Sungold Photography, Jamaica

[am1595]

We had our wedding photos taken by R.S, one of the photographers from Sungold. Paula and Damien were not available but Paula booked us with one of her photographers through their other business, WPA, who we were told, had just become available following a cancellation. R.S. showed up on time and was polite. Ours was a short morning wedding. Following the ceremony, R.S. took pictures of just my husband and me while everyone was at the cocktail hour. Problem: during lunch reception RS informed us that his camerahadn't been working, so we had to retake all the shots."to be sure" We were obviously a bit concerned, and it threw off our schedule, but we agreed to go for retakes following the meal during dessert time. Although we spent a much shorter time taking fewer pictures, he assured us that got enough shots. We rejoined our family for the cake cutting and speeches to be followed by an opportunity for taking family pictures. Again, he assured us we had good pics of the family.

Fast forward: The CD of 350+ wedding pictures arrived promptly a few weeks later. We eagerly looked at the pictures only to discover tons of pictures of wedding details (flowers, setting, seating) and activities prior to the wedding (eg guest mingling before the ceremony)--I guess before the camera broke down. There were only 30 portrait like pictures of my husband and me (less than 10% of total pictures). We looked through the 30 portrait shots. The worse part: not a single one of the 30 pics was suitable as either a thank you for our guests or to be used as a portrait shot we could have enlarged and framed for display in our home. For example, in one pic my husband’s hair was blowing up in the air, another we were too far from each other or my veil was in the way. The pics we requested of the family were hardly better. We thought the job of the photographer was to ensure that the pictures are set up properly before snapping. Not just snapping any old pic. I guess we were wrong. Maybe if he had taken more shots (if his camera worked) we would not be writing this—but we don’t know…

Okay, so decided we were screwed, but hoped to get 2 good pictures: a family portrait and one of me and my husband together. Over several weeks, I sent Paula several email msgs and left voicemail msgs for her asking what could be done to photoshop a couple portrait and a family shot. No reply and no call back. I kept trying until I managed to catch her on the phone . Of course, she gave the story that she was busy (travelling to Texas, moving, internet woes yada yada) but agreed to have the photographer contact us to address the problem. We got a voicemail message from R.S. a few days later who basically told us we had the pictures we requested. From there--NOTHING. Additional calls and emails to Paula were fruitless; Sungold has been totally unresponsive.

Moral of the story: Paula and Damien may be good photographers, but R.S. is probably better at taking passport pictures or being assigned the assistant photographer role (i.e., taking pictures of the flowers and setting etc). But based on my experience I wouldn’t advise trusting him on the big day with the important shots. He doesn’t strike me as a professional wedding photographer or an experienced one at that. For example, we had a breaktaking view of the sea from atop a hill (at Firefly), but somehow managed to assemble everyone at the precise spot so as to miss the view. Stuff like this, you can’t redo later. I found Paula very accessible by email and by phone when we were booking and when she was collecting our payment. But once you have a problem with one of her photographers—she’ll give you good talk (if you manage to reach her then), but don’t plan on getting anything rectified. This was kinda frustrating.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, hubby and I are stuck with our crappy portraits. We had to solicit pictures from friends (that’s how we got a pic for the Thank You card) and we still don’t have a good wedding portrait. It would have been nice to have--for the $$$ we spent. It still makes us a bit upset/sad when we think of it, but we have our memories and a happy married life ahead to contend with so, we try to keep it all in perspective. Nevertheless, we wish you better photography luck!

[mlabbe]

Sorry to hear that the pictures didn't turn out as you wished... sometimes though you can do magic in Photoshop. I've heard of other photographers fixing pictures for a fee, it could be an option! Good luck, I hope that it works out for you!

[artistique]

am1595, I am so sorry you had such a terrible experience!! If you wanted to post some of your photos, some of us could probably give you a professional opinion at least on what is possible in the way of fixing the problems you have with your photos. Hair blowing can be fixable and things like that as can some other technical issues.

 

Michelle

[JR14]

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. Paula and Damian actually shot my cousins wedding at the ROR last year and she's now on their website! They were a great couple to have around all day, too bad you had a bad experience with R.S

[Mrowe]

Greetings JR14,

 

I'm actually considering using Sungold, as I am getting married at the ROR in May, 2011.  Would you mind telling me your cousin's name as I would like to see sungold's work at the ROR. 

 

Thanks!

[BridetwoBe]

Uh oh :/

[AandNJam]

I assume R.S. is Rounald?? :/  http://wpajamaica.com/associate_rs/   perhaps he's improved since 6/2010??? but it does make me nervous to book him! Also underscores how important a photog is to capture the day!
 

[barefootdoc]

We used Sungold Photography for our wedding in Negril the end of November, and were really pleased with Paula and Damian.  As they were not available for our additional 2-hr shoot the following day (that was included in our package), Paula arranged to have Clayton from WPA shoot that.  

He was prompt, and polite, and seemed to be snapping lots of great pics.

However, while we quickly saw previews of some of our wedding photos on Facebook, we never got to see any of our pics of the following day, and while we finally received our wedding photos in early February (which were great), I have not yet received anything (or seen anything) from the other shoot.

I have had similar experiences trying to get hold of SunGold - when I do happen to catch Paula on the phone, they are just getting in, or something has just happened, but she assures me that she will have them shipped out.  

Alas, I am still waiting.  

My last contact with her was 3 days ago, when she assured me it would be taken care of that day and she would get back to me.  Haven't heard from her, no response to voicemails, and can't reach them by phone today.  

Sadly, I paid my last installment in full the day of the wedding (silly me), so any recourse will need to go through the credit card company.  

I would highly recommend using SunGold for their photography skill - they were really great to work with that day, but I would advise you not to complete your payment until you have received all your photos!

Good luck!

[barefootdoc]

Just an update on the last post.  

I was finally able to get in touch with Paula, who apologized profusely for the delay.  She was under the impression that they had been sent out, and arranged to have the photos shipped the next possible day.  (It was late in the week, so Clayton shipped them out on Monday). 

She also issued a generous photo credit on to order prints off Pictage to compensate us for the inconvenience.

The pics arrived today, and Clayton proved to be a great photographer, providing us with many great shots of the day!

[Loryn1185]

I booked them to photograph my wedding and am crossing my fingers that things have improved. They have been very easy to communicate with all along and the pictures on the website look amazing. Getting married in July and hope everything works out well with them !