My 1-Star Wedding Photography Review

The last thing any wedding photographer wants is to receive a 1-star review. It can be a big hurdle with success in wedding photography. Here is my story and how I used this experience to my advantage to help me book me wedding photography couples.

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Video Index:

Intro 0:00
The Story 0:52
What I did Wrong 10:01
Things I Learned 11:40

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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission.

[TimFilmsCars]

I remember this happening in real time, and I had second-hand stress for you! These are great takeaways and ultimately, you handled it very well. When I first drafted my pre-event agreements, and update them now (for anything, not just weddings), I think of this story. Lots of lessons here for everyone. Great video dude.

[riversheppherd]

They just wanted money back - they never had an issue with the photos . You’re photography looked amazing!

[merrymanson]

I had a bridezilla 3 years ago. Everything was fine, I was super extra with them just because I like to help out. She called me like 5 times for details before the weddings. Its all cool. I did awesome. Afterwards she told me she hated the photographs, how she looked, the amount of imeges she got(I guess 1300 photographs wasn't enough for her) and the edit. I contacted other photographers so they can check it out and they said it was very good. Afterwards I questioned if I should do it anymore, but decided "You know what, i will use this to my advantage" and for several bookings I showed this wedding to my clients stating "Look, this according to my client is my worst wedding, imagine what I can do from here on out". And got like 4-5 bookings just showing this wedding. Of course I did not continue to do that, but I was pitiful at the time...

[Bethos-Arne]

I just read the 1-star review. I understand a few points made there (though this wall of text should have been formatted into some paragraphs) but overall they want both overprocessing like a smartphone does, and fantasy images which have to be staged and cannot be taken as part of a normal wedding. This is the gap of expectations of the Instagram generation and someone wanting to get a real photographer which takes pictures about what actually happened.

[melissaysitall]

I can’t believe the clients acted like this. Sometimes there just is malicious people out there and want $$$ back 🙃. I love how you turned a negative review into something positive 👏🏽

[maryyeattes]

The fact that you gave them all of the JPEGS... I wish nothing but the worst for this couple. To try and ruin your name when their own insecurity is the reason they couldn't enjoy their wedding photos. I'm so glad you posted this video, fight back always. I bet your top package was still WAY cheaper than most photographers top package at that time, they brow beat you just because they felt like they could

[chadhiggins]

Something I found interesting from her review:
"... my husband and I ended up paying for another (amazing) photographer to capture photos of us to recreate our wedding"

Okay, in my opinion, that is batshit crazy 😂.

[bubblesculptor]

Learning to turn down potential clients is a powerful threshold to cross in entrepreneurship. The fear of missing out is different to let go of, but soon you learn to appreciate realizing you avoid a bad experience.

[bethanyvillero]

This is my worst nightmare. I had a very similar experience — red flags I ignored, great images despite circumstances... nightmare bride. I learned a lot from the experience and low key have PTSD from it. I’m terrified of my clients being unhappy with me!

Thanks for sharing. I think this video is going to help so many!

[TedNghiem]

I feel this. When I was shooting weddings, I got a one star review from a couple that didn't even book me to photograph their wedding. My red flags were that they definitely could not pay my minimum costs, they were calling and emailing me every other day about the wedding that I wasn't booked for, and that was when I was like "hey, I really don't think we fit as a photographer client." Then I got angry emails and review bombed. It was a hassle to get the wedding sites to take the review down, but they did because they saw the date of the wedding and when the review was left (months in advance). Yelp, on the other hand, wouldn't.

[niallcochrane]

11:49 - Getting ahead of the 1 star review by bringing it up to potential clients is absolutely the best approach. Moreso, avoiding name-calling is also crucial. Great advice for younger professionals - not just in photography.

[johnvienna]

In some Asian countries they have a practical solution: couples have a formal shoot together at some picturesque location in nice weather, for all the perfect Disney Princess pictures. Then the wedding itself can be more candid, with lower expectations of "perfect" moments.

[brendaoleasixtos]

This made me feel so much better. Recently I dealt with a very difficult client, she made me question myself and almost want to just quit completely. I took her engagement photos and she complained because she didn’t like her hair and her fiancée was wearing white socks. She told me just delete those photos after I had already began on over half of them. So we went and redid the whole thing for over 3 hours, at multiple locations with different outfit changes. I told her that since we had to redo the whole photoshoot all over again, it would take longer for me to deliver the photos since my wedding and honeymoon were coming up. Yet she still kept messaging me during my honeymoon. I deliver the new photos and she quickly complains about how I made her look too dark and to lighten her skin up and being very picky and telling me what to change on specific photos. She told me she tried to edit the photos herself but couldn’t and if I could do it, despite the contract saying clients aren’t allow to edit or add filters to already edited photos.

I apologize to my mistakes and owed up to whatever mistakes I made that inconvenienced her. She still emailed me a very long paragraph on how I was in the wrong and she wasn’t and she wanted to void the contract. Honestly it was a huge relief for me. I can’t even imagine what her wedding day would of been like.

Now I’m learning to say no and turn down potential clients who are difficult to work with. It’s just not worth it.

[pvljnod]

This makes me wonder and question whether they’re still married. That aside, I’m glad that this has been the catalyst in making your business what it is today. I’m especially glad that you showed their pics and hoping they come across it too! I hope that they in turn get to see that they are made an example of what not to book.

[kavanlake]

John, 😔 I feel you man. This one time, years ago, after the bride and her crew were two hours late, they complained about everything, after I delivered these beautiful images. They said the images were trash and slammed me on wedding wire. However, after all that, they wanted a refund, wanted an album, and submitted my images to a wedding blog, and of course, failed to mention me as their photographer. In my head, I remembered everything my mentor had told me. He said, “When the guests, the cake, the venue, the food and everything else is all gone, you the photographer is the only person left to pick on.” If the images were trash, why ask for an album, why put them on a blog? To this day, I still think about that.

[elpinchimaniaco]

The fact that you are sharing this story is so inspiring. It takes a lot of courage, my first time on this channel but im proud of you man

[MonsieurBlain]

I'm a firm believer that every great business learns from it's "bad reviews". I probably get one atleast once every year out of 100 plus gigs per year.

I learned from everyone of those reviews. 2018 I learned about set realistic turnaround times.

2019 I learned about when to use Aperture & direct lighting.

2020 I learned to not take a shoot last minute & edit before a vacation.

2021 to upload every single thing right after a wedding & double check.

2022 I learned to be very specific in contracts.

All these experiences molded my business in ways those 5 star reviews wouldn't. I appreciate them, but the objective is to get rid of those mistakes as the business progresses.

[uzwfndt]

I am not a wedding photographer. In fact, I consider it one of the most complex genres, because it demands not only photography skills, but also vast amounts of social skills, which I admit I don´t have. Having said that, I still found this video to be awesome. Thanks for sharing your learning experience.

[JohnHaldezos]

After 25 years as Wedding Photographer, I turned away customers that gave me a bad vibe, in expecting too much out of the ordinary .I would politely say that I was booked 😂

[stevevansak]

So glad you recovered from this. It took me years to finally “fire my clients” whom I didn't vibe with. Great advice here!