TikTokers offer bride free photo session after receiving nightmare wedding images

Bride and groom wedding photo
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A despondent bride who spent $3,000 on a wedding photographer has been blown away by the kindness of TikTok viewers, who have offered her a free photography session. Brooke was left in total shock after receiving her wedding photos, which she has described as “all the way around bad”, so took to TikTok to share her experience.

Your wedding day is meant to be one of the most memorable days of your life, and when it comes to photography people spend big bucks to make sure it’s done right. Anyone who has ever shot a wedding knows it’s a high-pressure environment where you have just one chance to get the shots.

While the best cameras for wedding photography are helpful tools, having a good eye for composition, the ability to tell a story and a connection to the couple is the recipe for taking photos that make people cry happy tears.

Unfortunately for Brooke (@anotherbabblingbrooke), the wedding photos she was handed made her cry for all the wrong reasons. Not only were some shots missed, but the photos she received were also badly cropped, out of focus, poorly composed and taken from unflattering angles. 

The job of a wedding photographer (and any portrait photographer, for that matter) is to make their subject feel calm, confident and beautiful so that when they look back at the photos they are filled with self-confidence – not self-loathing.

@anotherbabblingbrooke

♬ original sound - Brooke

In the TikTok (above), Brooke describes her first dance photos as some of the “worst she’s ever seen” – and I’m inclined to agree with her. They’ve been taken at unflattering moments, with poor lighting and absolutely no thought when it comes to composition. Not only are the photos awful, but the photographer is also refusing to respond to emails, offer a refund or provide a solution. 

Since Brooke posted the video to TikTok she has received over 140K likes, 6,500 comments and more than 3,200 shares. Viewers wholeheartedly agreed that Brooke had been ripped off, while others offers words of condolence. However, multiple wedding photographers went above and beyond, offering Brooke and her husband a wedding photo shoot completely free of charge. 

Nothing will be able to make up for the photos missed on the actual day, but Brooke will at least have the opportunity to feel like a beautiful bride and have a set of photos to be proud of. She is currently in the middle of a lawsuit with the unnamed photographer in the hope that she will receive compensation. But the moral of the story is, an expensive wedding photographer doesn’t necessarily mean stunning wedding photos.

It seems many of the videos Brooke originally posted have now been taken down from TikTok, which could be to do with the ongoing lawsuit and not wanting to risk a defamation case. No matter how you look at it, though, when you're spending $3K you expect to receive photos that capture the essence of the day. 

These are the best lenses for wedding and photography, from prime lenses to telephotos. And the best flashgun and strobes are perfect for capturing stunning wedding shots in low-light environments

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Hannah Rooke
Staff Writer

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.