you booked a new born shoot and asked to add on photos of your other child and family too. Have you paid more for this?

If the photographer had set up her camera for the new born photos first, that is probably why she didn't want to change all her settings for the other photos to have to suddenly change back to a new born set up when he got to sleep.

Did you look at the photographer's portfolio of family portraits or did you book purely on her new born portfoilo (although any family portraits in her portfolio will probably be from dedicated family portraits time so maybe not much help.

And lastly, you keep saying that you asked for just a few family photos and it sounds like she did just a few family photos.

Actually, lastly I'm curious as to what you paid and how many photos are included, because if it's under £250 including 20+ photos then you've got an absolute bargain - and should therefore maybe expect bargain photos.

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 08:33

@ExplodingCarrots I think her focus was on getting the newborn pics done and she wasn’t really interested in the family pictures even though she had agreed to them.

OP posts:

Original poster

Jadefeather7 · 19/07/2020 08:35

@Ohyesohyeah interesting I didn’t know the camera settings are different.

I mentioned before that I offered to pay more and she said it wasn’t necessary.

Paid just over £400 for shoot and 10 images.

OP posts:

yomommasmomma · 19/07/2020 08:39

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Quarantimespringclean · 19/07/2020 08:40

Regardless of how many jobs she takes on in a day, it is just a photo shoot. You haven’t hired her for an eight hour slot. If 45 minutes was spent getting your baby to sleep that’s 45 minutes working time lost. And you booked a new born slot with some family photos as an uncharged extra so it seems right that she would want to ensure you got what you paid for before proceeding to any add ons.

If when you see the finished photos you are unhappy with them and think they look rushed or unrelaxed you don’t have to buy any prints so you won’t have lost anything.
If she takes disappointing pictures she is the loser because her profit is in the sales of the prints, not in the photo shoot itself. We once had a shoot where the photos were so very, very bad and unflattering that we laughed until we cried when we saw them. We didn’t even want to take the prepaid pack home. The studio were begging us to come back for a free session but we were very clear that if that was the best they could we would never ever be using them again. It was the first of a prepaid series of 4 sessions and We didn’t bother going back for the next three.

Evelefteden · 19/07/2020 08:40

@yomommasmomma

Newborn photo shoots.....yuck,tacky and completely unnecessary.

Yeah great input 👍

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