Disappointed in Photos - Update!

[mermaidbride1108]

Ok ladies, I need to vent a little....

First, the scenerio - we had engagement photos at the beach at Poly two weeks by Randy Chapman. He's amazing to work with, awesome guy, great personality, willing to work with you when you completely screw up your schedule, ( I actually had to reschedule our shoot the week of and he was so sweet about it) and I still love his work, But....

I'm disappointed with my engagment photos and I'm not sure if it's because of me and Matt and how we look (clothes, smile, etc) because I love Randy's other photos of other couples, even the most recent ones he took.

My photos look like they miss the mark or something, like a motion photo that was taken at the wrong moment, or photos we weren't ready for, like we are smiling weird or just about to smile. Matt's mouth is open most of the time. Most of the photos look like they were just taken at the wrong time. We have a ton of weird faces in the pics like we were talking or whatever. And also all the shots of Matt picking me up, my dress is completely messed up. Is it me????

I'm just really upset because I didn't get the perfect shot I wanted in front of the castle. And I wanted to use one of these photos as my save the dates and I'm not really thrilled with any of them. Alot of the pictures I'm thinking 'why the heck did you take a picture of that' Alot of the far away shots with Disney specific backgrounds (GF, Poly) look really bad. If I wasn't there I would think that Randy was in a rush to get through these pictures like he didn't wait for the good shots, and instead just wanted to get it done with. He didn't act like that when we were there though....It looks like alot of eyes shut, or mouths wide open, and I don't really see that with other pictures done by Randy

My fiance says they are a couple good shots but his shirt is really too big on him and that's his fault for not listening to me when I told him to take this seriously and really think about his outfit. We just aren't thrilled about the pics like I thought we would be.

I HATE all of the photos of my fiance and I dancing around, I really wish Randy would have stopped us and said it wasn't working very well. My fiance kept doing it because he thought it would look good and now I'm very annoyed that he did that.

And we are squinting in ALOT of pics. I wouldn't recommend beach pictures at 11am to anyone else. The sun is really bad at this time so I would advise against this time. The sun was right in our eyes the entire shoot. And I really didn't like any of the sunglass shots. Plus we didn't see any of the pics we took at the dock at GF.

I guess I trusted Randy would set us straight if we weren't doing well. Like pose us a little differently because of the sun, or lead us a little bit in a different direction to take better pics.

Again, to defend Randy, this is the first time I haven't liked something he did. And I do like about 16 pictures. What do you guys think??? I know there are alot of supporters for Randy, and I'm one of them so please, no flames!!

I already booked Randy for our wedding and now I'm really confused. Did I just have really high expectations or am I just overreacting?

Please let me know what you guys think!!!!

Update: so my co-worker (who models for our catalog) just looked at my photos and she says she really likes them and that getting 10 good shots out of 200 is really good. She says that she's seen way worse pictures taken of herself and that she thinks ours turned out really well.

You can see the photos under Randy's website under my photos, click on Jackie and Matt

 

[BaBeeCee14]

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your engagement pictures. I just looked at all of them and I thought they were great. I definitely think you had a lof of great shots. I love the ones of you guys kissing in the hammock and the ones of you dancing with the castle in the background.

You just have to remember that you're not going to love every shot a photographer takes. We tend to be a lot more critical of our own pictures and I know its hard when you don't absolutely love your pictures. But from someone on the outside, I think they're great. Maybe you can call Randy and voice some of your concerns to him and see what he can do for you.

 

[lpizzuro123]

I just looked at your pictures and I think you are being way too hard on yourselves. They are beautiful. You guys look great and I love the way you wrote your wedding date in the sand.

I especially like #104 and #105 in the large group and #14 and #15 in the photoshopped ones. Give them another look.

Linda

 

[linzwylie]

What are you on girl ????????? your photos are fantastic !!

I can see what you mean about some of the photos looking like you were not ready or with mouths open but they are in the minority. Seriously I think you make a great couple and your pics are great

I'm sure your wedding photos will be super.

Linz xxx

 

[Lynn5700]

Hey I hated my Epics too but the more I looked at them they grew onto me and there were some great shots...I think we look at others and think that they will look just as great as everybody elses and we are hard on ourselves.

I looked at them before reading what you said and I love the ones of you in front of the castle(the photoshopped ones) and the sepia toned one is gorgeous.. 2,17 and 18 are my favs.

