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Quality of service
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Average response time
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Professionalism
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Value
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Flexibility
1.0 out of 5 rating
Be forewarned: Melody was a disappointment and left myself and family sorry we chose her for my wedding day.
Before listing more concrete complaints, I will state some things that Melody fell short on for what we expected for the discounted price (paid in full) of $3600. Myself and others felt strongly the entire day of our wedding that Melody was not “engaged” in the picture taking nor in command of what she needed to do to carry out her work. She lacked direction. It was family members and the bridal party that were often giving her leads. Here are some other points:
1) When I asked her (with enough time out) to take a look at our wedding venue, which was unfamiliar and brand new new to her, she refused. That was one possible reason for her unpreparedness.
2) As per contract, I filled out a lengthy questionnaire of hers as to what I would like photographed during the wedding. I requested certain photos. (ie: sunset photo where she could not be found during this time) Along with other photos, they did not get shot.
3) She was given the names of the wedding party girls (4) and their relationship to me. On the day of, she addressed them all as “you” repeatedly. There were other indications, as well, that showed she probably hadn't looked at her questionnaire.
4) “Sneak peeks” were promised and were over three weeks late. My mother had called Melody while I was on my honeymoon to inquire when they could be expected. Melody was defensive and unprofessional. My mother was shocked. She let her finish and told Melody everything would be fine and that we would expect to hear from her and ofcourse good things from her. My mother stayed positive during the conversation because she clearly sensed Melody’s defensiveness. When the “sneak peaks” finally came in, I texted her because she had not responded to phone calls and a voicemail. I told her I was not happy with them, that they looked substandard, and not at all like the quality pictures of her gallery. I asked if I could meet with her to look at the pictures individually. She refused and showed little understanding. I told her by looking at the pictures together that she would understand what could easily misinterpreted by text or phone. She reminded me then that I had agreed through contract to receiving what she “sees” and “interprets” through her lens and her artistic editing style. My thoughts then were that they looked like poor quality shots. And editing? I didn't see any editing! How did she expect me to tell her what I needed over the phone? I texted her back and told her I was worried and had expected more from the “artistic process” and asked her if those “sneak peeks” were really the best she had. She then texted me back and told me we could only deal over the phone. She said that she was offended and insulted and she NEVER (clearly emphasized) had had a reaction from any of her clients, EVER, like this! (This is exactly what she had told my mother when she spiraled from my mother's question). She mentioned here that she had been offended as well by my mother. I texted back saying I thought she was taking everything too personally and I was trying to be honest and understand how to make things better. I told her she was a professional photographer and I paid her $3600.
She texted then stating more about my mother.
As a side note, I believe she misinterpreted and probably felt guilty for being late with the “sneak peeks”. My mother asked the question: “How long does it usually take to send sneak peeks ?” Could this be a threatening statement? She then again stated she would be available only over the phone to discuss the pictures but would not listen to a critique about each photo as there will always be something to criticize. She said it was outrageous to expect her to listen to such. She asked me to review the contract and she would give me what she gives to all her clients, those who are appreciative of her work.
5) As previously stated, she didn't call when she said she would or return my voicemails.
-From that point on, we were “walking on eggshells” because she had our pictures and our money. We felt she was hardly approachable in her manner and highly reactive with us. We felt helpless and angry.
-Some pictures, after ceremony/dance pictures, were caught well. Her assistant seemed to be doing her job. Pictures came back at the three month mark. Overall, her lack of effort during the shoot and post shooting fell short of what one would expect from a professional. Perhaps Melody has put her energies and laid out her talents more for the eloquent words and the polished photos in her blog and photo gallery, but has forgotten to deliver what she truly is responsible for. This is what I believe to have happened here.
Before listing more concrete complaints, I will state some things that Melody fell short on for what we expected for the discounted price (paid in full) of $3600. Myself and others felt strongly the entire day of our wedding that Melody was not “engaged” in the picture taking nor in command of what she needed to do to carry out her work. She lacked direction. It was family members and the bridal party that were often giving her leads. Here are some other points:
1) When I asked her (with enough time out) to take a look at our wedding venue, which was unfamiliar and brand new new to her, she refused. That was one possible reason for her unpreparedness.
2) As per contract, I filled out a lengthy questionnaire of hers as to what I would like photographed during the wedding. I requested certain photos. (ie: sunset photo where she could not be found during this time) Along with other photos, they did not get shot.
3) She was given the names of the wedding party girls (4) and their relationship to me. On the day of, she addressed them all as “you” repeatedly. There were other indications, as well, that showed she probably hadn't looked at her questionnaire.
