West Photography

I was really impressed with Nathaniel’s portfolio when I met him at a bridal expo. I booked him and his wife for our wedding in August after meeting with them. Lisa, his wife, was not friendly, but I looked past it.
Communicating with Nathaniel was difficult as it was mostly by email and it took awhile to respond. I expected more communication and guidance from him rather than me always seeking him out to ask questions.
The photography package was pricy at $ 1800 but a lot cheaper than other photographers. We liked having all the rights to our photos in the end.
In preparation for our wedding, there was difficulty setting up times for photographs. Again, Nathaniel didn’t provide much guidance on what other couples did. On our wedding day, Nathaniel and Lisa locked their keys in their car, which took away 40 minutes of our photograph time. They did not give us a partial refund or much of an apology for taking away a large portion of our photo time.
The poses were structured based on what they did before rather than adjusted to our personality. They didn’t have a great attention to detail with the photos (untucked shirts, items in the frame that shouldn’t be, etc.) We weren’t able to go to all the locations we wanted pictures at because of the lost 40 minutes.
The photos took a full 6 months to receive back. I knew this was a possibility, as it was stated in the contract, but it would have been nice to have known up front that 6 months was the usual amount of time. There was no communication whatsoever from Nathaniel in this time. I assumed we would never get our photos. When we did receive them in the mail, there was no note or anything from Nathaniel or Lisa. It was very impersonal.
Every photo was «Photoshpped,» which turned out to mean that pre-​set filters were overlayed on the photos, some of which did not fit or look good. Dirt stains on pants or other messy parts of the photos were left untouched.
Overall, I’m happy I got the pictures back and some were really good. But the experience as a whole was unsatisfying, and I doubt that I would recommend West Photography to anyone.