I looked through all 133 and you have some great shots in there too...your dress is adorable and you are beautiful and have a grat smile plus your hair looked great...I'm surprised Randy didn't get a pic of you guys by the tree with the heart engraved in it...maybe he doesn't know about it.

I only liked about 20 epics aw well but LOVED all of my wedding photos.

maybe you are being too hard on yourself or maybe randy just isn't your style. If you have any doubts in your gut about using Randy on your wedding day then you need to talk to DF and think about switching to a photog who is more your style.There is nothing wrong with that, you have to be confident and feel comfortable with who is taking your wedding photos. I say just go with what your gut tells you to do.

Have you looked into Misty Miotto?? If I didn't use Randy I would have used her. I think you should look into other photographers to see who and what is more your style. I think if you are this upset now you will be worried about the pictures on your wedding day and it will show in your pictures.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Just to add - I think this was a wonderful thing to do. We did Engagement photos with Misty when we were down in Disney this past May for our planning session and I think it is best thing we did. It gave us each the ability to get to know each other and work together. As BaBeeCee14 mentioned, now you know how Randy works and you will be able to talk to him about it and get what you want on the important day.

Just as an example, when Misty was taking some of our shots and I was reaching up to kiss my DF, I was on tiptoe and bending my leg in the back. Well, in the pictures my turned up leg is under my dress and I look like I only have one leg. What I thought would be cute - really wasn't. I know I will have a gown on and you will not be able to see my legs anyway, but this made me realize what it looks like in an actual photo.

Linda

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

we are our own worst critics

i think from what i saw they are pretty great!!

 

[camara381]

Hey Jackie as I said in your PJ I LOVE your pics!!!!! They came out great!!! I was the same way with mine, very critical.

 

[Keira1387]

I think your pictures came out great!!! We are our worse critics!

 

[mermaidbride1108]

Thanks guys, I really wasn't looking for compliments but it did help . Maybe I'm over analyzing them. Maybe I'm being a little too harsh on my own pics

Lynn - I really do like Randy and I really don't want to switch Photographers. I liked Misty alot but decided in the end her photos were too photoshoped for me.

Linda - If anything, I did learn what does look good and what doesn't. I definitely will not talk when we are doing our pictures for the wedding. I thought that it would be more natural. And I'll also rethink my movements. Should I ask Randy to direct us more?

Camara - thanks for posting in my PJ, I didn't even know they were ready until you posted that!

Thanks everyone for you comments and your feedback.

Some positives I forgot to mention -
So I realized from your comments that maybe I did focus on the negative. I do have some positives to say about the photoshoot:

I loved my hair & makeup by Beauty Speciale, I wore fake eyelashes and even though I knew I was squinting alot, it doesn't look so bad on me as it does on Matt. It must be great makeup! For once, I actually thought I looked better than Matt, usually he's the photogenic one. I thought I really photographed well and I'm very happy with the makeup choices. I do need to pick out a better lipstick/gloss though.

I should definitely get my armpits waxed because it pictures it doesn't look like I shaved!

I definitely know what poses look best for us now

I also know what smile looks best on us and that we need to watch out for the sun!!!

And No Play dancing or dips!!!

Now going from here - I'd still like to keep Randy, I really liked the actual shoot and we got along with him great, he even carried our bag around! He was so sweet! And I still like his work, which brings me to...

Do I talk to him about it? Do I bring it up that I'm a little disappointed? I don't want to put a sour taste in his mouth and offend him. Should I ask him to direct us more for the wedding and pose us a little more? I'm just worried this will sacrifice the great candids we might get that he does for other brides. Or should I just shift through and label pics I like and pics I don't really like? I mean these photos are done and there isn't much to do at this point to make them any better.

What should I do????

Talk to Randy about improving these pics or just letting these go?

Talk to Randy to improve pics for the wedding? or let it go so we can get candids and hope for the best?

Ask him to pose us more or just be more mindful of our movements?

Or label pictures that I really like to give him a better idea?

I'm always worried about direct an artist too much because it will sacrfice the results. I need your feedback!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

I would definately speak with Randy about this. If you feel like you would like more direction, ask for it. As far as dips go, Misty tried a few of these with us and they just did not work. We could tell while we were doing them. I might want a few for the wedding - but my DF and I need to practice them more. Also, we did a few hammock pictures with Misty where she had us laying down and these were definately a no go. We did the hammock photos a few days later with a Disney photographer but she had us sitting up in the hammock and I loved them.

