Recently i had a bitter experience regarding wedding photography in Pakistan. Thought of sharing it here due to relevance of the topic.
In Jan 2011, I was about to get married (planned for Mar 2011) and i wanted everything to be exceptional (like anyone else thinking we get married only once…) so was the case for photography which i wanted to be very unconventional and interesting… something that could have my heartbeats captured there. I checked many professional photography services including Jimmy’s but was least satisfied. It was my feeling that these guys would treat it like just another wedding being professional. I thought of trying young blood who are not professional but would dare to go an extra mile for satisfying there client. I met a guy on flickr who was doing it as a part time and was very convinced as i could see the passion and unconventional discussion we had promised me to deliver something fresh and new! We agreed on an amount (a handsome amount as i wanted to leave no stone unturned so i didnt bargain much). Being an engineer by profession this guy (lets call him P1) committed to deliver the best he could. Anyways as they big days were close i was having a strange feling as i was never contacted in between. Considering he was busy at office i didnt give an ear to his business and assumed he will be available on time etc… just before mehndi night i had a chat with another guy who has big name on flickr (i can use references but it would be unethical to them). He was interviewed by TIMES for his work on flickr. HE (Call him P2) demanded 30K for Mehndi night and i agreed to pay. So 2 NEW photographers were coming to cover this event and i was fine with that. Anyways they came took a lot of photos and then left.
P-1 came the other 2 days (Wedding and Reception) as well and i paid him in full during this time. I was hoping to get call for Albums but anyways it never happened. there was no news from both of them for next 1/2 weeks. Later i got a call from P-1 after 2 weeks to choose from 1000 photos myself and tell him which ones to choose. It was not my expectation (as i hired them to choose the best work and believing they are artists they should be able to do this) but anyways i had to pick this CD from his apartment (i live near Airport and he was in DHA). I collected DVD came hime hoping to choose best 100 out of 1000s for one event. Unfortunately this CD was BLANK meaning my 1-hour trip through Khi’s rough traffic was useless. I asked this guy he was just SORRY for this and i was supposed to go and collect another one. I went to see him at nursery… waited…. he came late and you wouldn’t believe he said, i should select 100 out of 1000 pics and then gave me an address to get free 100 prints with his reference. Would you pay someone just to come to your party have dinner click 1000 times here and there and go away. Rest of the matter you should deal yourself. IS IT professional at all or leave professionalism think about ethics… you received your amount the night you half of your job and then you showing someone the way to do rest of it. The photographs were nothing but a mess… I was so angry i threw the CD away and have never seen it again.
Now my only hope was the other photographer P-1. I called him he said he is working on my pictures. I live abroad so i had one week left to close this issue, i asked hm whether he can come and inform me about the progress. Anything he needs from my side including suggestions (i am myself a photographer and photo composer but do not get enough time to do it myself). He didnt come on the promised day… neither he showed up in next week. I called him and he stopped responding… i called him several times and he didnt return a single call. I left pk, came to my work place… kept calling him for next few weeks but no luck. I was so PISSED OFF you can understand i guess. I was least expecting this really… i paid and i dint bother these guys while they were working didnt complain about anything at all… Just i wanted a fair attitude from these WELL EDUCATED guys.
I had to involve a friend of P-1 and he tried to sort out this issue. P-1 said he is busy in his exams and that is why he doesnt answer.. he was SORRY not to deliver my stuff. He was SORRY but what about me who had ambitious plans for my wedding. I could hardy get all the raw material from this guy. It took me another month to work on these photos and compose them rightly. I had to do a lot of editing job there…. Some of the photographs were highly disappointing… but anyways the time had gone and i could only regret my decision or fix it somehow. Anyways i did all teh composing and printing job by myself with my part time job when i had already paid the services to someone else.
I think it was my FAULT to think our educated lot will be more responsible or committed… To my experience this is even worst and not sure whom to put our future hopes in..
this was just a side of my recent experiences…its only about photography… i suffered due to my over expectations (or let’s say lack of understanding) in other wedding jobs as well….
I would like to ask these GENTLEMEN what was my fault? Expecting good services? Select wrong guys? Trusting them?!!!
Would like to advise everyone else not to TRUST these big headed unprofessional liars to say the least. Go for professionals at least tehy deliver whatever they commit…
Sorry for the long text and thanks for reading till last line !!
Adeel
and that to in Pakistan!!! haha its like digging your own grave!