The "Sepia Gate" Exclusive Interview with the photographer (Bonus Episode) 

Threatening to defame someone on social media unless they meet your demands is so scummy. I hope she pursues legal action against her, the bride needs a reality check.

I think she handled this situation so well, over the past few weeks & this interview. I feel so bad for her. This is every wedding photographer’s nightmare.

I listened to both sides but all you really have to do is listen to 5 minutes of the Bride's rants and then go to Hannah's page to see that the Bride is clearly the problem here. The photos Hannah delivered were perfectly in line with the style that no doubt led the bride to hire her in the first place. Her entire page is warm. It's not like she blindsided the bride with it. The Bride clearly had buyers remorse because the edits didn't match her memory or vision of the day. The Bride leveraging threats seems even more scummy when it seems she has at least a semi-professional knowledge of post production workflows.

My respect for Hannah on how she handled this whole situation from the beginning. We might all have our opinions and viewpoints on how we would have handled this, but at the end of the day, Hannah demonstrated grace and poise and deserves praise for it.

After watching this , then going onto the bride's social media....I think this photographer handled the situation very professionally. Personally, I wouldn't have been so patient, the bride's social media says a LOT about her as a person and her personality

The wild part of this story is that the client loved the photos apart from the ones with the makeup. It’s once she edited those pics herself she decided she didn’t like the entire set.

Photographers have a right to have boundaries!! She was not ugly, it doesn’t matter if you don’t like her editing. The Bride hired her, loved the work until it didn’t match the wedding video from another artist. I found Hannah from this drama and she has amazing work, I wish her nothing but success!! Trying to ruin a freelance creative is just so ugly unless something was unethical and in this case it is not!!

I think the photographer found herself with an irrational client. I already listened to the client and it seems that she is hyper-controlling "I edited my own photos and..." She also confesses that at first she liked the photos... What happened next? We have all experienced those changes of opinion in clients. They approve something and then back out. Full support for the photographer.

That yellow shirt her yellow hair that photographer is sepia toned herself 😂

Wedding photographer here. I was on photographer's side, but wow those images are way too orange and yellow, and she charged $8000. It's a simple white balance change. Just deal with unhappy bride and re edit. Drop your ego on your editing style. Yes her instagram is all golden tones, but they still have colors in them. Not the ones bride isnt happy with. Its just poor editing.

Thank you for doing this!

All my support to the photographer ❤️

While I do understand that the bride is unhappy with how she looks in the edits and it would be super frustrating of course, it’s unfortunate that they couldn’t work it out amicably offline.

Her preset she used was way to orange for that brides wedding. That bride was more orange then other people on her Instagram account. I think it was because it was a cloudy day and the preset was too strong. All she had to do was pull it back a little.

This on the contract would have ended this issue before it even started. Note - clients need to initial it when signing the contract Artistic style clause - On his own behalf and on behalf of the subject client acknowledges that he is familiar with the photographers portfolio and is requesting services with knowledge of the photographers style. That photographers work is constantly evolving, that photographers services are of unique and artistic nature, that the photos may be different from photographs taken in the past, and that in creating the photos, the photographer shall use his personal artistic judgement to create photos consistent with his personal vision of the event. Which vision may be different from the clients, and or the subjects vision of the event. Accordingly, client acknowledges that the photos shall not be subject to rejection on the basis of taste or aesthetic criteria.

I feel sorry for Hannah. Great interview!

