A Google reverse image search found the images used on the photographer's website were stock images taken by other photographers and currently for sale on Shutterstock.com
Two newlywed couples say a Metro Vancouver wedding photographer who bills himself as a professional who knows how to capture those “little perfect moments” instead sent them shoddy and mostly unrecognizable images.
And when they tried to get answers, they didn’t hear back.
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Port Moody’s Alexa Logan and Colin Tapp said they paid a $1,500 deposit to Mike Huffman Photography to shoot their wedding on Aug. 18.
But when they were given an online preview of 70 photos from their big day, they said they were shocked at the poor quality.
Experiences like that reinforce the need to check references before hiring a wedding photography, according to the Better Business Bureau.
“We thought it had to be a mistake, that the link he sent were to the outtakes,” said Logan. The majority of the images were too blurry, dark or overexposed to make out, she said.
“The first dance I had with my dad, my bridesmaid catching the bouquet, the carriage ride my parents bought for us … there weren’t clear shots of any of these irreplaceable moments.”
When the newlyweds questioned Huffman about the photo package, he stopped answering their calls.
“We’ve tried phoning him on multiple occasions,” said Logan. “Sometimes he picks up his phone but when we ask about his photography, he hangs up.”
They originally chose to hire Huffman after viewing the portfolios he posted on wedding websites and on his personal home page.
“He was highly rated with a bunch of five-star reviews,” Logan recalled. “His services were also reasonably priced.”
Postmedia News attempted to contact Huffman through calls and text messages. He hasn’t responded. His website was taken down last week.
On the site, Huffman said his work seeks to “wow the bride and groom and to freeze lots of those little perfect moments in time so I can compile those into a great package that the couple can reminisce on together for the rest of their lives.”
But Postmedia News confirmed, using a Google reverse image search, that the images used on Huffman’s website were stock images taken by other photographers and for sale on Shutterstock.com.
Logan and Tapp aren’t the only couple who are upset.
Vancouver couple Bianca Rose and Brock English hired Huffman to capture their wedding in September 2021 for $2,500.
“We posed for hundreds of photos with my family, including my grandmother who is in her 90s,” said Rose. “All those memories we will never be able to capture again.”
The couple was heartbroken after viewing 150 photographs Huffman sent them in a virtual link, three months after their wedding.
“Only 20 of the photos were usable. They were nothing like he portrayed on his website,” Rose said. “We felt like fools.”
After contacting Huffman several times in an attempt to get their hands on the rest of the wedding album, Rose resorted to threatening legal action in a text message last February.
Huffman responded.
“I’ve been struggling with a health issue, specifically a cancer diagnosis. It’s something I’d have preferred to keep to myself, but since you’re threatening legal action, I don’t think I can,” he replied.
Logan got a similar response when she asked to see her wedding photographs in November, three months after the event.
“He told us he had cancer and was going through chemotherapy,” recalled Logan. “But when we couldn’t get ahold of him for months leading up to the wedding, he said it was because he’d been in a car accident.”
Both couples said they initially gave Huffman the benefit of the doubt.
But upon hearing of the similarities in each other’s stories, Logan and Rose told Postmedia they wanted to warn others.
“It’s important that nobody falls for this … again,” Logan said. “We’ve had to resort to asking our guests to send us the photos they took of our wedding.”
The Better Business Bureau of the Lower Mainland recommends couples choosing a wedding photographer request references for past clients.
“Speak to a few of the references about the services they received and if they were satisfied with their photos. Ask about their overall experience with the photographer and if the services went as planned,” the BBB said in a statement.
The bureau also advises that couples not pay the entire fee for wedding photography up front.
“Set out a payment schedule where you pay a deposit before the shoot or event and the balance after it is over. This will give you some leverage if there are any issues.”
sgrochowski@postmedia.com
twitter.com/sarahgrochowski
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