24 replies to this topic

[Kristy!]

I organized a group session for BD pics in February that included a couple of BDWers. I'm sure some people noticed that none of us ever posted pics.

I went to Julie Turner of Jewel Photo in Middletown, CT and it was not the best experience. The great thing was that the studio was located above a salon, so I could get hair, make-up, and lashes for $100 through a pre-arranged deal they had. I was very happy with the results of that.

On to the photo session. There was no atmosphere in the studio, no music playing, and no real sense of comfort. There were a couple of different backdrops, but it was very limited. She was not very clear when giving direction and if something didn't look right, she didn't really have a tactful way of saying it. At one point she said to my friend (who asked me to be in the room) that she had to stop shooting because my friend would hate her pics because of her face. What?! She almost started crying. Another time, Julie told my friend to move on to the next outfit because this one wasn't working for her. I was nicknamed Grace all day because I had trouble balancing on this tiny bench. You need someone to build you up and make you feel good for BD pics, not make you more self-conscious. At the end of the day (a day she didn't plan enough time for, so two girls were really rushed), we were a bit upset walking out of there.

Now the photos. Ugh. They weren't awful, but they weren't great. She asked me to chose 30 pics to edit. I kid you not when I tell you that smoothing out meant bluring the area. I didn't use any of the edited shots and I had to do some serious cropping to put a book together for DH. The book ended up being OK in the end, but nothing compared to some of the ones I've seen on here.

With all this being said, she was less expensive than most photogs. For the group session, she let us do it for $150 a person plus $100 for hair and make-up. Her price now is $250 per session and I believe the hair and make-up is still $100. I understand that I got what I paid for. Was is worth it to save the money? No. I feel like I cheated myself out of a really cool experience. I will also say though that my friend found her originally on theKnot.com and her reviews were outstanding. I don't get it because I can guarantee that not one of the five of us would recommend her.

I hope this was helpful. I don't like giving negative reviews, but I think it's only fair that I let others who are looking into BD pics know that my experience was not a positive one.

[kate.com]

thanks for the honest review~

[~Stephanie~]

Thank you for letting us know. I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience, especially with something as sensitive as a BD shoot. Maybe you can redo them with a different photographer for an anniversary gift?

[boscobel]

Damn, Kristy, that sucks. I am sorry that you had a bad experience and it's good to post a review here, good or bad, so thanks for that. Future brides will def read this and it will be good for them to have an honest opinion.

[DanielleNDerek]

Im sorry Kristy she sounds awful.

[Ginalyn]

Thank you for being honest. Sorry you had a bad experience. This will be very helpful to future brides!

[~*Kathy*~]

Thanks for giving a very honest review Kristy, I'm really sorry to hear that she wasn't behaving very professionally...I think that's awful!

[MarieSam]

Honest reviews are the best reviews, you will help tons of brides with your honesty Kristy! Sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience

[KLaBate54]

OMG, I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience! Thank you for posting the honest review though, so at least you can prevent it from happening to someone else.

[Jessica]

Ugh, that sucks! I would have totally cried if a photog basically told me my face was ruining the picture. She doesn't sound professional at all. Even though for me $250 is still a lot of money, I'm glad it wasn't more than that. I'm glad you were still able to make a book out of it but I'm sorry you didn't have a better experience.

Maybe you can do another one in the future as an anniversary gift.