One thing I never counted on being, as
a bride-to-be, was an emotional mess. Since
the e-ring was placed on my finger, I have noticed a ridiculous amount of mood swings:
crying one minute and feeling giddy the next.
Say, for example, the song that we are planning on having for our first
dance starts playing on the car radio, as I’m about to pull into my office’s
parking lot, and I break into tears…
That’s perfectly normal, right?
So, with this added sensitivity to absolutely
everything around me, it seems that personal attacks from vendors are definitely
something I’m not prepared to handle (nor are they something I was expecting
from so-called professionals).
As of my last post, I was explaining
my wedding photography situation. I had
met with a great photographer (quality of picture-wise) who left a little to be
desired in the personality area. Move
ahead to the end of last week and I receive a follow-up email from her, just
checking in to see if I had any additional questions, etc. I replied, thanking her for her time and
letting her know that I would be using a different photographer… I know I don’t actually have another photographer
signed (I haven’t even met with any other photographers yet), but I knew I wasn’t
going to hire her.
Done.
Moving on.
Not quite.
I received another email from the
photographer, which struck me as mature and professional. She was requesting feedback so that she could
better her offerings. A surprise and a
bit of a dilemma. Should I be as honest
as possible, offering the best constructive criticism I could create? Should I just offer lip service and make
something inane up to explain my choice?
Or, should I delete the email and forget about it?
I chose the first option: honest,
constructive criticism (or so I thought).
My email went as follows:
“I wanted to get back to you with the
feedback you requested. There were three main parts to my decision for a
wedding photographer, which are listed below with some points of comparison
that I hope help.
1. Quality and Style - Your
photographs were some of the best I saw online and in person. I loved the
detail and you definitely placed very high on my list for this part.
2. Price - At first, I felt that the
price you listed would easily fit into my budget. When I started adding
the items I wanted plus the holiday surcharge and tax, it became one of the
more expensive options I was considering. It seems like engagement
sessions and a guarantee of two photographers are included in quite a few
packages, which were more important to me than any kind of album or prints.
3. Personality - This is a tricky one
because my fiancé and I both hate having our pictures taken. I am trying
to find a photographer who is outgoing and personable, who will hopefully be
able to get us out of our shells for the engagement shoot and on the wedding
day. I can't really explain this much more than saying it's a gut feel
when I meet with people.
Anyway, I hope this helps and wish you
the best with your photography.”
Done?
Moving on?
Of course not.
I was shocked yesterday, when I opened
up a response from her, which blamed me for the personality issues in point 3. To summarize, she said that during our
meeting, it didn’t seem like I wanted to be there to ask questions and get
information. I guess maybe it could have
come across that way… But, my thoughts
are that, as a professional photographer, she should realize that I may have
never thought about what questions I should be asking. I wanted to be sold, maybe even charmed a
bit. This person is going to be around
all of my closest friends and family members on one of the most important and
memorable days of my life. I want to
like my photographer, at least on the surface level that we’ll be on in the few
minutes we meet.
Oh well… Good decision on not hiring her I guess… The search continues…
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