October 9, 2024 • 27 mins
Wedding photography scams are widespread and various. However, our guest photographer Darius Tarepka, exposes the latest wedding photography scams and provides essential tips for ensuring your photographer is legitimate.
This podcast is for engaged couples who are stressed out with wedding planning and family expectations but want a fun wedding day.
Our newest podcast edition discusses the latest wedding photography scams.
We'll tell you about the common red flags, such as unrealistic prices, lack of communication, and vague contracts, and offer advice on how to verify a photographer's legitimacy, including meeting in person and checking full wedding galleries.
After listening to this edition you'll understand the importance of protecting your investment to ensure your special day isn't ruined by fraudulent activities.
Stress-free Wedding Planning Podcast #117: Wedding Photography Scams - Don't Let Your Special Day Turn into a Nightmare
Host: Sal & Sam
Music: "Sam's Tune" by Rick Anthony
TIMESTAMP
00:00 Introduction to Wedding Photography Scams
03:00 Meet guests Darius Terepka from Darius Terepka Photography
04:30 Darius encounter with a client that got scammed
06:00 Anatomy of a scam
07:30 Real-Life Wedding Photography Scam Stories
09:00 Best advice: Meet your photographer BEFORE booking them
11:00 Wedding Tip Wednesday
13:19 Identifying Red Flags and Protecting Yourself
14:00 Not all reviews are to be trusted
16:00 Get a contract
17:00 Importance of Meeting Your Photographer
18:30 Unrealistic price
19:30 Lack of communication
20:30 High-pressure sales tactics
21:00 Understanding photography copyrights, contracts, and pricing
24:15 Delivery time after the wedding is complete
26:00 Final Tip: reliable payment method
26:30 Podcast Wrap-up and Close
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Are you aware of the latestwedding photography scams
(00:03):
that could ruin your big day?
What steps can you take toensure your wedding photographer
is legitimate and trustworthy?
Do you know the red flags to watch outfor when hiring a wedding photographer?
How can you protect your investment andensure you capture beautiful memories
without falling victim to fraud?
(00:23):
Hi there, this is Sam fromAtmosphere Productions.
We'll answer these questions and more intoday's edition of the Stress-free Wedding
Planning Podcast with our guest Darius.
Hi, I'm Sal from AfterHours Events Of New England.
Listen now and discoverwedding photography scams.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
These are Wedding Insider Secrets fora stress free, fun, and memorable day.
(00:47):
Our podcast helps engaged couplesnavigate wedding planning complexities
while addressing family expectations.
We'll guide you through the journeyof creating the perfect wedding
day without unnecessary stress.
Get concise tips for budgeting,wedding party management, ceremony,
reception planning, and more.
Perfect for anyone planning awedding, all in 30 minutes or less.
(01:11):
Trust us, you don't want to miss this.
Welcome to Stress-free WeddingPlanning, the podcast that will
transform your wedding planningjourney from chaotic to enchanting.
Sal and Sam bring over 80 years ofcombined wedding expertise and exclusive
insider information to the table.
If you're recently engaged, feelingthe pressure of wedding planning,
Struggling with family expectations,but still dreaming of a joy filled
(01:32):
wedding, you've come to the right place.
Get ready to unveil the best kept weddingsecrets, discover practical tips and
strategies, and learn life changinglessons for a stress free wedding.
Your unforgettable wedding day awaits.
We're here to take you on a transformativejourney of love, laughter, and memories,
so don't miss out on the podcastthat just might change your life.
(01:53):
This is the Stress-free WeddingPlanning Podcast with Sal and Sam.
hi, I'm Sal from AfterHours Events of New England.
The experts are creating a stressfree, unforgettable wedding experience.
We bring energy, professionalism,and passion to making every
couple's big day truly special.
Visit us at AfterHoursEventsOfNE dot com.
Learn more about our experienceand journey to help you with
(02:15):
Stress-free Wedding Planning in thetrailer or pilot of this podcast.
Hi, this is Sam from the award winningAtmosphere Productions, wedding
entertainment with expert knowledgeand the difference in quality.
Visit us at atmospherehyphen productions dot com.
If you have a question or concern, go nowto Facebook and join us on the Stress-free
Wedding Planning community and ask away.
(02:38):
You can also join uson our YouTube channel.
Just search Stress-freeWedding Planning Podcast.
Subscribe and get it first.
Today, we have a special guest andI want to welcome Darius Tarepka
from Darius Tarepka Photography.
How are you doing Darius?
Doing great, Sal.
Great.
So we want to learn a little aboutyou, get a little background on you.
(03:00):
How many years have you beenin the photography business?
Been a long time.
I feel much older just thinking about it,but it's been an amazing, good 30 years
under my belt on doing what I love to do.
it's not just a passion, but it'salso a craft that I continuously
learn, continuously look at.
And every time I look at people, Ijust think about how to pose them.
(03:21):
So on today's edition, we're going to bediscussing those nasty photography scams.
I was talking to Darius at a weddingshow and, We were discussing, a couple of
issues that we had saw about photographersnot showing up, for, clients weddings.
And we were wondering how on earthwere couples finding these companies?
(03:43):
Now, we're not going to mentionany company names because they
probably closed down and startedup as a different company anyway.
So Darius, get our listenersinto that conversation.
that we're, we were having,
it happened so that we started thisconversation actually because we
were talking about how in the lastminute somebody was booking me only
a week out toward the wedding andthe big question was like, how could
(04:05):
I have waited till the last moment?
The truth is that they weren't.
They actually booked someone.
They paid a hefty down depositfor, full day of wedding.
And, turns out that two weeks before thewedding, photographer never showed up.
Never answered any emails, neverwanted to do anything with them.
So they said, okay, we got tobook someone because obviously
(04:26):
this person is non existent.