This whole story is hilarious and idk why it’s even a topic of discussion. Easily could have been handled differently. The photographer already edited all the photos and could have easily made a clean preset that the client wanted and batched synced and exported xxx amount of photos in a few hours and been done with this. Both sides are petty 😂

Like most disputes there is wrong on both sides. It seemed very clear that the bride wanted just natural colors and not the golden look. I don't think this photographer knows how to do that, she had her presets and that is all she does. I think the bride should have been much more careful with who she chose, this photographer was upfront that she does this golden look (which I think looks like everyone's livers shut down and they all have jaundice, but I digress). However when she wanted just true to color her adjustments were still all yellow. She did not address their concerns. Truth be told, wedding photographer as a profession the way it is now is almost over. So many red flags to be in this profession that is flooded with people that bought a camera and declared themselves professional. The future will see a lot less "professional" wedding photographers and just "media Content Creators" that use a cell phone and give the pics back one day later that people post on social media. This bride flipped when she saw what the social media content creator did vs. a professional that took way longer to deliver back something that looked worse (or at least way too stylized to stand the test of time). Sad situation but not very surprising. Be as upfront with clients as you can.

Until we see the full gallery from this wedding, there is nothing to judge

She handed it really well

What is the photographer's instagram?

25:36 I gave her a follow lol! She deserves it

This is a cautionary tale about color grading and presets. Also, the wedding photography and videography industry the world over is the wild west. No industry standards, no regulation.

I feel bad for you but I'm happy to edit your pics and you can resubmit to the client and be done with it.

Such low ball questions in between him answering them himself. Her only skill is applying presets and charging extortionate fees for doing that. She gave raws away because she lacked skills to salvage those pictures. Bride did hell of a better job with them. Ego is strong with this one.

....but the photos suck. 💀

The coloring was awful

Thanks for giving her a platform so we could hear her side of the story!

It seems to me that she got the video and liked the videographers editing, regretted her decision to go with a photog who is a warmer editor.

I feels so sorry for Hannah. She’s conducted herself so well. I think all photographers hearts go out to her.

She seems so sweet. Hearing that she essentially threatened her is insane. I’ve been team photographer this whole time, as a photographer myself… but now even more so. Thank you for giving her a platform to share her side !

I’m an ex hairdresser and a real estate agent currently. When you are involved in industries that are very personal like photography or hair, it is so important to remember that if someone is unhappy with themselves, they will never be happy with the service you provide. Ever. No matter what you do.

The bride is just a shitty person. She hoped to leverage social media and defamation to subsidize her indecisiveness. As a designer, I've had clients like this. There's no amount of honesty that will buffer you from these peoblems, because the expectations of the client are moving targets.

I just started doing floral design for weddings and events this year, and the anxiety over this sort of behavior from clients is the worst. I’ve been a floral designer for 5 years now, but now that I’m working weddings, I’m seeing how much you really have to protect yourself in every possible way. I can only imagine how stressful this has been. Great work Hannah, I personally love your style! ❤️

What is happening to this photographer is my nightmare. 😭 She is handling it with such grace. The bride seems like a nightmare.

Sending digital files to a client to review on a screen that is uncalibrated is setting yourself up for disappointment. Should review together on the same screen

Not at all surprised that the requests for more photos and variations and small edits started coming almost immediately. Who gives SAME DAY SNEAKS? That's crazy good service and the bride STILL needed more. More photos, more refined edits, which then blew up into what it is now. How's the age old saying? You give them an inch......

Bride is very unlikeable at this point but what makes me cringe even more are the photographers commenting in support of her crazy demands, THEY seem so unexperienced 😂

Kinda of wish she spoke about the edits more, break it down like the client

I feel so bad for this photographer. She was hired for her unique style. The bride hired the wrong person. She is not a true to color editor. To want a photographer to just give the entire days work for free is ridiculous. I completely agree with her charging for the raws. This is what contracts are in place for. Weddings are a lot of work even before editing.

I feel so bad for this photographer!! Once the bride starts to dissect and pick everything apart, there’s no going back. Heavy entitlement

Wow! Loved that we got both sides of the story. Social Media should never be used as a means to bully someone into getting what you want. Regardless of how un happy you were.

Holding raws reminds me of when wedding photographers that shot digital refused to sell digital copies and only offered prints. 🙄

Hannah was more than fair, generous, professional, upheld vital industry standards, and went above and beyond for this client. Sometimes there’s just so satisfying unhappy customers; we’ve all been there when there’s nothing more you can do in good faith.

