Digit Meteor Photography

We had Harry do our engagement photos recently. I’m a bit torn for the rating — the end product is worth 4 stars but I think the business side of the operation is a bit immature at the moment which drags the experience down a bit for me even though it’s the end photos are what ultimately matter. I can tell he’s an experienced photographer but I think his business is new and he’s still working out some kinks.
We did an on-​location shoot. I’ve had pro photos before so I took my pre-​shoot prep info from other experiences because it didn’t happen this time (like, what to wear ect) The morning before I got a message saying «meet you at fish creek park!» and we’d planned to meet at edworthy park. Luckily that was sorted out before the session time. We arrived 10 minutes early and he arrived 10 minutes late.
He handed the shoot very well — was creative with poses and listened to what we wanted. We’d point out what we envisioned and he’d try to make it happen. This really showed in the final product. He did get creative with our names though which I thought was a bit funny… he would reverse them (our names are a bit gender ambiguous) or he’d combine them into a celeb type name accidentally. Our 2 hour session flew by because he made it very easy and we went through things quite quickly.
2 weeks later he was ready for us to see the shots he’d taken — we had 90 from our 2 hours (with all the junk shots removed). At this point we got to pick a screening at his home studio for no cost or an online gallery for $ 50. We figured we’d do the home studio screening but I’d probably go back in time and do the online gallery at this point. The reason for this is the home studio is in his unheated garage and it was probably –3 or so at this time and definitely 0 or below in the studio. After sitting in one spot for a while clicking through photos I was getting too cold to make good photo buying decisions. He also was in a rush to get us in and out of there (also cold?). I think the rush might have had us buy less than we would have in a warmer environment. Aside from the photo presentation, I’m left wondering what it would be like to have a photo shoot in winter in an unheated garage. When you think of who’s usually getting photos and it’s often babies or kids — that’s not the most suitable setup for them!
When arriving at the home studio you go to the front door and there is a sign asking you to call and then go to the garage in the alley. This is a very new neighborhood the the alley and the yard to walk to the garage is all dirt or mud if the weather deems it so. My heels were sinking into 2″ of mud on my way to the studio the first time. On the way to the studio the second time I was walking through snow that hadn’t been cleared (there is no sidewalk so it makes that hard). Another issue with the studio experience was lack of response when we called. It took 3 calls the first visit (to select photos) and 4 calls (over 15 minutes) the second visit (to pick up photos) before we got an answer on the phone. I take major issue with with because we were expected and had an appointment. The first time could be overlooked, I assumed he was with someone else. However the second time this happened it was –17 before wind chill and we were standing in an alley calling him over and over and over trying to get him to answer and take our money. By the time he answered I was about to leave and not come back… when we told him we’d called 4 times do you think we got a sorry? nope. A chuckle and something about him not hearing the phone. He only takes cash so, as we were standing around like chumps in an alley in the cold for some time, it really felt like we were completing a shady drug deal not wrapping up a wonderful engagement photo session.
Overall all though, I’m very happy with the end results. Digital photos are provided on a DVD with a custom label that is one of our photos which is a cute touch. Photo costs are alright — $ 35 for 8×10 sized print (which could be 3−4×6 or ⁶⁄₈ wallets ect). It’s $ 55 for a high rez photos on DVD (if print is ordered of that file — more expensive if the print is not ordered because post processing would not already be done). You get 15 high rez shots on DVD for $ 199 which is his best package. There are also charges to do graphical design like a magazine cover or what not if that’s your think. You can also buy a CD of all your images for like $ 400 (or was it $ 500) if you don’t want prints if you want the high rez or about $ 250 if you want web rez). With the digital files you own the rights which is really nice — I’ve paid $ 200 for the rights to a photo from other photographers in the past when I needed it for something specific and some won’t give them up at all!
Review 13 of 30 in Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge