A South Africa-based photographer thought he was being pranked when he received a text from a previous client asking for a full refund – four years after he shot their wedding! In the message, the client – let’s call her Karen – explains that she and her husband are “now divorced,” so they no longer have use for the photos.
In reply to the absurd request, Lance Romeo Photography quite rightly asked the woman, “Pardon me? This has to be a joke right?” Because who on earth would seriously think a photographer would just turn around and agree? After all, he can't take back the time he spent taking and editing the photos.
• Check out the best cameras for wedding photography (and hope you never get asked something so ridiculous)
What’s worse, Karen recognizes that he “did a wonderful job” but that the “photos went to waste as we are now divorced.” Last time I checked, divorce wasn’t the photographer's issue, hell one lucky photographer has even made a career out of divorce photography but asking for a refund for wedding photos post-divorce is like asking for a refund from a restaurant after you've polished off the meal. It's just downright cheeky.
Since the incident occurred, Lance Romeo has shared a 2-minute long video to help answer the hundreds of requests he has received for more detail. Throughout the video, the photographer has a cheeky grin on his face as he obviously finds the whole situation rather amusing (who wouldn’t) but he explains one fascinating tale of events that makes you wonder if this marriage was doomed from the start.
There's a new bomb in this video too! While shooting the wedding, he says he took a photo of the groom touching one of the bridesmaid's thighs, and apparently "not just in a friendly kinda way." He described it as more of a “squeeze.” Later on that night, the groom asked to have a look through the images and asked for that specific image to be deleted, which Romeo agreed to (though he restored the image after he walked away).
An incident like the request call into question how some client's minds work. As the photographer pointed out, he can’t go back and untake the images and for that reason, he would not be offering a refund. I personally can’t even begin to understand the audacity of asking for a refund, FOUR YEARS after getting married.
I can understand if the photos were out of focus or not representative of the day then a refund might be asked for. Even if some key photos were missing perhaps a partial refund could be offered, but in both cases is a discussion that should happen at handover of the images.
Obviously this whole situation is incredibly embarrassing for the bride – perhaps more so with the additional revelations – but I'm glad the photographer is making light of it.
If there is any good to come from it, I hope it brings Lance Romeo more engagement, more followers, and perhaps some more bookings from people who won’t be requesting a refund years later!
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