Wedding photographers being sued for lousy photos

Bride and gloom: Newlyweds win £1,500 compensation after disastrous wedding photographs ruin their big day

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 9:19 AM on 07th October 2009

Marc and Sylvia Day don't spend much time flicking through their wedding album.
And looking at these pictures, you can see why.
Heads are chopped off, angles are askew and in many shots you would be hard pressed to spot the bride.



Not-so-happy couple: Marc and Sylvia Day in one of Gareth Bowers' shoddy snaps

Add unfortunate positioning and poor lighting and you have a day that is unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
If that wasn't bad enough, thankyou cards provided for the newlyweds to send to their guests are emblazoned with their misspelled names.
This was the work of photographer Gareth Bowers from Fresh Images who charged them £1,450 for the privilege.
The results were so dire that the Days sued him for damages

Missing something: Mrs Day arrives at church, but the driver has half a head



Do you take this woman as your wife? He might if he could see her

Last week a judge in the county court in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, agreed, saying Bowers's service was 'woefully inadequate'. He was ordered to reimburse the couple £500 and pay £450 damages, £170 court fees and £100 compensation.
Bowers refused to comment after the case. The Days, however, have plenty to say. 'Some of those memories we will never get back again,' Mr Day said.
'He is the Don Quixote of wedding photography - he just doesn't believe that he can't do it.'


Say cheese: But they don't seem to realise it's a formal shot


There goes the bride: But at a rather stomach-churning angle

The Days examined the work of photographers at 11 wedding fairs before choosing Bowers to photograph and video the wedding on August 24 last year.
But the day was one disaster after another.
'The videographer missed us turning up at the reception so he filmed the driver opening the car door with nobody inside it,' Mrs Day said. 'Bowers also missed the cutting of the cake and you can see how angry I'm getting on the wedding video - I even do a psycho slashing knife action, which I can't believe they left in.'
But nothing could compare to the moment the couple sat down to look through the 400 photographs taken. They managed to find a mere 22 they didn't mind too much.


Final insult: 'Thank you' cards provided for the newlyweds by the photographer to send to their guests are emblazoned with their misspelled names


Exhibit 1: The compiled evidence of the poor photos that were shown to the judge

all out of focus,no theme.......what say you?

maybe this photographer got different taste of angle ,who knows??

hahahaha...mebbe they choose those lousy photos gua... try to squeeze money lo...

Now I feel I don't shoot that bad .

Although it's his problem shooting that badly but still a little bit kesian him... wad a poor guy there...

Old couple....old taste

Jameslye wrote:all out of focus,no theme.......what say you?

In Europe they can sue, I wonder how come couples here don't - maybe it's more expensive to sue the photographer for damages than ask him to return the fees.

Don't laugh at the above photos please, I've seen many newbies & amateurs shot weddings, especially pre-weddings like that. The secret is ... the photographers shot them 'for fun' : he takes hundreds of shots and pass to the couple, out of hundreds there are definitely more than a dozen that are worth keeping. If the photographer charge the couple and came up with lousy shots, he can tell the couple "What you want for few hundred Ringgit? If you want professional photos, pay PROFESSIONAL fees-lah!" and if the couple still complain, he can say "Nah, here is your money, you can keep the photos, I have a fulltime job and I dun need the money".

Couples who do not want to pay professional fees (or at least market price) should not complain. Even if the photographers can come up with hundreds of shots of other couples he had done before, it's still OTHER couples, see the difference? Let me explain ...

Some family are very jovial and expressive, some couples marry very late due to 'no choice' and some very young due to 'no choice' also at times, hence the environmental difference - the family are less jovial and just wanna get the wedding ceremony over and done with. On the other hand, couples and families which are more jovial and expressive are far easier to shoot - you see the smiling, the laughing, even the tears of joy, etc.

Remember, professional fees are NOT for anyone to push down! Try and bargain workmanship charges with a car mechanic and see ... the next thing you know it, the parts installed will fall off 5km down the road and the damage is even more!

There are newbies who asked me "I wanna shoot my colleagues' wedding but I am not confident, I wanna try because he is paying me abit" and my answer to him is "If he doesn't have an official photographer and he is relying on you, don't go ... don't f*ck up people's wedding because you're creating eternal memories which people will long cherish and what they don't wanna keep is ALL YOUR MISTAKES".

anthonychew wrote:
There are newbies who asked me "I wanna shoot my colleagues' wedding but I am not confident, I wanna try because he is paying me abit" and my answer to him is "If he doesn't have an official photographer and he is relying on you, don't go ... don't f*ck up people's wedding because you're creating eternal memories which people will long cherish and what they don't wanna keep is ALL YOUR MISTAKES".

I agree with you Anthony it is also pressure for da newbies to deal with the situation.

mm.. yes yes.. must give ppl good service and good photos...

Jameslye wrote:I agree with you Anthony it is also pressure for da newbies to deal with the situation.

What I am trying to imply is that a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event for a couple (unless it's Hollywood where you definitely wanna marry more than once!). If you think you can pull this off with a entry level body, a kit lens and pop-up flash, then by all means go ahead, but if you have no experience in fluid situations and candid moments, then what you're trying to do is directly ruining the entire occasion. You are not only taking photos, you are creating enternal memories.