Wedding Photographer brought daughter along

[Anonymous2029]

So we had a very small intimate wedding which was full of lots of emotions due to various reasons. It was just us, our 2 young children and our parents. I asked a local photographer if they would come for an hour for a few photos, I wanted a nice one of the 4 of us, 1 of us all, 1 of us with my parents and 1 with grooms parents. Didn’t feel this was a big ask. Paid £200 for 45 mins of photographers time plus editing which I thought was reasonable.

The night before the photographer messaged and asked if she could bring her daughter aged 9. I should have said no, but I felt a bit pushed into saying yes as she said she had no childcare and I thought she might cancel if I said no!

I wasn’t very happy anyway with the wedding photos, she didn’t get a nice one of the 4 of us. She took it at a really odd angle so you couldn’t see the children’s faces. However my dad took loads and his were much better but in ALL the photos (that my dad took) there is the photographers daughter!!! She wanted to play with the girls but it meant that all the beautiful photos of them in the gardens playing with the flowers and then with us were with this 9 year old. My eldest didn’t take to her and got annoyed that she wanted to play.

The photographer also forgot to take a photo with us my parents! And got annoyed when my husband mentioned it and said she’d take it on one of our phones instead as she’d put her camera away.

AIBU to complain? Would you be annoyed at this? Obviously we can’t change things now and it’s only when looking back at the photos and now I’ve got the professional ones that I’ve realised we don’t have the 1 photo I really wanted :(

That sounds rubbish service from the photographer.
I doubt you will get any redress, but it’s a pity that you had to be distracted by the daughter on your lovely day. Congratulations though.

Gah, I'd be really annoyed at this. Not sure what you can do now if you've already paid.

Well I think you're not being unreasonable at all and you're justified but you shouldn't have said the daughter could come along....

I know and so I’m not sure I can complain but the night before you get married you don’t really think through these things and until I saw the photos I didn’t really realise the consequences, I think she shouldn’t have asked in the first place to be honest as she knew it was an intimate wedding with emotion behind it all too

It’s one thing bringing along a nine year old because you don’t have any childcare but another leaving the child to involve themselves with the guests and play with the bridal party. I doubt complaining will get you anywhere though. Congratulations on your wedding, don’t let this ruin the day.

Bringing her child wasn't great (at the very least she should have ensured her child wasn't captured in any of the shots) but I'd be more annoyed at the quality of the photos. Surely rule number one for a professional photographer is ensuring that everyone is in focus, you can see their faces and nobody has their head cut off.

Can you photo edit her child out of your photos?

OP, YABU - She asked, you said yes. End of.
This is a lesson in not people pleasing.
Perhaps you could do a re-shoot? With a friend taking pictures exactly as you want them? I know it isn't the same but at least you'd have some of your DD's without the random 9 year old.

Sorry you’ve missed out on decent photos OP but is this person actually a wedding photographer, you just mention a local photographer? A proper wedding photographer wouldn’t bring their child along

Yes a recommended wedding photographer! And she cut my husbands head off some photos too! I never usually do reviews but I might do on this occasion..

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!

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..

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.

Some examples of heads cut off! It’s not like these are just one of hundreds - these ARE the main photos! Surely not usual?

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'

She was only there 45 mins! Lived 5 mins down the road and had 8 people to photograph

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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