So when I came to do the wedding,I'm doing the wedding, the day later,
they gave me a call and said, let mejust get back to you to the story of
what happened with a photographer.
The photographer they supposedly wantedto book was another photographer's
website, the scammer has usedand provided them information and
(04:48):
confirmations through their website inorder to confirm that they are coming.
When once they got the money for thedeposit that scam the link was removed and
then they called the original photographerthey told they were hiring and that
photographer said listen, I can't.
I don't have a double book.
I'm not gonna be there for yourwedding because I have another
(05:11):
wedding that is legit book.
So there is scams continuouslywhether or not somebody is using
another photographer's website toget bookings in through somehow
computer programming thing.
Or what they can do is they canactually screenshot images because
(05:32):
your phone and your computer, Whenthey project these images, you don't
see the resolution on them much,and you don't know if they're real.
So there's so many different waysof trying to find a photographer
and make sure you meet with them,make sure you speak to them.
And make sure you aska bunch of questions.
Most definitely doublecheck on who you're hiring.
(05:55):
okay, so let's discuss that scam.
And so what they actually did wasliterally recreate somebody else's website
that they then sent out and clientswere booking through that fake website.
That's exactly what they did.
Now there's a, there's anothernot so different scam that is.
(06:18):
a real company, but instead ofhiring photographers, they take the
deposits, and then as you get closerto the wedding, then they go out and
find, photographers to do the event.
Kind of explain how that one works.
so the way it works is that I read anarticle, a couple weeks prior speaking,
(06:40):
where it was all exposed actually.
About 15 20 couples in Ohiohad booked hopefully the best
photographer they can get.
they were on the call with them.
They had a bunch of video,conferencing sessions with them.
And as they were speaking, everythingwent great, okay, just send in a deposit.
We're going to definitelyreach out to you.
A month before the wedding,everything was supposed to happen.
(07:03):
Well, all these couples, never got reacheda month, so the couples waited, three
weeks, two weeks before the wedding,the company is nowhere to be found.
So what these companies do is theypromise you this, these photographers,
they're going to show up to thewedding and they would book 15,
20, 30 weddings for the same day.
Sometimes get all that money for downpayment and these, they never hire anyone.
(07:27):
They actually never hire anyone.
But!
You can continuously talk tosomeone, not necessarily in the U.
S.
We don't know where you spoketo, but you can talk to them as
if they are going to be there.
So there's people on standby answeringphone calls, doing these different things.
And this is where the problem is.
First thing is, there's law enforcementsthat are looking for this company to
(07:50):
try and get them because they keepswitching names and keep doing it by
promising and even sending out people,even if they meet you, you know.
If it's three weeks before and you don'thave talking time with them or speaking to
them on camera, There's something fishy.
I think the biggest thing withthis, these companies is look at the
(08:11):
portfolio and make sure that it is thephotographer you're going to be getting.
That's getting those images onto theirwebsite or whatever they showing you.
One thing I came across with myclients, they said that we've looked
at so many different photographersand every photographer would have
galleries of bunch of weddings.
(08:31):
But not necessarily one full wedding.
So a very important thing to do isactually ask for a full gallery,
a gallery of a full wedding.
And this way, these companies can'tprovide those things to you because
they never done a full wedding.
Actually, they never done any wedding.
All they did was scammed.
I have galleries on mywebsite, but they are private.
(08:53):
And if I want to send out a full galleryto a client, There is a password.
There's all these different things.
This is how you know there isan actual real wedding gallery.
It's not just something made up.
So Darius, would you say it's better forsomeone to meet the photographer in person
and be able to see physical informationin front of them to be more protective?
(09:16):
Always.
so when I do go out to meet a clientand I meet every client before
a wedding , even emergency ones.
I said, you have to make some time tomeet because sometimes we won't click.
Sometimes I don't click with my clientand it's not about liking them or not
liking them, but we just don't click.
It's very important that youcan see real work in album.
(09:37):
When I go out to meet clients,I have three albums with me.
I have the smaller albumand the bigger album.
Those are real weddings, notbunch of weddings in an album.
I used to have a, album that wouldshow different weddings in it, but I
discontinued that because I saw thatthere are scams that can do that.
So I want to be a realphotographer, by doing, by showing
(09:59):
the real album from A to Z.
shows you a little bit of how aphotographer does his job with the
different lightings throughout the day.
Meaning that if I come into your houseand I do getting ready images, the images
from getting ready are not horriblydifferent or very different to what
I see throughout the whole wedding.
(10:20):
In other words, thetemperatures are correct.
The flow of the images are correct.
Those are very important things whenyou're checking on the real photographer.
If somebody's just starting out, then theywon't have this big arrangement of things.
That's when you're taking a chance.
And this is where the priceis a very big difference too.
But, I do think that if you meeta person face to face, it's less
(10:41):
likely that you will find that'sa scammer because scammers don't
usually like to be face to face.
That's great information, Darius..
Thank you.
Coming up next, more on weddingphoto scams and the red flags you
need to know about before partingwith your hard earned money.
This is the Stress Free Wedding PlanningPodcast with Sal and Sam, a podcast
(11:02):
for engaged couples concerned aboutwedding planning and family expectations,
but who want to have a stress free,fun, and unforgettable wedding.
Here's another Wedding Tip Wednesday.
Take it all in.
Your wedding will be perfect.
Take a moment to yourselfin the morning and reflect.
Your day will go amazingbecause you are amazing.
Truer words have never
been said, Sal.
(11:22):
It is very important that you takeit all in on your wedding day.
It's the day that you'llprobably never do again.
Sit back for five minutes with yourbetter half and relax and smell the roses.
As I say, just breathe it all inand take it in and enjoy the day.
(11:44):
That's another tip from Sal and Sam.
Wedding Tip Wednesday is availableon the Stress Free Wedding Planning
Facebook group page every Wednesday.
Join the group for free!
And now back to the StressFree Wedding Planning Podcast.
Welcome back to our discussionabout wedding photography scams.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
Hi, I'm Sal from After Hours Eventsof New England, the leader in
(12:05):
making your wedding stress free.
Visit us at after hoursevents of N.E dot com.
Hi, I'm Sam from the award winningAtmosphere Productions Wedding
Entertainment, with expert knowledgein the difference in quality.
Visit us at atmospherehyphen productions dot com
And I'm Darius Terepka from DariusTerepka Photography at best in ct
(12:26):
dot com or on Facebook Darius TerepkaPhotography and Instagram is the
same Darius Terepka Photography.
So we're discussing wedding photographyscams, and in the first part, Darius
explained 2 different wedding scamsthat we're currently running into.
There are many so don't thinkthat there are only two scams.
There are very, very many, but theseare the two that we see popping up.
(12:50):
And I just want to comment thatwe noticed these scams when
clients have lower budgets.
they tend to want to get a cheaperphotographer, and they don't want to spend
the time looking at the photographer,looking at books, and making choice.
"Ah!
Let me just get a weddingphotographer and be done with it."
That's usually when the problemcomes in, but it's not always.
(13:12):
We've also find that some veryhigh end clients have been duped
by wedding photographer scams.
So Darius, run us through somered flags that you'd like to
tell clients to watch out for.
There's so many of them, but I thinkthe main ones are, if you're booking
a photographer and he's giving you awebsite and you feel uncomfortable with
(13:35):
how it all looks and it's not necessarily100 percent .Very often, that's a
link somewhere else and it's sketchy.
Also, it's in your gut.
It's very much in your gut.
Very often.
It's how you're looking attheir work and you just don't
feel like it's the right thing.
You've got to be very cautious with it.
(13:55):
Make sure your partner always looksat the same thing with you in front
of you and you can see each other'sreactions because that's very important.
One of the big red flag isnowadays a lot of these companies
acquire thousands of reviews.
You can pay for reviews.
Read most of them.
(14:16):
If you're going to look at aphotographer, read their reviews
and read the wording in the reviews.
Don't just look at all.
He's got five star.
He's got 300, 400, 7,000 different reviews.
The truth is I've been in thephotographer for over 30 years.
And the truth is to getreviews is really hard.
Cause once a wedding is done, once,once things are done, most people don't
(14:38):
have the time to throw you a review.
I asked three or four times for reviews.
Right after the wedding, I wouldactually ask for a review and it is
very difficult to get these peopleback to the table to send you a review.
Now having a review doesn't mean anything.
Review on WeddingWire or The Knot.
Is one review.
(14:59):
Look at the different platforms.
Look at the reviews at,definitely look at Google reviews.
Look at Yelp.
If they all mount to be the samewording and the same things, that
could be just bought a reviews.
The other scam that I've seen is whenyou ask a photographer for a full
gallery, there should be no ifs and buts.
(15:21):
There should not be, no one shouldbe saying, "well, I really can't."
You've done enough weddings withthe experience to charge this much.
You should have at least.
5, 10 weddings that youcan actually show clients.
In my contract, I have a model releaseand I do have a lot of clients that have
(15:42):
crossed out the model release that I donot want my pictures used for anything.
And I honor them, butmost of my clients do not.
They don't cross anything out on mymodel release part of my contract.
So therefore I can use them andI can always send those galleries
out for people to look at.
So if somebody says, I don't know if Ican't do that or I don't really want to
(16:04):
show, then that means there is a problem.
That means there's something wrong.
The other thing I was looking at also,I was thinking about how easy it is to
see when someone is sending you an emailand you can see that he's sending you an
email and that email has a Bad Ending.
If it's a company name at theend, most likely it's a company.
As opposed to somebody sending itfrom a third party email company.
(16:28):
I think those are veryimportant to look at.
In the sense of a contract, what'ssome of the vague terms that you've
seen with the companies you can't trust?
So, uh, vague terms is like, "we'lldefinitely have a photographer there."
That just tells you that guy thatyou're talking to, or the girl you're
talking to, it's just a salesperson.
When you talk to a photographer, firstthing is most photographers are creatives.
(16:49):
They're not salespeople.
I hate being the salesperson, butI put myself in front of my clients
because I do care for what I do.
And I do care for their images.
I have 20 questions on one sheet ofpaper," what to ask a photographer
before you going to hire them."
Giving that client this informationwhere they can go to every single
(17:10):
photographer, ask the same questions,and from there get their conclusion.
It makes me a better photographer,not only for them, but for
myself, because I know that's whatI'm going to be questioned on.
The other thing is last minute changes.
If you call your photographer, twoweeks before the wedding and you're
going to say, listen, we are going tochange to where we're going to do our
(17:33):
portrait session right after church.
And that photographer starts panicking.
You just hire a photographer thatreally is not experienced enough
to do the different lightingsthat's involved in wherever you're
going to be doing portraiture in.
So that you have to be verycareful and ask about that.
How often do you shoot natural light?
Or do you shoot all light?
(17:54):
Because as a photographer, you shouldbe able to do flash, light and dark.
You should be able to do all threeof them, but be able to adjust at
any point without getting panic.
One thing I think everyoneneeds to consider is getting a
specific name on the contract.
who's going to beshooting at your wedding.
cause that's just so important becauseby the name being there, supposedly
(18:17):
that should cover you that's the personyou're going to have and you are all set.
That's not vague.
That's being very direct.
And Darius, I mentionedbefore about the prices.
Isn't another red flag the unrealisticprice that the scammers give you.
definitely.
National average for photographers isanywhere from two and a half to three
(18:39):
thousand dollars for a basic coverage.
That's the average.
Now, if you're in a big city,it's going to cost you more.
You should be very careful when youhave four quotes and everybody's giving
you 5,000 dollars for what you want.
And then somebody comes in " I'lldo it for 2,500 dollars."
You have a problem.
You have a problem because whatyou're gonna do is you're going
(18:59):
to pay 1250 for your deposit.
And then in the last secondwhat's going to happen, "I'm sick.
I have COVID or I can't make it.".
that's what you're going to get.
And it has nothing to dowith the money at that point.
It's really messing you up for yourwedding and find somebody within two weeks
before your wedding is very hard to do.
Obviously, Darius, another redflag would be like a lack of
(19:21):
communication and availability.
What is a normal communicationwith a real photographer?
Everything we have discussed,it is detailed in the contract,
right under their names, rightunder their venue addresses.
You're booking me for eight hours.
You're going to have two photographers.
You looking to get everything youneed, three albums, whatever you need.
(19:42):
There will be extra places that we'regoing to be doing the wedding at.
How many images are going to be included?
what I do is I always tell them yourminimal amount of images, all edited
will be boom, 350, let's say 400.
And then after that, I alwayssay, I'm open 24 7 for you to
(20:03):
give me a ring, give me a call,give me a text, give me an email.
If your photographer does not answer,his email or her emails within 48 hours.
That's a red flag.
And think about it because you justpaid two, three thousand down payment
for something that may never occur.
Well, let me just get one more ofthose red flags from you and that's the
(20:23):
pressure tactics to book right away.
Isn't that another red flag that youneed to look out for if you're if
you think you're gonna be scammed?
The first thing is weall love making money.
Every one of us, whether you're aphotographer, whether you're a DJ, whether
you're the guy that cleans the venueafter the wedding, you love making money.
And the quick and fast emotional sabotageof saying, listen, you booked me today
(20:50):
and I'm giving you a thousand dollars off.
You have an issue.
You need time every single one ofus to make such a big purchase.
You need time.
it's not when you're going into asupermarket and buying a piece of chicken.
That's not what you're doing.
So we've already discussed on the contractto make sure everything is detailed.
(21:11):
The second thing that you want to dois to make sure you have a pricing and
payment schedule, and you obviouslyhave to You know, do it in a legal
fashion, get a deposit, second downpayments and everything like that.
The third thing, and I'm sureyou agree, a cancellation policy.
Most scammers are not going to putin there what their cancellation
(21:32):
policy is because they'renever going to cancel on you.
And then, you mentioned this alittle bit, Darius, the copyright
and usage rights are usually inon every photographer's contract.
And just briefly, explain to ourlisteners and our viewers why the
(21:54):
pictures do not belong to the client.
Because I know a lot of people wholisten to our podcast think that
when the pictures are done, theyjust are given all the pictures.
But actually, they belong to you.
Yes.
So it's funny you mentioned thisbecause a lot of times I read
posts like, "well, all I just wantyou to come in and do the images.
(22:16):
I'll edit them myself."
No, it's a no, a straight hard no.
The truth is that everysingle image I take is an art.
It's not an art for you.
It's not an art form for everyone,but for me and as any photographer
would say, "this is my work".
This is not me just pressing abutton because most photographers
(22:39):
never shoot in automatic.
It's not a phone they use.
It's a real camera.
It's a real thing.
We shoot it in a format on the card wherewe can touch up the shadows, everything
in that image, we can touch up and change.
A real photographer will tellyou, you will not get raw images.
Because you won't evenbe able to process them.
(22:59):
That is very important to know thatwhen you're asking a photographer,
"Hey, can you do my wedding?
how much will it cost?
and will I get them edited?"
Any photographer that tells you,you're going to see the raw images.
That's a, that, that's another red flag.
Because you should not look atany raw images because none of
them look the way that we actuallyprocess them after we process them.
(23:21):
I'm talking about overall image.
It is completely our image now whenwe give you the rights for your use
personal use, that's fine becausethat's what you get with a contract.
We're going to release that to you.
And if you want to print themoutside of my gallery, every
photographer should allow it.
Unless you agreed to be usingmy gallery where I'm also be
(23:45):
making money on the backend.
You should be able to take thoseimages that you got in JPEG form
where you can project them on yourcomputer, on your phone, on your, TV.
And be able to printthem any way you want.
Those are the rights we should, asphotographers, give you as a professional.
Because at that point, yes, youare on the image, but technically
(24:06):
the image is still going to bemine because I have the raw images.
Oh yes it does, Darius.
Thank you so much.
Let's talk about delivery time,specifying when you can expect and
receive the final edited photos.
What is what we call the norm foryour industry to get that back?
So my norm is anywhere from four tosix weeks, you get your whole gallery.
(24:29):
But at the first 72 hours,you will get about 25 images
gallery, just for a preview.
There will be quick edits,but they will be within the
realm of how I edit my images.
From what I've heard from other clients,some clients wait for their images for
eight months, nine months, up to a year.
And to me, You chose the wrong person.
(24:50):
First thing is what is thatphotographer doing with those images?
That means it's three to 4,000 images every weekend.
And that person has to go through them.
Even if he sends them out just tokeep that data together and doing it
all together at once, it is a lot.
In four weddings, that's 10, 000 images.
That's quite a bit of images to edit.
I don't do more than 15 weddings a year.
(25:11):
I just don't.
And the reason for it is my quality andmy ability to deliver them within four
to six weeks is something I call veryproud, and dear to me, because anybody
that gets married yesterday wouldwant to see their images yesterday,
but they're going to see it muchsooner than eight months, you know.
totally agree, Darius.
(25:32):
One more time for our listenersand the people who are watching.
What are your socials?
It's Darius Terepka Photographyon Instagram and Facebook.
Again, Darius Terepka Photography.
As my email is concerned, it'sDarius at best in CT dot com.
when it comes to paying your weddingphotographer, it is essential to
(25:53):
use a reliable payment method.
Opt for payment methods that offer buyerprotection, PayPal business offers this,
such as credit cards or bank transfers.
So there you have it.
We've just provided you some insider tipson how wedding photography scams happen.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
(26:14):
Have you been a victim of a scam?
Tell us all about it inour Facebook community.
Now as you spend the next weekplanning your wedding, if you want
me, Sam, or our community of stressfree, engaged couples and wedding
experts to answer any wedding relatedquestions, join us over in the Stress
Free Wedding Planning Facebook group.
Once you're in, go ahead and share yourconcerns and worries and we'll let you
(26:36):
know if you're on the right track or ifthere's something we need to work on.
The link to join us is in the shownotes of this edition, or go to
Facebook and search for the StressFree Wedding Planning Community.
A new edition is released every Wednesday.
Subscribe and get it burst.
Remember to do something nice forsomeone today, and if you can't,
do something nice for yourself.
We'll catch you then.
(26:57):
Ciao.
Thank you for listening to this edition.
If you've enjoyed what you've justheard, leave a review and share it
with a friend or someone who wouldbenefit from this information.
Until next time, it's TTFN,
ta ta for now.
The Stress Free Wedding PlanningPodcast is produced and copyrighted by
Atmosphere Productions in associationwith After Hours Events Of New England.
Are you aware of the latestwedding photography scams
(00:03):
that could ruin your big day?
What steps can you take toensure your wedding photographer
is legitimate and trustworthy?
Do you know the red flags to watch outfor when hiring a wedding photographer?
How can you protect your investment andensure you capture beautiful memories
without falling victim to fraud?
(00:23):
Hi there, this is Sam fromAtmosphere Productions.
We'll answer these questions and more intoday's edition of the Stress-free Wedding
Planning Podcast with our guest Darius.
Hi, I'm Sal from AfterHours Events Of New England.
Listen now and discoverwedding photography scams.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
These are Wedding Insider Secrets fora stress free, fun, and memorable day.
(00:47):
Our podcast helps engaged couplesnavigate wedding planning complexities
while addressing family expectations.
We'll guide you through the journeyof creating the perfect wedding
day without unnecessary stress.
Get concise tips for budgeting,wedding party management, ceremony,
reception planning, and more.
Perfect for anyone planning awedding, all in 30 minutes or less.
(01:11):
Trust us, you don't want to miss this.
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Struggling with family expectations,but still dreaming of a joy filled
(01:32):
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(01:53):
This is the Stress-free WeddingPlanning Podcast with Sal and Sam.
hi, I'm Sal from AfterHours Events of New England.
The experts are creating a stressfree, unforgettable wedding experience.
We bring energy, professionalism,and passion to making every
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Visit us at AfterHoursEventsOfNE dot com.
Learn more about our experienceand journey to help you with
(02:15):
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Hi, this is Sam from the award winningAtmosphere Productions, wedding
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(02:38):
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Today, we have a special guest andI want to welcome Darius Tarepka
from Darius Tarepka Photography.
How are you doing Darius?
Doing great, Sal.
Great.
So we want to learn a little aboutyou, get a little background on you.
(03:00):
How many years have you beenin the photography business?
Been a long time.
I feel much older just thinking about it,but it's been an amazing, good 30 years
under my belt on doing what I love to do.
it's not just a passion, but it'salso a craft that I continuously
learn, continuously look at.
And every time I look at people, Ijust think about how to pose them.
(03:21):
So on today's edition, we're going to bediscussing those nasty photography scams.
I was talking to Darius at a weddingshow and, We were discussing, a couple of
issues that we had saw about photographersnot showing up, for, clients weddings.
And we were wondering how on earthwere couples finding these companies?
(03:43):
Now, we're not going to mentionany company names because they
probably closed down and startedup as a different company anyway.
So Darius, get our listenersinto that conversation.
that we're, we were having,
it happened so that we started thisconversation actually because we
were talking about how in the lastminute somebody was booking me only
a week out toward the wedding andthe big question was like, how could
(04:05):
I have waited till the last moment?
The truth is that they weren't.
They actually booked someone.
They paid a hefty down depositfor, full day of wedding.
And, turns out that two weeks before thewedding, photographer never showed up.
Never answered any emails, neverwanted to do anything with them.
So they said, okay, we got tobook someone because obviously
(04:26):
this person is non existent.
So when I came to do the wedding,I'm doing the wedding, the day later,
they gave me a call and said, let mejust get back to you to the story of
what happened with a photographer.
The photographer they supposedly wantedto book was another photographer's
website, the scammer has usedand provided them information and
(04:48):
confirmations through their website inorder to confirm that they are coming.
When once they got the money for thedeposit that scam the link was removed and
then they called the original photographerthey told they were hiring and that
photographer said listen, I can't.
I don't have a double book.
I'm not gonna be there for yourwedding because I have another
(05:11):
wedding that is legit book.
So there is scams continuouslywhether or not somebody is using
another photographer's website toget bookings in through somehow
computer programming thing.
Or what they can do is they canactually screenshot images because
(05:32):
your phone and your computer, Whenthey project these images, you don't
see the resolution on them much,and you don't know if they're real.
So there's so many different waysof trying to find a photographer
and make sure you meet with them,make sure you speak to them.
And make sure you aska bunch of questions.
Most definitely doublecheck on who you're hiring.
(05:55):
okay, so let's discuss that scam.
And so what they actually did wasliterally recreate somebody else's website
that they then sent out and clientswere booking through that fake website.
That's exactly what they did.
Now there's a, there's anothernot so different scam that is.
(06:18):
a real company, but instead ofhiring photographers, they take the
deposits, and then as you get closerto the wedding, then they go out and
find, photographers to do the event.
Kind of explain how that one works.
so the way it works is that I read anarticle, a couple weeks prior speaking,
(06:40):
where it was all exposed actually.
About 15 20 couples in Ohiohad booked hopefully the best
photographer they can get.
they were on the call with them.
They had a bunch of video,conferencing sessions with them.
And as they were speaking, everythingwent great, okay, just send in a deposit.
We're going to definitelyreach out to you.
A month before the wedding,everything was supposed to happen.
(07:03):
Well, all these couples, never got reacheda month, so the couples waited, three
weeks, two weeks before the wedding,the company is nowhere to be found.
So what these companies do is theypromise you this, these photographers,
they're going to show up to thewedding and they would book 15,
20, 30 weddings for the same day.
Sometimes get all that money for downpayment and these, they never hire anyone.
(07:27):
They actually never hire anyone.
But!
You can continuously talk tosomeone, not necessarily in the U.
S.
We don't know where you spoketo, but you can talk to them as
if they are going to be there.
So there's people on standby answeringphone calls, doing these different things.
And this is where the problem is.
First thing is, there's law enforcementsthat are looking for this company to
(07:50):
try and get them because they keepswitching names and keep doing it by
promising and even sending out people,even if they meet you, you know.
If it's three weeks before and you don'thave talking time with them or speaking to
them on camera, There's something fishy.
I think the biggest thing withthis, these companies is look at the
(08:11):
portfolio and make sure that it is thephotographer you're going to be getting.
That's getting those images onto theirwebsite or whatever they showing you.
One thing I came across with myclients, they said that we've looked
at so many different photographersand every photographer would have
galleries of bunch of weddings.
(08:31):
But not necessarily one full wedding.
So a very important thing to do isactually ask for a full gallery,
a gallery of a full wedding.
And this way, these companies can'tprovide those things to you because
they never done a full wedding.
Actually, they never done any wedding.
All they did was scammed.
I have galleries on mywebsite, but they are private.
(08:53):
And if I want to send out a full galleryto a client, There is a password.
There's all these different things.
This is how you know there isan actual real wedding gallery.
It's not just something made up.
So Darius, would you say it's better forsomeone to meet the photographer in person
and be able to see physical informationin front of them to be more protective?
(09:16):
Always.
so when I do go out to meet a clientand I meet every client before
a wedding , even emergency ones.
I said, you have to make some time tomeet because sometimes we won't click.
Sometimes I don't click with my clientand it's not about liking them or not
liking them, but we just don't click.
It's very important that youcan see real work in album.
(09:37):
When I go out to meet clients,I have three albums with me.
I have the smaller albumand the bigger album.
Those are real weddings, notbunch of weddings in an album.
I used to have a, album that wouldshow different weddings in it, but I
discontinued that because I saw thatthere are scams that can do that.
So I want to be a realphotographer, by doing, by showing
(09:59):
the real album from A to Z.
shows you a little bit of how aphotographer does his job with the
different lightings throughout the day.
Meaning that if I come into your houseand I do getting ready images, the images
from getting ready are not horriblydifferent or very different to what
I see throughout the whole wedding.
(10:20):
In other words, thetemperatures are correct.
The flow of the images are correct.
Those are very important things whenyou're checking on the real photographer.
If somebody's just starting out, then theywon't have this big arrangement of things.
That's when you're taking a chance.
And this is where the priceis a very big difference too.
But, I do think that if you meeta person face to face, it's less
(10:41):
likely that you will find that'sa scammer because scammers don't
usually like to be face to face.
That's great information, Darius..
Thank you.
Coming up next, more on weddingphoto scams and the red flags you
need to know about before partingwith your hard earned money.
This is the Stress Free Wedding PlanningPodcast with Sal and Sam, a podcast
(11:02):
for engaged couples concerned aboutwedding planning and family expectations,
but who want to have a stress free,fun, and unforgettable wedding.
Here's another Wedding Tip Wednesday.
Take it all in.
Your wedding will be perfect.
Take a moment to yourselfin the morning and reflect.
Your day will go amazingbecause you are amazing.
Truer words have never
been said, Sal.
(11:22):
It is very important that you takeit all in on your wedding day.
It's the day that you'llprobably never do again.
Sit back for five minutes with yourbetter half and relax and smell the roses.
As I say, just breathe it all inand take it in and enjoy the day.
(11:44):
That's another tip from Sal and Sam.
Wedding Tip Wednesday is availableon the Stress Free Wedding Planning
Facebook group page every Wednesday.
Join the group for free!
And now back to the StressFree Wedding Planning Podcast.
Welcome back to our discussionabout wedding photography scams.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
Hi, I'm Sal from After Hours Eventsof New England, the leader in
(12:05):
making your wedding stress free.
Visit us at after hoursevents of N.E dot com.
Hi, I'm Sam from the award winningAtmosphere Productions Wedding
Entertainment, with expert knowledgein the difference in quality.
Visit us at atmospherehyphen productions dot com
And I'm Darius Terepka from DariusTerepka Photography at best in ct
(12:26):
dot com or on Facebook Darius TerepkaPhotography and Instagram is the
same Darius Terepka Photography.
So we're discussing wedding photographyscams, and in the first part, Darius
explained 2 different wedding scamsthat we're currently running into.
There are many so don't thinkthat there are only two scams.
There are very, very many, but theseare the two that we see popping up.
(12:50):
And I just want to comment thatwe noticed these scams when
clients have lower budgets.
they tend to want to get a cheaperphotographer, and they don't want to spend
the time looking at the photographer,looking at books, and making choice.
"Ah!
Let me just get a weddingphotographer and be done with it."
That's usually when the problemcomes in, but it's not always.
(13:12):
We've also find that some veryhigh end clients have been duped
by wedding photographer scams.
So Darius, run us through somered flags that you'd like to
tell clients to watch out for.
