All photographers have their fair share of annoyances and difficult clients. Here’s a story that will remind you to deal with them in a professional manner.
Newlyweds Ashlea and Daniel Howard hired Australian wedding photographer Lee Maxwell Judd to capture their big day at the Bendooley Estate in Berrima. Somehow, the arrangement snowballed into this:
That’s Judd posting on his Facebook page of the “ugliest bride” he has ever photographed and calling her a “bridezilla.” Pictured above the post is Mrs. Howard, who said she was mortified and that Judd’s unkind words stemmed from the couple’s complaints about a botched delivery of their photos. The post was met with sheer outrage from the Howards’ friends and the general public, to which Judd seemed to have replied rather recklessly.
Howard told the Daily Telegraph that Judd sent a USB drive with hundreds of photos from the wedding to a different Ashley. When Howard brought the error up with the photographer and asked for a refund, he reportedly told her that she needed to have her head checked. The two had a text message exchange in which Judd eventually apologized for the mix-up and called himself “a tossa” for lashing out.
On the other side, Judd says his Facebook page was hacked.
“I don’t even know anything about that post,” he said. “Not long after the hacking started to happen I just unpublished the page and I haven’t bothered to even go there.”
Either way, the damage has been done. While Judd says he has seen a spike in traffic to his page since the incident, it’s pretty clear that something went awry. Howard says the photographer was “heavily drinking” at the reception. What’s worse? She outwardly voiced her displeasure with the deliverables.
“There are some OK ones, however an album comprises an overview of the entire day,” she said. “We are missing quality photos of large chunks of the day due to blur and overexposure. Mainly outside at the ceremony and the bridal/family dances.”
We don’t know what exactly happened here, but we do know that it’s nothing good. Remember that you’re representing yourself and your business, not just with every shoot, but with every piece of correspondence you make.
