You mentioned that it's over and then said that you were sad. Sad again. And then let down. IMO, it would be worth the other $200 just to not be sad. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. It really does sound like you're not paying just to "prove a point" but why prove a point at the expense of your own happiness?
And really...if anything happened to the albums and photos you have...you would have nothing left at all to look back on or any way of reprinting any of the images. I also agree with the pps who say you will regret this down the line.
I think I agree that I would just give in and get them to have the security. I like knowing that my photog is still storing our files off site "forever". I don't know how long really, but he said even if he died we could still get them. I should have him clarify.
I have to agree with Kimi. You can not compare the price he offered someone else. You have no idea how many pictures he took for them, etc.
Based on your follow up it sounds like you are not going to pay $400 just because you think he should accept your offer of $200. To me, it seems like you are being stubborn about it. Is the $200 difference really going to make or break you? Maybe it is and you really can not afford. However, if you can afford it, I would just get them. The pictures have more meaning to you than they do to him since they are of your wedding. He is not really losing anything and you are losing the opportunity to have all your wedding images.
Just to play devil's advocate, as a small business owner in a creative industry (though not photography), in this situation as the business person I would have eaten the extra $200 given a) my mistake in sending Jen an email with the wrong info at first; b) my desire to end the working relationship on a happy note instead of creating a pissed off client who may badmouth me to potential new clients; and c) the fact that this would have been a lesson to me to specify terms for passing along of raw images and printing rights in my contract for the future and to collect from the client up front.
His was certainly a business decision, and Kimi is totally right that charging less could be seen as undervaluing his own work, but the odds aren't good that Jen is going to go blabbing to this guy's current clients about the deal she got so that he won't be able to charge $400 in the future. In fact, the opposite argument could be made: that she may now go out and spread the negative word on him and lose him potential future clients.
Either way the prerogative was his, I think this was handled poorly on both sides both now and 5 years ago, and I would agree that $400 is a steal for the images. As a businessperson though I try to see the client's side when reasonable and I have found that being nice and giving a "one-time special exception" to a policy here and there is good for business and does not devalue my work.
I do agree with curbside though and if I were the client in this situation I would have just ponied up the extra $200 and said good riddance.
Oh, I do agree that this might not be a great decision in terms of public relations for him, but he is certainly within his rights to do this.
Domer, I think you just have to decide if you are able to pay the extra $200. I honestly have not thought about my wedding pictures in several years and I might feel a little sad if the photographer destroyed the images (he also did not offer a CD at the time of the wedding), but I would quickly get over it. Maybe I'm just not sentimental enough
Post by hannamaren on Jan 16, 2013 10:31:08 GMT -5
Did you really miss these photos before he emailed you? I am not a good person to weigh in since all our photos are in a shopping bag in my bedroom and we still havent picked the ones for our album. Our wedding was 2.5 yrs ago and our albums are paid in advance.
There has to be a reason he is charging the other couple less. It cannot be that he simply hates you.
Whatever the reason is, don't let $200 stand between you and having ALL of your pics. You may have ordered many prints but someday you may regret this - since it sounds like you do want them.
It doesn't make sense for him to store them forever. He will destroy them at some point.
It really doesn't matter what his reasons are for charging the other couple less. Maybe he was there half the time like others have said.
Don't be stubborn. The only one who will lose out is you.
I agree with this. Given your follow up last night and how you are let down and sad, I think it's worth it in the end. I know that there are situations that warrant negotiating and choosing your hill to die on, but I don't think this is it. Buy the photos and be done with it.
Did you really miss these photos before he emailed you? I am not a good person to weigh in since all our photos are in a shopping bag in my bedroom and we still havent picked the ones for our album. Our wedding was 2.5 yrs ago and our albums are paid in advance.
I agree with this. I got married 10 years ago and can't remember the last time I looked at wedding photos. Probably at least 9 years ago. I suppose if they got destroyed I would be upset but it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I am rolling my eyes so hard at some of these "its his life's work!!!!" responses. She said she paid for an album and tons of prints 5+ years ago. The guy is going to toss the negatives unless she pays him an additional $400 and its clear that he charges other people $200 for the same thing. The guy is a dick. OP, if its any consulation, I have the negatives to our wedding photos and in 7 years have never needed them for anything and don't see the need to ever need them again. If you want to make sure that your photos are preserved, I would scan them yourself and put them on your own disc.
I shared that I have never needed mine because I was trying to make her feel better about not having purchased the negatives since she clearly stated that she was not going to fork over the money. And I wasn't advocating she scan them to make additional prints, but to have a backup in case her originals were destroyed. I guess that is semantics. Call the FBI.
Holy crap. You got a heck of a deal on your photos. $1,600 total? The base package for my photographer was $3,600 and included absolutely nothing except for a very, very small album. If I wanted the negatives/digital files, it was another $1,000.
Honestly, if you want the pictures just buy them. Ask for them at $200 and, if he says no, then pay $400. That's still a great deal for your wedding photo package AND the negatives, and $200 more, in the grand scheme of things to have your wedding day photos, is really not that big of a deal.
Or else just don't buy them. You've lived 5 years without them, so you may never need them.
sfgal you live in another fucking universe as 99.9% of the planet.
Let the experts (kwynn et al) make the call about how reasonable the OP/the photographer are being (or aren't being) about this. Your experience is quite irrelevant here.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards
another SF resident here ... a top wedding photog who does photojournalist work in the SF Bay Area DOES charge those kinds of prices ($3600 base package, $1k for negatives/ditigal files, small album). then again, SF is a world all its own ....
If you're sad, it sounds like they're worth more than $200. If I were you I would buy them. I think 10 years from now you're much more likely to regret not buying them than you are to regret spending the extra $200. (If, on the other hand, you think you'd regret the extra $200 more, then I think it makes sense to forego them.)