The more I learn about how the photography industry works, the more I'm on Hannah's side. The bride started out reasonable, then she kept taking and taking and I think it's to the point where she's completely in the wrong. She got what she paid for and if it's not what she wants anymore, then she should do a styled shoot with another photographer or something. Not.......this.

Horror Brides make wedding photography a very scary project to take on

When it comes edits I’m always transparent with clients about color grading normally I always give none sepia color images I only give a copy of the pictures in color and black and white with a specific price on the contract. I always avoid these kinds of issues! Don’t make this kind of mistake just provide color and charge extra for other color edits. As a photographer you always have to keep in mind that the bride and groom may change their mind after receiving the images.

okay, that chef ~ RAW file analogy is perfect ✨

This is why I no longer photograph weddings. Too many bridezillas.

Oh shit! Can't believe you interviewed her!

Wow this bride sounds like a big red flag. I kinda guessed that from the beginning but this just makes her sound worse. I hope nobody works with the bride again

Thank you so much for giving her a platform. I have been following this story. Honestly, it's a bit triggering for me because I absolutely hate my wedding photography from 2008 (obviously a while ago and I feel like photography has even come a long way since then). I never even created an album and I only found one picture I really liked that I received an 8x10 of that is in our house in a frame. I should preface this by saying that I just recently closed down my wedding floral business in 2021 (the pandemmy helped lol) and I was a florist doing predominantly weddings for over a decade. So I am trying to approach this from both a vendor and former unhappy client perspective. I was lucky in that with my hundreds and hundreds of clients over the years I only had 2 that were unhappy. I thought I delivered what was in our contract but there were some personal flowers that had to be adjusted due to certain flowers being unavailable when it came time to do pickup at market. Substitutions were mentioned in my contract. There was a flood and the peonies were not an option as they were not able to come to market. Ultimately I still had the standpoint of the customer being right and I refunded all of my labor for putting the orders together (I refused to eat the cost of flowers - even at wholesale both of these weddings were floral heavy and cost me a fortune in product). But I felt comfortable refunding the labor and it made the clients "happy". Again, luckily it was only 2 out of hundreds. I think my wedding photographer was wholly unprepared for our day. She forgot the shot list and missed so many important photos. My husbands grandmother was in her 90's and there was not a single image of her. I had made it a point to stated that this woman is an integral part of my husbands family and she should be honored that way. This was just one of many flubs in the pictures. I ended up having to hire a photographer a few months later and me, hubby, his parents, my parents and grandma had some "retake shots". It cost me another couple thousand. Luckily I was able to put together some florals myself and I did my own makeup so that saved me on that part but hair and the cost of the photography with a new photographer was not cheap. But his family got the images they wanted - the classic family shots. My original photographer took NONE the day of. Honestly I was so blissfully happy at my wedding I didn't notice they weren't happening. But when I got the images the quality and lack of "must have shots" made me cry. I followed up with my photog who basically told me she did what she could and to move on. Being in the industry I was not looking to destroy anyone so I took the L and hired the other photog. Looking back, I wish I had pushed back more. All that being said, being a wedding vendor can be so much fun and so rewarding but it can also be tough at times if the clients are not happy with your work. My husband and I will be married 20 years in a few years and I promised myself a do-over photography wise. I hope this photographer continues to have a success. She truly seems like a lovely person who tried to meet the bride in the middle. There is nothing worse than wedding regrets however, especially with what everything costs these days. I hope the bride can move on and enjoy the images she was able to obtain. I am honestly glad to be out of the industry at this point. Weddings and social media can be a bad combo in some ways. When it's good, its amazing. When it's bad, it can really ruin someone's reputation if only one side is heard. If I ever go back into floral work, it will be for funerals only 🤣. I will always gift my services to friends and family for weddings. But never again will I take a paid wedding gig in the floral world. Best of luck that this blows over for the photographer. Attention span is luckily short these days and I don't think this will follow her too long.