There's so many of them, but I thinkthe main ones are, if you're booking
a photographer and he's giving you awebsite and you feel uncomfortable with
(13:35):
how it all looks and it's not necessarily100 percent .Very often, that's a
link somewhere else and it's sketchy.
Also, it's in your gut.
It's very much in your gut.
Very often.
It's how you're looking attheir work and you just don't
feel like it's the right thing.
You've got to be very cautious with it.
(13:55):
Make sure your partner always looksat the same thing with you in front
of you and you can see each other'sreactions because that's very important.
One of the big red flag isnowadays a lot of these companies
acquire thousands of reviews.
You can pay for reviews.
Read most of them.
(14:16):
If you're going to look at aphotographer, read their reviews
and read the wording in the reviews.
Don't just look at all.
He's got five star.
He's got 300, 400, 7,000 different reviews.
The truth is I've been in thephotographer for over 30 years.
And the truth is to getreviews is really hard.
Cause once a wedding is done, once,once things are done, most people don't
(14:38):
have the time to throw you a review.
I asked three or four times for reviews.
Right after the wedding, I wouldactually ask for a review and it is
very difficult to get these peopleback to the table to send you a review.
Now having a review doesn't mean anything.
Review on WeddingWire or The Knot.
Is one review.
(14:59):
Look at the different platforms.
Look at the reviews at,definitely look at Google reviews.
Look at Yelp.
If they all mount to be the samewording and the same things, that
could be just bought a reviews.
The other scam that I've seen is whenyou ask a photographer for a full
gallery, there should be no ifs and buts.
(15:21):
There should not be, no one shouldbe saying, "well, I really can't."
You've done enough weddings withthe experience to charge this much.
You should have at least.
5, 10 weddings that youcan actually show clients.
In my contract, I have a model releaseand I do have a lot of clients that have
(15:42):
crossed out the model release that I donot want my pictures used for anything.
And I honor them, butmost of my clients do not.
They don't cross anything out on mymodel release part of my contract.
So therefore I can use them andI can always send those galleries
out for people to look at.
So if somebody says, I don't know if Ican't do that or I don't really want to
(16:04):
show, then that means there is a problem.
That means there's something wrong.
The other thing I was looking at also,I was thinking about how easy it is to
see when someone is sending you an emailand you can see that he's sending you an
email and that email has a Bad Ending.
If it's a company name at theend, most likely it's a company.
As opposed to somebody sending itfrom a third party email company.
(16:28):
I think those are veryimportant to look at.
In the sense of a contract, what'ssome of the vague terms that you've
seen with the companies you can't trust?
So, uh, vague terms is like, "we'lldefinitely have a photographer there."
That just tells you that guy thatyou're talking to, or the girl you're
talking to, it's just a salesperson.
When you talk to a photographer, firstthing is most photographers are creatives.
(16:49):
They're not salespeople.
I hate being the salesperson, butI put myself in front of my clients
because I do care for what I do.
And I do care for their images.
I have 20 questions on one sheet ofpaper," what to ask a photographer
before you going to hire them."
Giving that client this informationwhere they can go to every single
(17:10):
photographer, ask the same questions,and from there get their conclusion.
It makes me a better photographer,not only for them, but for
myself, because I know that's whatI'm going to be questioned on.
The other thing is last minute changes.
If you call your photographer, twoweeks before the wedding and you're
going to say, listen, we are going tochange to where we're going to do our
(17:33):
portrait session right after church.
And that photographer starts panicking.
You just hire a photographer thatreally is not experienced enough
to do the different lightingsthat's involved in wherever you're
going to be doing portraiture in.
So that you have to be verycareful and ask about that.
How often do you shoot natural light?
Or do you shoot all light?
(17:54):
Because as a photographer, you shouldbe able to do flash, light and dark.
You should be able to do all threeof them, but be able to adjust at
any point without getting panic.
One thing I think everyoneneeds to consider is getting a
specific name on the contract.
who's going to beshooting at your wedding.
cause that's just so important becauseby the name being there, supposedly
(18:17):
that should cover you that's the personyou're going to have and you are all set.
That's not vague.
That's being very direct.
And Darius, I mentionedbefore about the prices.
Isn't another red flag the unrealisticprice that the scammers give you.
definitely.
National average for photographers isanywhere from two and a half to three
(18:39):
thousand dollars for a basic coverage.
That's the average.
Now, if you're in a big city,it's going to cost you more.
You should be very careful when youhave four quotes and everybody's giving
you 5,000 dollars for what you want.
And then somebody comes in " I'lldo it for 2,500 dollars."
You have a problem.
You have a problem because whatyou're gonna do is you're going
(18:59):
to pay 1250 for your deposit.
And then in the last secondwhat's going to happen, "I'm sick.
I have COVID or I can't make it.".
that's what you're going to get.
And it has nothing to dowith the money at that point.
It's really messing you up for yourwedding and find somebody within two weeks
before your wedding is very hard to do.
Obviously, Darius, another redflag would be like a lack of
(19:21):
communication and availability.
What is a normal communicationwith a real photographer?
Everything we have discussed,it is detailed in the contract,
right under their names, rightunder their venue addresses.
You're booking me for eight hours.
You're going to have two photographers.
You looking to get everything youneed, three albums, whatever you need.
(19:42):
There will be extra places that we'regoing to be doing the wedding at.
How many images are going to be included?
what I do is I always tell them yourminimal amount of images, all edited
will be boom, 350, let's say 400.
And then after that, I alwayssay, I'm open 24 7 for you to
(20:03):
give me a ring, give me a call,give me a text, give me an email.
If your photographer does not answer,his email or her emails within 48 hours.
That's a red flag.
And think about it because you justpaid two, three thousand down payment
for something that may never occur.
