That is just painful to watch! A few thoughts on both sides:

- This could have easily gone the other way if the bride was bitchy and unpleasant and the photographers had been respectful and polite. Or if it had been Judge Judy.

- Why was there no reference to a contract?

- Since when is the critical definition of a “professional” photograph its ability to be enlarged beyond an 8×10? Good thing they left the Lensbaby home.

- If you are going to get your prints done at Wal Mart, don’t deliver them in the parking lot. Do the professional thing — go to Starbucks…

I agree with Andy – the attitude is definitely what put the nail in their coffin.
I was feeling a little self concsious, being that I shoot with a Rebel XT and a kit lens, until I realized that they repeatedly said that they have shot HUNDREDS of weddings… good lord woman, upgrade already! I have an excuse as I have only done 5 weddings (that’s what I tell myself anyway). And my photos are much better than hers regardless. Dear God, what was with the b&w image inside the psychedlic floral border? It looked like it came from one of those terrible digital photo booths at the mall.

No question the photographer acted poorly and unprofessionally. Had she come better prepared, things would likely have gone differently. Where were the examples of work she showed the bride in booking the wedding, perhaps a statement from the pastor about no flash photography, one of the large prints from her wall to show her camera could reproduce professional quality prints, the original contract??

From another perspective, I don’t watch Judge Brown but WOW, does it get more obnoxious than that? He clearly is over-representing his understanding of photography by judging any photographer by their equipment. Much as I agree that a wedding photographer with hundreds of weddings behind her would be expected to have better equipment than she had, equipment does not make the photographer. While she may not be at the top of the profession, it’s not as if the photographs we saw were atrocious. It’s too bad she did not bring other work to put the work she did have in perspective. Had all her other work been consistent with what we saw, it would be hard for the bride to have made a case for expecting something different. Brides do select based on the COMBINATION of quality and price. And, if this bride chose to sacrifice some level of quality for her budget, that is hardly the photographer’s fault, assuming the photographer performed up to the standards of the work she showed when she booked the wedding in the first place.

There is clearly more to this story than was aired in this video.

Much as I think the photographer was treated unfairly in court, she did herself, her studio and her profession a huge disservice by the unprofessional manner in which she conducted herself in a public, TELEVISED proceeding. Oh, and yes…no more deliveries of work in the Walmart parking lot!

I can’t help but wonder if this photographer learned anything from this experience that will help her in the future (other than not to go on Judge Brown again!).

BAD, BAD, BAD all the way around.

I’m confused…. Why is there no mention of the terms of the contract as it relates to the deliverables. Brown even says that Wal-Mart proofs are not too far fetched as he himself could understand them be used as part of the culling process, although meeting in a parking lot is dumb. If the photographer feels that they met their obligation, than they should reference the contract, as well as show samples of what other work they presented to the client prior to booking.

And I disagree to an extent with you Mark. I think Brown actually goes beyond judging the photographer by mear equipment alone and shows a bit of knowledge about kit lens and photography. By examining the softness around the edges of the images and asking things like “where is your 28-70?” he demonstates an undertanding of the lens and photography that are more advanced.

While a great photographer can do quite a lot with an XTI, or entry level gear if so inclined, I rather believe that top notch gear does somewhat make the photographer. You get a certain look with fast primes and 2.8 varible zooms, not to mention you need certain f-stops and a certain amount of light that only fast lenses can provide. You try your hand with a 70-300 5.6 crap lens in a church that is dark as a cave when the bride starts her walk down the asile! Ask yourself at that moment “Does equipment make the photographer?” It times it most certainly does!

What a circus! He didn’t even listen to the photographers part of the story. Hey lady, you got what you paid for!

The very first thing you should learn and know by heart when serving the public, whether it be your own business or your employer’s, is that the customer is always right. One dissatisfied customer can ruin your business as bad news travels faster from the mouth of an irate customer than good news when all of your customers are satisfied. In this case, it was on TV and is on the Internet for all potential customers to see. If she truly shot hundreds of weddings and only had one dissatisfied customer, what is the problem with giving that person a full refund?

Secondly, no matter what, $1300 for those photos was way out of line.

Thirdly when you are in court you respect the judge and present facts only. That photographer definitely got what she deserved for letting her mouth overload her backside by arguing with the judge instead of presenting facts in the case.

It is simple. You hire a professional with the assumption they have the professional equipment and expertise to to do the job regardless of the situation. The photographer admitted that many churches don’t allow flashes during the ceremony. So she should be prepared to deal with it. If a photographer is competing on price then they are cutting corners somewhere. In her case, she used low cost printing and non-professional grade equipment.

If you are shooting weddings with entry-level gear, then shame on you. People are trusting you with the most important day of their life and if you can afford professional gear, turn them down and stick to portrait work until you can save up. Don’t take advantage of your customers’ naivety because you are too cheap to take out a business loan or secure funding to do things right.

I hope this photographer goes broke and never books another job again because clowns like these give the professionals in the business a bad name.

Anyone who is impressed with Judge Joe Brown is a fool. He proved nothing except that he is not qualified to judge photography.