I think this was a great learning experience and will ensure better pictures on your wedding day. I also had had my hair and make up done that morning and this was great because I got to see what it looked like in actual pictues.

You will be very happy you had this experience.

Linda

 

[PrincessPirate28]

Hi Ladies,

I am new to the disboards, I hope you don't mind if I lurk and live vicariously thru you, LOL!!. I wanted a Disney wedding so bad but it's just not in the budget unfortunatly.

I just wanted to say that your pics came out amazing. I can see where some may look as though your not ready but they came out really good. You look very happy in them which is the most important thing

 

[lpizzuro123]

Misty did alot of walking shots with us - both walking toward her and walking away from her - we did not do dancing shots. I actually like your dancing at the waters edge shots.

As far as "directing an artist" - I actually showed some of Randy's shots to Misty as examples of what we liked - I also showed her alot of her own shots too. She was fine with this because she said she wanted to make sure we get what we want.

Linda

 

[bridetobe789]

Those pictures are amazing!! I'm sure we are always our own worst critics but don't worry they are great!!

 

[figmentfan814]

I would definitely talk to Randy about any concerns you have about your shots. He is easy to work with and will be more than willing to listen. This will be great insight to how you want your wedding shots taken. I know I talked to Randy on several occasion about what we wanted for our wedding and what style fit us best and he was always open to my ideas and was willing to work with me on every little detail.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

I know we are our own worst critics - but I have to say, I really thought your photos were so beautiful, some of them were so natural and playful that I really think they captured the essence of what you would want engagement photos to look like.

However, there are a handful of photos that I can definitely see what you're talking about.. some of them you guys aren't smiling or making smug faces, but overall I think the photos are so beautiful! And yes, his shirt does look a little oversized but honestly, if you hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have noticed.

I noticed too that when I posted my wedding dress pics, I'm like, ugh.. look at the way I did that, or look at my arm, or look at that face I was making.. but when I showed other people, they saw things that I didn't, you know? Like, they would just tell me about the way it looked, like the feeling they got. I think a lot of us our guilty for looking for faults that it's so hard to see the beauty in things.

Your hair looks GORGEOUS by the way!!! But, I would suggest that if you still don't feel comfortable with the pictures, I'd call Randy. Or sometimes what I do is after I criticized my own wedding dress photos, I stopped looking at them for a few weeks and then looked again, and I felt like I was seeing them for the first time and saw less flaws that way. I dunno, hard to explain. Sorry for rambling, but I just thought your pictures were so beautiful that I hope you can find it in your heart to love them, too.

 

[Lynn5700]

OK good then just talk to Randy and voice your concerns so you will feel better! You look gorgeous in your Epics and you will be a gorgeous bride.

 

[kpadalik]

Your pictures really are gorgeous! By just looking at these pictures, I think he is an "action shot" photographer. He tends to take a lot of pictures that are random action shots, instead of taking fewer, "posed" shots. My photographer was the same way. He took a million shots and not all turned out great. However, the ones that did turn out were very natural looking and really captured our personalities. He really knew how to catch me and my hubby at our best.

Even though you think some of your pictures aren't the best shots (squinting, half-smiles, etc), I think there are a lot of them that are really beautiful and romantic. You and your DF look like you had a wonderful time during the shoot and you both look truly happy. In order for Randy to get "just the right shot", there have to be some not-so-right shots in between. I love the ones of you guys laughing, dancing, and your serious "heads together" shots.

Also, just think of this as practice for the big day. Now that you all have worked together, he gets to know you and what you like better, and you get more familiar with his personal photography style.

Good luck with the planning and enjoy it...it will go by so quickly!

Kristin

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I thought your photos were fantastic! Even the ones where you are squinting really aren't that bad. They look very natural, and you both look very relaxed.

I'd suggest that you 'put them away' for awhile, and take a look at them in a few days with a fresh set of eyes. I bet your inital disappointment will lessen.

 

[jen54321]

I am so nervous about getting our wedding pictures done. I am not normally in front of the camera so I am afraid they will not be good. If my pictures come out half as good as yours I will be so happy! I thought they were gorgeous! I think you are being too hard on yourself. You look awesome in those pics!