Well, let me just get one more ofthose red flags from you and that's the
(20:23):
pressure tactics to book right away.
Isn't that another red flag that youneed to look out for if you're if
you think you're gonna be scammed?
The first thing is weall love making money.
Every one of us, whether you're aphotographer, whether you're a DJ, whether
you're the guy that cleans the venueafter the wedding, you love making money.
And the quick and fast emotional sabotageof saying, listen, you booked me today
(20:50):
and I'm giving you a thousand dollars off.
You have an issue.
You need time every single one ofus to make such a big purchase.
You need time.
it's not when you're going into asupermarket and buying a piece of chicken.
That's not what you're doing.
So we've already discussed on the contractto make sure everything is detailed.
(21:11):
The second thing that you want to dois to make sure you have a pricing and
payment schedule, and you obviouslyhave to You know, do it in a legal
fashion, get a deposit, second downpayments and everything like that.
The third thing, and I'm sureyou agree, a cancellation policy.
Most scammers are not going to putin there what their cancellation
(21:32):
policy is because they'renever going to cancel on you.
And then, you mentioned this alittle bit, Darius, the copyright
and usage rights are usually inon every photographer's contract.
And just briefly, explain to ourlisteners and our viewers why the
(21:54):
pictures do not belong to the client.
Because I know a lot of people wholisten to our podcast think that
when the pictures are done, theyjust are given all the pictures.
But actually, they belong to you.
Yes.
So it's funny you mentioned thisbecause a lot of times I read
posts like, "well, all I just wantyou to come in and do the images.
(22:16):
I'll edit them myself."
No, it's a no, a straight hard no.
The truth is that everysingle image I take is an art.
It's not an art for you.
It's not an art form for everyone,but for me and as any photographer
would say, "this is my work".
This is not me just pressing abutton because most photographers
(22:39):
never shoot in automatic.
It's not a phone they use.
It's a real camera.
It's a real thing.
We shoot it in a format on the card wherewe can touch up the shadows, everything
in that image, we can touch up and change.
A real photographer will tellyou, you will not get raw images.
Because you won't evenbe able to process them.
(22:59):
That is very important to know thatwhen you're asking a photographer,
"Hey, can you do my wedding?
how much will it cost?
and will I get them edited?"
Any photographer that tells you,you're going to see the raw images.
That's a, that, that's another red flag.
Because you should not look atany raw images because none of
them look the way that we actuallyprocess them after we process them.
(23:21):
I'm talking about overall image.
It is completely our image now whenwe give you the rights for your use
personal use, that's fine becausethat's what you get with a contract.
We're going to release that to you.
And if you want to print themoutside of my gallery, every
photographer should allow it.
Unless you agreed to be usingmy gallery where I'm also be
(23:45):
making money on the backend.
You should be able to take thoseimages that you got in JPEG form
where you can project them on yourcomputer, on your phone, on your, TV.
And be able to printthem any way you want.
Those are the rights we should, asphotographers, give you as a professional.
Because at that point, yes, youare on the image, but technically
(24:06):
the image is still going to bemine because I have the raw images.
Oh yes it does, Darius.
Thank you so much.
Let's talk about delivery time,specifying when you can expect and
receive the final edited photos.
What is what we call the norm foryour industry to get that back?
So my norm is anywhere from four tosix weeks, you get your whole gallery.
(24:29):
But at the first 72 hours,you will get about 25 images
gallery, just for a preview.
There will be quick edits,but they will be within the
realm of how I edit my images.
From what I've heard from other clients,some clients wait for their images for
eight months, nine months, up to a year.
And to me, You chose the wrong person.
(24:50):
First thing is what is thatphotographer doing with those images?
That means it's three to 4,000 images every weekend.
And that person has to go through them.
Even if he sends them out just tokeep that data together and doing it
all together at once, it is a lot.
In four weddings, that's 10, 000 images.
That's quite a bit of images to edit.
I don't do more than 15 weddings a year.
(25:11):
I just don't.
And the reason for it is my quality andmy ability to deliver them within four
to six weeks is something I call veryproud, and dear to me, because anybody
that gets married yesterday wouldwant to see their images yesterday,
but they're going to see it muchsooner than eight months, you know.
totally agree, Darius.
(25:32):
One more time for our listenersand the people who are watching.
What are your socials?
It's Darius Terepka Photographyon Instagram and Facebook.
Again, Darius Terepka Photography.
As my email is concerned, it'sDarius at best in CT dot com.
when it comes to paying your weddingphotographer, it is essential to
(25:53):
use a reliable payment method.
Opt for payment methods that offer buyerprotection, PayPal business offers this,
such as credit cards or bank transfers.
So there you have it.
We've just provided you some insider tipson how wedding photography scams happen.
Don't let your specialday turn into a nightmare.
(26:14):
Have you been a victim of a scam?
Tell us all about it inour Facebook community.
Now as you spend the next weekplanning your wedding, if you want
me, Sam, or our community of stressfree, engaged couples and wedding
experts to answer any wedding relatedquestions, join us over in the Stress
Free Wedding Planning Facebook group.
Once you're in, go ahead and share yourconcerns and worries and we'll let you
(26:36):
know if you're on the right track or ifthere's something we need to work on.
The link to join us is in the shownotes of this edition, or go to
Facebook and search for the StressFree Wedding Planning Community.
A new edition is released every Wednesday.
Subscribe and get it burst.
Remember to do something nice forsomeone today, and if you can't,
do something nice for yourself.
We'll catch you then.
(26:57):
Ciao.
Thank you for listening to this edition.
If you've enjoyed what you've justheard, leave a review and share it
with a friend or someone who wouldbenefit from this information.
Until next time, it's TTFN,
ta ta for now.
The Stress Free Wedding PlanningPodcast is produced and copyrighted by
Atmosphere Productions in associationwith After Hours Events Of New England.
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