4) “Sneak peeks” were promised and were over three weeks late. My mother had called Melody while I was on my honeymoon to inquire when they could be expected. Melody was defensive and unprofessional. My mother was shocked. She let her finish and told Melody everything would be fine and that we would expect to hear from her and ofcourse good things from her. My mother stayed positive during the conversation because she clearly sensed Melody’s defensiveness. When the “sneak peaks” finally came in, I texted her because she had not responded to phone calls and a voicemail. I told her I was not happy with them, that they looked substandard, and not at all like the quality pictures of her gallery. I asked if I could meet with her to look at the pictures individually. She refused and showed little understanding. I told her by looking at the pictures together that she would understand what could easily misinterpreted by text or phone. She reminded me then that I had agreed through contract to receiving what she “sees” and “interprets” through her lens and her artistic editing style. My thoughts then were that they looked like poor quality shots. And editing? I didn't see any editing! How did she expect me to tell her what I needed over the phone? I texted her back and told her I was worried and had expected more from the “artistic process” and asked her if those “sneak peeks” were really the best she had. She then texted me back and told me we could only deal over the phone. She said that she was offended and insulted and she NEVER (clearly emphasized) had had a reaction from any of her clients, EVER, like this! (This is exactly what she had told my mother when she spiraled from my mother's question). She mentioned here that she had been offended as well by my mother. I texted back saying I thought she was taking everything too personally and I was trying to be honest and understand how to make things better. I told her she was a professional photographer and I paid her $3600.
She texted then stating more about my mother.
As a side note, I believe she misinterpreted and probably felt guilty for being late with the “sneak peeks”. My mother asked the question: “How long does it usually take to send sneak peeks ?” Could this be a threatening statement? She then again stated she would be available only over the phone to discuss the pictures but would not listen to a critique about each photo as there will always be something to criticize. She said it was outrageous to expect her to listen to such. She asked me to review the contract and she would give me what she gives to all her clients, those who are appreciative of her work.
5) As previously stated, she didn't call when she said she would or return my voicemails.
-From that point on, we were “walking on eggshells” because she had our pictures and our money. We felt she was hardly approachable in her manner and highly reactive with us. We felt helpless and angry.
-Some pictures, after ceremony/dance pictures, were caught well. Her assistant seemed to be doing her job. Pictures came back at the three month mark. Overall, her lack of effort during the shoot and post shooting fell short of what one would expect from a professional. Perhaps Melody has put her energies and laid out her talents more for the eloquent words and the polished photos in her blog and photo gallery, but has forgotten to deliver what she truly is responsible for. This is what I believe to have happened here.
Melody Lane Photos's reply:
We are so sorry to hear of your disappointment with your experience. We strive for a professional and committed relationship with our couples in every situation. We appreciate feedback and are always open to learn new ways to create a wonderful experience and capture the day in an authentic and beautiful way. We are so happy to see this client has shared so many of the beautiful images captured on Instagram and Facebook. I (Melody) had a lovely chat with the bride before her wedding day phone and we discussed our plan for the day. We arrived early and began capturing the details. It was a pleasure to capture the bride with family, the ceremony, family photos and reception dancing. We were ready and waiting for the bride and groom for the beautiful sunset hr images we suggested to her in our pre-wedding meeting. (please see link to full gallery below) We were happy to stay an extra hour to cover more of the dancing and celebration at no additional cost as well! Getting to know so many people on each wedding day is one of the many perks of this job. We love meeting all of the families and bridal party members and try our best to learn everyones names. Unfortunately, there are cases where we can't . Especially when the bridal parties are large as in this wedding. We had do idea of any disappointment on the wedding day and had pleasant conversation with the bride and her mother throughout the day. I had a lovely chat with the brides mother during the reception after capturing plenty of dancing . I was inspired by the culture they incorporated into the day and learned the entire story about how She and the brides Father fell in love, moved to Lebanon and then eventually back to the States. Two weeks after the wedding we received a phone call the brides mother about why they hadn't received their photos. I assured them they would be delivered within the time frame that our proposal stated and that they would be beautifully edited. Upon the brides disappointment, I was happy to speak to her over the phone to go over each and every one of the images I delivered for her preview. We were sorry to hear of the brides disapproval of sun flare, skin blemishes in certain images, coomposition , and other critiques. Although skin retouching would normally be an add on, I agreed to do this for the bride with no additional cost for the time spent smoothing and retouching. I also assured her I would do my best to consider all of her critiques in the editing process although the proposal clearly says that upon hiring me, she agrees to receive images that I choose to creatively edit with my artistic vision. However, because I wanted to try my best to satisfy the brides request, the editing process was several days longer. I delivered her gallery and hoped she would love the photos. Alas, it seems the client is still unsatisfied. Our couples and their families are so very important to us and we make an effort to get to know them on a personal level to truly tell their story. Every couple we work with is special and unique and each contributed to how we serve our clients. Moving forward, a positive takeaway from this for us has been to better communicate at our initial meeting. Had we really gotten clear on the specific expectations, we couple have better understood the clients needs or directed you to another professional that would have been a better fit. LINK TO FULL GALLERY WITH FOLDER OF UNEDITED IMAGES ADDED https://melodylane.pixieset.com/reginaandjamesmarried-1/