Bride seems an absolute nightmare tbh. The shots are gorgeous and absolutely in line with Hannah's portfolio and style. She has handled this situation with complete grace. I'm sure this situation will only boost business for her.

I get you do not want to give past or future clients an impression that you are "keeping receipts" but no one should ever go into a contract without understanding every step of the business conducted should and will be documented to protect both parties involved. With that said, you handled yourself professionally and went over and beyond your contractual requirements. From my perspective, being a small business owner, I think it's healthy for the public and our clients / customers to understand that sometimes we disagree on what we offer, what we deliver and if those two things match the end product, and when those issues arise, communication can solve nearly every problem. But if the client/customer decides to act ignorantly and smear our names and businesses, expect to be made an example of. I will make your family deny knowing you out of embarassment if you attack my business and my name because you think you are owed something you are not. I will bend over backwards to make you happy, but I will knock you down if you try to push me over.

You are too kind Hannah, tray's why she bullied you

Advice from a Photographer/Professional retoucher. More than less clients want to see original colors of themselves. Especially of clothes, eye color, hair color, makeup skin color aswell. I usually make sure to keep realistic colors on people, objects or products and it can definetly be achieved with keeping the same color grading that you choose. Alot of people would enjoy staying the same hair color as they are, the same skin tone they are. Masking goes a long way, putting a preset really doesn't always work.

I don't care if you don't work in the industry, all you need to do is watch 5 minutes of Hannah speaking and 5 minutes of the bride ranting to figure out what really happened. I'm glad Hannah can't speak further at this time regarding resolution with the couple--a pretty clear indication of impending legal action, and I'd be totally happy to donate to that cause myself

Having watched both videos and seen the images, it's clear that the photographer fulfilled the contract. When comparing the final images to those on the photographer's Instagram, the tones are consistent. However, one style does not fit all, and the warm sepia edit only looks good on social media and ages poorly, especially in print. This is why most people prefer a natural edit. If you're considering a photographer with a distinct style, it's always worth doing a test shoot to ensure their editing works for you. In this case, the images were overly warm, making her teeth and dress appear yellow, and her makeup looked flat. It's lazy to hide behind "it's her style." The clear use of a preset for batch editing isn't an issue, but each image needs adjustments to match the setting and skin tones of the subjects. When the photographer charged for a re-edit, she should have provided sample options for the bride to review before finalising. The bride wanted her makeup to pop more, a problem that could have been solved with a tone adjustment. However, the photographer seemed reluctant to deviate from her style, resulting in a less satisfactory edit. When a client is unhappy, offering different editing options is easier and more effective. If the preferred images don't match your style, request not to be credited when they are posted.

So great to hear her story...she handled herself impeccably.

Team Hannah.

Sounds to me that the photographer met all services that she was obligated to deliver. Not liking an edit to me is unreasonable to ask a photographer. All photographers have a style, and even if they vary their style, it is their prerogative as this is their secret sauce. I do believe the bride is being difficult and was expecting too much. I here stories of products not being delivered, people waiting over a year etc. In these cases, the bride has ever right to complain as I believe this is unreasonable of the vendor. On this one, I 100 percent support the photographer. Unfortunately, social media allows anyone to create a drama!

Brewing coffee. Here we go...

yay! So excited for some closure on this LOL!

I've never heard somebody say that "true to color" is an editing that is trending 😂 I don't think she's new to the game so not sure where she's been.

She should have shown the bride more full galleries though, not just one

Kinda sounds like Debby Ryan 🤔

Although I do think the bride was a difficult client and not all her complaints were justified, some of those images look objectively bad. Particularly the ones with the sky and ocean being blown out and looking white/grey! That is definitely something that can be fixed in post and her portfolio is full of images that although warm have bright blues. I see most people are on the photographer's camp but I personally don't think either party came out looking great. I would have doubts as a client about hiring this person, the bride might not be popular but she isn't the one looking to market her business in this instance. I am usually never on the side of the party who is not an artist on internet drama, creative industries are usually very underappreciated. But most commenters I have seen are all photographers and I feel like that has created a bit of an eco chamber, I doubt I am the only one who feels like both are in the wrong here.

