In June we were approached by a client for a maternity photo shoot. They were quite keen on having their shoot done at the Photo Factory. We drove out to the venue (at the venues behest) to have a look at the place and discuss the various options. While there, we asked the chap who took us through the venue if our client would be able to shoot both in the boudoir studio as well as the garden and he said if we book the boudoir studio, we will have access to the garden as well.
A date was later agreed on and all was well until we got a call from the client to inform us she had been diagnosed with Covid and that the shoot will have to be postponed. The venue agreed that a postponement is OK. Our client had her baby and the maternity session would be changed to a new born but the requirements remained the same. We made arrangements with the venue to move the booking to 10 October and this was accepted.
On the evening of 30 September we got a WhatsApp asking us to move the date as they were busy with renovations after a burst water pipe. Knowing that the boudoir studio is a 2 room studio, we asked for pictures to assess whether it would still be possible to use the studio as we intended to do tight, close up shots before going outside for wider angle shots. Immediately, the venue seemingly lost it and started demanding banking details as they wanted to cancel the booking. We then pointed out that we had booked both boudoir and outdoor for 2 hours so at worst, we still had the garden to do photos. Note that in writing, in multiple emails, we requested both boudoir studio as well as outdoors and this was confirmed as OK by Photo Factory in writing but they just responded with “they are fully booked.” Despite the confirmation in writing from the Photo Factory, we were treated like trash and chased away like vermin. I actually don’t mind if someone disrespects me but when another company has a hissy fit and affects my business relationship with my clients, then that makes me mad! Not only is our client upset, we are now left with no venue to shoot while she booked and paid for a dress and a makeup artist! Our client was unable to move the date. From what it looks like to us, this venue obviously have a chip on their shoulder and likely have double booked our time with one of their preferred photographers and don’t have the c0j0nes to admit it. Why else could we not use the outdoors when that was clearly booked by us? What they did is shameful and needs to be exposed. I have attached screenshots of correspondence on email as well as WhatsApp so you can make an informed decision whether these people deserve to get your business.
