Breaking Up is Hard To Do

In case you want to know what I've been doing on this lovely day before Valentine's Day, I'm about to tell you.

I have been breaking up with photographers all day.  Yep.  So awkward.

Our family is taking a trip to Charleston in about a month with my in-laws, and I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to have those family photos taken that we're always talking about.  I'm also super excited about this trip.   Read: I took the bull-by-the-horns and reached out to several photographers in the Charleston area. 

I realize photography is an art-form and therefore very personal to those who do it for a living.  I have also learned over the past few years that not every photographer is the same, and while you do get what you paid for, sometimes people are deluded when it comes to what's reasonable.

I corresponded/spoke with 5 photographers.  One was simply not available during our vacation (although she took her sweet time letting me know this), but her prices and her work were really great.  The rest communicated with me in a really timely manner, but two were simply too expensive and two were basically tied in terms of style and cost.  It came down to me choosing the lady who happened to be a little less expensive and had also been communicating the most with me.  I really like her work, and I already feel so comfortable with her because of all of our correspondence.

So what happens once you choose someone?  Well, since I had been communicating with all of them and first and foremost just needed to know if they were available for the timeframe in which I needed them, I felt obligated to email them all back and let them know I had chosen to go with another photographer.  Thank you very much for the info, but we've decided to go with someone else.  I realize people need to work, and I thought it would be rude for me to keep them thinking they might have a possible job lined up with me.

Like I said before, one wasn't available and I chose one, so that left three I had to break up with.  Two handled it very well.  They were mature about it.  They knew we weren't meant to be.

One did not.  Oddly enough I had an inkling she wouldn't go so easily.  She's that girl in the back of the limo on The Bachelor who has barely met the guy and is already heartbroken he didn't want to marry her.

So maybe that was a little harsh, but here's the thing...  When someone asks, "Would you mind letting me know why you didn't choose me so I can market better", just run.  Pretend you didn't get that email.  Say your husband made an appointment with another photographer without talking to you.  Whatever you do, don't dare tell them the truth!

So yes, on this day before Valentine's Day, as a woman who has been married for over five years, I'm wishing I could have used It's not you, it's me or  We just want different things or God told me to.