Hi all! I'm looking for some feedback on a local photographer we have booked for a family portrait session. I can't tell if I'm right to be disappointed or if it's just how things go... (first time booking a shoot like this).
Background:
I reached out October 6 asking if she had any availability, she responded Oct 10 with a date of Nov 4th - which worked great for us. I selected her premium portrait package, paid half that amount as a deposit, she confirms receipt of it, we both sign the contract, and then I carried on with plans for outfits etc, as one does.
By October 30 I had received zero communications from her (though her premium package is supposed to include wardrobe planning assistance) so I reached out as our shoot was to be in a few days requesting/suggesting location info and times, and for her to update the contract to show our deposit had been paid.
She responds saying she has to cancel our sunset shoot so she can go out of town to one of her children's sport event, but says it's fine, because she doesn't shoot in the rain and the forecast was for rain that day. She suggests an alternate date of December 2 at 9:30 a.m. (so not the sunset shoot that is a feature of her premium package) and that she'll take the photos as fast as she can. She offered a $50.00 discount for this, which I accepted, so we rescheduled, and left it at that to wait for the new date to arrive.
November 4th turns out to be a beautiful warm sunny afternoon, which made me feel a little annoyed.
It is now two days before our rescheduled shoot, and I once again have heard nothing from her regarding arrangements for it since the day we rescheduled. She's had Christmas mini sessions the past two weekends with really nice clear but crisp weather. She did not suggest including us in those when she posted that she had two free time slots during one of the days.
I am now feeling like the 'forgotten client', despite signing up for her premium package, and am trying to decide if I should be upset at this point with the lack of communication and if I should request my deposit back.... She doesn't shoot in the rain, and, you guessed it, this Saturday's forecast is for rain.... So once Saturday is cancelled as expected, I will have no photos, as we are unavailable for any other date prior to Christmas (we are on a split parenting schedule which means we only have kids on half of the weekends in a month).
Is it normal for photographers to act like this? Their only communication being just a cancellation when a client reaches out? Am I off base for being super frustrated at this point that I could have had family photos to send in cards by now, but now will likely have nothing?
I don't want to be one of those "speak to the manger!" people, so please tell me if I would be overreacting if I feel this is wildly unprofessional given that I picked her top package, and if I asked for my deposit back and to go our separate ways, because I have certainly received nothing at this point.
Thanks for your feedback!