my wedding photographer said the photos didnt work at the time of shooting, how is this possible?

There are 101 reasons why the shots may not come out and even paying for a professional service cannot discount equipment failures or the like, this is why we have insurance.

Even though he may have looked at them at the time on the camera this does not mean that the card could not corrupt or that the files could be corrupted on transfer etc etc.

If there were no usable pictures from the day then obviously you should get all your money back - no argument.

If there were some usable shots then, if it was me, I would refund all the money the couple had paid and only charge them a minimal price for any of the good shots that they wanted.

You have to work this out with the photographer.

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No contract menas its a he said she said if you go to court. It could go your way or not. You say you paid professional fees that means different things to different folks but to me it would be a couple of grand probably worth a trip to court. But only you can decide that.

As to what he should do he definitely should make it right as best he can That could include refunds some or all or the fee, retaking the shots that can be re-staged or both. I do not know what "didn't work" means to him. Was it an equipment problem? Things like memory card failures do very rarely happen but it does not sound like that is the case here. In fact you say he is still using the the cards. Was it a photographers error ? If so did he make a mistake shooting or in transferring and backing up the files. It sounds like he was shooting digital while its not necessary to look at the LCD after each shot looking once in a while makes good sense. Its an advantage we did not have with film. Backing up the photos to several sources when you take them off the card should be standard practice as well. . Before I reformat the card photos are on the harddrive in a RAID setup and on a DVD both. For important jobs I often include the price of the card when I figure my quote and also have the originally shot memory card archived. ( Weddings I normally do not do this after the other backups are verified) Maybe I am paranoid

Sometimes a card can be corrupted when its put into the reader. This has happened to me. This is no excuse for not giving you back some to all of your $. Since you didn't have a contract, I would take him to small claims court, especially if you have a witness - your spouse perhaps? Anyone who heard him say he took the pix but they didn't come out.

Write a demand letter, specifying how much of your money you want back. If you got any photos at all, you will need to discount the total payment down, but if you got none, ask for all of it. Tell him if he doesn't pay you within 10 working days of the date of the letter you will sue him in Small Claims Court. Send the letter certified, return receipt requested (so you can prove he got it.) After the 10 days go by (weekdays only - weekends do not count) go to your local courthouse and find the small claims division. Most courts have a small claims adviser to help you fill out the paperwork. Then have a friend or process server serve the papers (usually you cannot serve these yourself - nor can your spouse.) It has been my experience that 90% of the people pay up when they get served. If he doesn't pay, proceed to court. The worst that can happen is that the judge will find against you, and you'll get nothing, which is where you are now. Most judges in small claims are used to small claims issues, so the he said, she said thing will get sorted out. Bring the cancelled check (tell me you paid with a check) and any witnesses with you. The burden of proof is on you - if you can prove you paid him but got nothing the reasons are really immaterial.

If he doesn't show, you will probably get a default judgment. If the judge finds for you (which you will probably be notified by mail - judges rarely rule right then and there) you can send the sheriff after his assets. Look on the back of the check - his bank and account number will be on it. Have the sheriff garnish it - it will take a bit of time but you will eventually get your money back.

Once again, this is why you should always get a contract in writing and go with a professional that has been in business for a while and can provide references. Sorry you had to learn this on your wedding day.

As a professional wedding photographer, I would be freaking out if this happened to me. He can't retrieve them from what exactly? Because if he's talking about his/her memory card, there are services that can do it for them. The only thing that I can think of is that it's an excuse for not having the photographs come out period or they were just shot badly.

As for your money back...did you sign a contract? What did the contract promise you? I personally tell clients that it's a minimum of 500 prints but I usually shoot 3 times as much and they always get more. If they had anything like that in the contract then you won't get your money back, even in court.

Find out where they can't retrieve them from...I'm confused on that one.

ADDED: If there was no contract signed, he's an idiot anyway. I would ask for a portion of your money back because he "lost" some of the shots that were very important to you. Good luck and I'm so sorry this has happened to you.

this actually happened to me once while I was on vacation. I learned that if the card is not formatted after being downloaded then the camera sometimes screws up the memory card. If the photographer used the card since I don't think anything can be done. If he hasn't then just stick it back in the camera and use a usb cable to connect it to the computer. That worked for me anyways.

As for getting your money back, did you have it in writing. If not I'm sorry but at least you got some photo's of your wedding. I have heard of similar stories where no photo's were left at all..... OUCH. If you did then just check the contract.

I am so sorry this has happened to you. Sometimes things happen, but this doesn't sound un-avoidable on the surface. At any rate, you are certainly entitled to at least some money back. If it happened to me, I would make a full refund and offer a portrait session of at least the B&G and possibly the wedding party and close family.

Of course you can't re-do the ceremony and reception, but it may be that several guests have snapshots made with their cameras. Gather as many images from other people as you can, and ask that they be processed to be their best and included in an album. Something is better than nothing. This should be at no charge to you, of course.

A professional who re-uses wedding cards before the wedding is completely post processed and who doesn't have a contract should raise lots of red flags. Most reputable pros don't operate like that. I have to wonder how long he had been in business, or did he just get his digital Rebel for his birthday and decide wedding photography was a great cash cow. At any rate, best of luck in recovering some images from your wedding day, and best wishes in your marriage.

I feel bad for you on your big day. You definitely deserve money back. You could also consult a lawyer.

I hope you don't mind, but I bookmarked your question because once or twice a day there is someone on Y/A asking what lens they should use for their first wedding. I want to point them to this to see what can happen when you get in over your head.

I think you're right to want all of your money back. You got shafted. But if there was no contract signed, sounds like you hooked up with a scumbag and are probably still shafted.

You have the right to get all of your money back. He provided no photos, so he breached.

what does your contract say about the photos 'not working' ???

thats all that matters. BUT... any pro who screwed up that badly would give you what did work and refund all of your money.