Sorry if it souded like I am blaming the "victim!. It's just that I have been involved in wedding photograhy, as part of my business, for over half a century and I just can't relate to all the unporfessional antics that some so-called weddig pros pull off! Waht's wrong with these people- where are ther communications skills. Perhaps I've been oversimplifying the photographer/client relationship. A potential cleint comes to me- I show them my work, I ask the if the like it or, if the want any modification or changes of approach. If I can accommodate them I do exactly what they expect. Some clients are very specific and most just tell me to "do my thing"!

What abot hte consumers. Some folks spend more time and effort ordering a pizza than selecting a wedding photographer.

If there is any "balme" for dissapointment it has to be shared between the photograher and the client- "it takes two to tango"!

Legally speaking, the most important aspect of a contract is the meeting of the minds between the parties. There can be an offer, negotiations, and accepatance and at the end of the day both parties need to aggre exactly on all the stipulations and clauses and everybody LITERALLY needs to be on the same page.

If the photographer deceded to change up her style without consulting the customer, it is on her! What woud motivate a logical person to do that? It lacks common sense and ethical business practices.

There was a famous lawsuit (famous among photograhers) where the wedding couple sued their wedding photographer claiming that their wedding photographs were "distorted and grotesque". The lawyer for the photographer strategized that the judge woud not adjudicate on "art" and woud "balme the victim" for not scrutinizing the photographer's style in advance...etc. The judge took one look at the album and found for the plaintiff. He reaosned that even a layman can see this is unacceptable work in that the images were not even near liknesses of the subjects. Seem this genius photographer deceid to shoot the entire job with ultra-wide and fisheye lenses- that decision caost him his business.

Sorry, but I did not read his/her question as an insult to the wedding photographer. I understand the concern as my son had his wedding pictures taken the same way - highlights blown out. I am only an intermediate level hobbyist and certainly do not have the internal fortitude to take on the huge responsibility of preserving such a moment for others, but it is enticing to ask the question on a forum, being it is drilled into us to not blow out the highlights. I understand that photography is an art form and everyone has their own taste, and surely the couples that pick that style artist chose him/her over others who “followed the rules”.
Personally I will dissuade my daughter from choosing that style on her wedding day next year, as I find it more pleasing NOT to have the highlights blown out. Having said that, it’s her wedding day and we will go with whomever she chooses. I just did not think it was warranted to give the poster a tongue lashing, especially when this is a forum where all opinions should be welcome and discussed freely. A simple “it’s just a trendy style now” , as other courteous posters have said, would have sufficed.

Every time there are posts about wedding photography on this forum, there is always some sort of negativism or complaint about the entire genre and industry. Stories of incompetent wedding photographers, substandard work, and wedding horror stores fill the threads.

I have been involved in wedding photography and wedding fashion photography for well over 50 years and I just don't see any of this bad work. In my own work and in training new wedding shooters I stress lighting and posing techniques that render the utmost detail in every stitch of white wedding gowns. I have NEVER had a client ask for washed-out images with vacant whites or anything related to overexposure. I have never had a bride, a bridal salon, a couturier client, or an ad agency ask for such imagery.

Yes, there is some rough stuff out there but it is not the work of experienced professionals.

Sometimes folks opine of stuff they know nothing about- I hate when that happens.

If the stuff you are talking about is that bad- show me!

It might be a “stretch” to assume today’s clients are clueless when it comes to the arts, however, it likely indicates that preferences of today’s youth are different than ours perhaps. Every time I see kids with their baseball hats on backward I wonder...then suddenly, I remember how my folks disliked Elvis, or how I rotated my handlebars on my bicycle from the normal position or grew my hair longer than the military styles of the 50s; all in a desire to be “different” from my elders. This too will pass...

Cheers!

Yes, I remember being disappointed with coarse screens on newsprint but I knew how to make prints that would survive.

Back in the film days, I guess I was fortunate that most of my clients used top-quality 4-color process lithography, top-quality stock, and techniques like spot varnishing. Of course, a reflection print or a printed page does not have the dynamic range of transparency viewed by transmitted light but again I suppled transparencies that fit the process and oftentimes supplied shadow or highlights masks to retain detail.If the original print, transparency or digital files is poorly crafted, seriosl under or over exposed or completely out of color balance, the is no printng process that can restor detai or informatio that is not there.