Bride being emotional and photographer being out of her league. After watching both stories it seems they were a bad match. Her style doesn’t match the lightning condition and bride not doing due diligence on researching on a photographer that would match her best.

bride gave me a TRUSFUND SELF ENTILTED RICH BABY GIRL vibe, she was acting up way to entitled about it, and making a full video on the internet just to make somebody look bad, after a couple of weeks she realize she wasn't happy?? come on she is just a nightmare to work with

Great episode!!

Tough situation, I've been in a similar one. Should of just released the raws, done a bright and airy look collection, ensured client was happy and bounced. The stress is just not worth fighting over details in the contract. Releasing the raws is not going to break or make you, holding on to the stress and coming on to The Vendor Table to explain will.

honestly this photographer is shooting herself in the foot here. remember which industry you're working in. wedding photography is the most lucrative niche of photography and the only genre in which the photographer is 'the help'. you get paid big bucks to document someone's wedding and make them happy. this is not about your art, your style, your vision: you will never look at those photos again while the bride are set with them for the rest of her life. If you want 'your way or the highway', be a portrait, fashion, or street photographer. you simply can't have your cake and eat it too. all the people in the comment sympathizing with the photographer doesn't change the fact that a lot of brides will simply not book her at this point. imagine you were a bride and when you googled hannah elise this was the first thing that came up. you would be much more likely to sympathize with another bride than with the photographer, or at least err on the safe side. personally, i would just offer to re-edit the photos (which is really just slapping another preset on the album if we are being honest. after all, that is exactly why the photos turned out the way they did) for a cool $1000. just another day of work and the easiest money i've ever made.

I feel so bad for this photographer.

Sorry the photographer is in the wrong. Your job is to make the client happy. Instead you let your ego and artistic nature get in front of that. Trying to nickel and dime afterwords is just petty.

3 sides to the story….hers/hers and what really happened…@29:54 I would say I completely disagree…..She didn’t do everything…The raws were the make or break…If she gave her the raws but made her sign a NDA in reference to it…We wouldn’t be having this conversation and “Sepia Gate” would not be a thing…💯

Bro is so annoying trying to act like a know it all 😭

The bride knew the photographer’s style so she should expect it, but that doesn’t change the fact that the photo editing is BAD.

I always hated filters ( presets of color toning ) specially those brownish ones that lots of photographers use on their instagram . For my taste photography have to have true colors . But in this case the bride knew that this specific photographer use these horrible colors tones so she shouldn’t be complaining, she got what she paid for.

I think the whole “no raw” policy photog’s have is crazy. This is work and income for you but it’s their only wedding day. As a wedding videographer most of us have a “raw footage” price built into the contract and our LOG footage is much harder to grade and there’s more stuff you wouldn’t want the public to see. 🤣😅 (shaky footage, me breathy heavy & telling bad dad jokes) It’s not that I think THIS photographer did some DIVA like things, it’s that we think photographers have accepted some diva like behavior as the norm. Giving Raw’s with an NDA agreement for a reasonable price (sub $1000) would have been easy. I think that was a reasonable request of the bride. If the bride demanded everything re-edited I would be on the photogs side.

The "customer is always right" because they were payed for wedding service to her ($8,000). This photographer worked awful the color grading edit, delivery was too late and poor quality for a expensive cost. This situation has a terrible effect to this photographer and if she continue justifying herself can more affect her career. SHE IS DONE!!!

I think the bride/wedding was a bit much. That being said, the edits & color grade is amateur IMO.

As a photographer and videographer I don't understand the hestitancy to offer raws to B to C clients like wedding clients. Times have changed and anyone can edit raw photos now. I believe in my edits and if the clients thinks they can do better ... then good for them.

Ms Hannah has definitely lawyered up by the way she’s speaking!! Way to go if so girl!! Don’t take this