Saga Part 2: Now hear from the Photographer

Saga Part 2: Now hear from the Photographer

Image: The better images of the same wedding by Chung.

12^th April 2016, Singapore – further to our earlier article about a wedding couple whom had “their wedding day album ruined”, the photographer had stepped forward to defend himself. Our article was about sharing what the couple could have done to prevent a situation like this, but in this case, instead of the Wedding Boutique stepping up and explain the situation, the photographer who was sent to cover this wedding speak up.

The photographer who covered the wedding is Chung Siew Goh, to which he posted some photos of the wedding and a note offering a glimpse of the unfolding drama.

Image: Screen Grab from Chung’s Facebook.

“I am the photographer on that day ….. Acouple long 10 hrs hard work..for this couple Edit 900 plus photo for them they use less than 20 pic to URGE not SATISFY wanted to refund cash paid ..but they already collected those photos NOW put up in media to show the whole world and spoil our Reputation which no REASON which not Fair to us..” – as posted by Chung on his Facebook.
OK, that was painful too read. Basically what he is saying is – he had shot this couple’s wedding which is about 10 hours (typical) and he had edited 900+ images and sent the photos to the couple. Then the couple picked out some terrible looking images and publicised it on social media so that they can pressure this Chung for a refund. Whoa! Too much of a drama?

Image: The better images of the same wedding by Chung.

Following our earlier article, the whole photography industry “woke up” and started to share their views across social media. While there were many questions posed to both parties, I’ve picked up a few points that are worth pondering over.

1) Why Even Give the Couple photos that are not acceptable?
Having been in this line for many years, this is a taboo. As a self-respecting photographer, I will only deliver the best images to my clients. Bad images are not meant to be given and better to delete away. Why so? Like some photographers had shared in some of the comments, why even give the client a chance to shoot you back in your feet? You can deliver good 1,000 images and the client can use 05 bad images and ask for a full refund – get the picture now? Not saying all clients are like that but hey! Many of the fellow Pros – including me – had encountered such clients before. If you are a new photographer and had just join the industry, please note this point seriously!

2) A Tip-Off suggested the fees were $288.00
The Tip-off although not verified, I am not surprised as I had mentioned this point in my earlier article. Wedding Boutiques keep costs low to maintain a profit margin – like any other businesses – this is common. But $288.00 for a full day wedding, this wedding could have charged the couple between $888.00 & $1388.00 which is common in the wedding industry. So naturally, the couple will feel ripped off as they could have paid $1388.00 but gotten images that probably worth much less.
That probably ignited the drama.

Image: The better images of the same wedding by Chung.

3) Other images by the Photographer are amateurish.
There are easily threads after threads of comments about the images that Chung had posted in his defence. As a working photographer, I agree with most of these comments. Looking through the “better” images by Chung, I am sorry but to agree that his work is of amateur-level. Exposures was inconsistent, flash pointing at the all the wrong places, focus points not defined etc and I have not even get to the part on composition and engaging the couple – a basic knowledge for all wedding day photographers.

4) Couple Looking for Refund
This is an important key point here. Did they purposely picked up the badly done images, make some crazy edit to them then post up to shame & pressure the wedding boutique to refund them? Seriously we won’t know and we shall not speculate any further. When money is involved, it can be anything, wouldn’t you agree?

We tried contacting Chung for his comments via Facebook Messenger and we did not get a reply from him at press time. Then again, Chung is just a photographer engaged by the wedding boutique to shoot the wedding, the fire should be on the wedding boutique and not on Chung. Why set ourselves on a foot soldier when the mastermind remained quiet through this ordeal?

As we anticipate more drama to unfold, we urge everyone to remain neutral and hold your judgement until the wedding boutique speaks up. Meantime, we hope Chung can try to improve on his photography skills.