Buffalo's Best Photos

I was extremely disappointed with the level of professionalism and service we received.

Before the event, I made it very clear that the event started at a specific time and explained the types of photos we were looking for. Communication was also difficult, as he could barely respond to my messages, no exaggeration when I say he would respond with "Hi" and nothing else when I messaged him with questions. He ultimately arrived almost 25 minutes late to the agreed upon time, and I had to call him to find out where he was. When I expressed my concern, he responded, “Well, I’m not from around here, so I’m not familiar.” If you are unfamiliar with an event location, I would expect you to account for that and leave early enough to ensure you arrive on time.

When he finally arrived, I was already in the middle of managing numerous aspects of the event. Instead of being able to focus on the event, I had to stop what I was doing to explain the shots we needed and what areas of the site were important to capture.

His appearance was also not professional. His pants were sagging, and his overall appearance did not give the impression of someone providing a professional photography service for an event where we were paying nearly $900.

Throughout our less-than-four-hour event, I also repeatedly saw him sitting down and scrolling through social media on his phone. I am paying nearly $1,000 for four hours of photography. Why is the photographer sitting on his phone scrolling through social media during the event? With a record-breaking number of attendees and a record-breaking amount of fundraising, there were countless opportunities to capture meaningful moments throughout the entire event.

When we finally received the photos, I was disappointed again. Many of the photos are unusable because the additional photographer he brought was standing in front of or obstructing some of the shots. The lighting in many photos was also poor, and out of less than 500 photos, I would consider less than half of them truly usable.

There are many photographers in the area, and based on my experience, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Paying top dollar should come with a professional level of communication, punctuality, appearance, effort, and quality. Unfortunately, our experience was closer to C-minus service.

I am leaving two stars instead of one because my team and I were genuinely questioning whether the photographer was even going to show up to the event. I was extremely relieved when he finally arrived. That is not something a client should ever have to worry about or feel relieved about when they have paid for a professional service. Showing up on time and being present and prepared for the event should be the bare minimum.