The link in my previous post was removed so here's my full review of Jonathan Ho:
I would like to share my unpleasant experience with
Jonathan Ho from Expressively Joho. It was a regrettably a bad one, served with unprofessionalism and dishonesty from none other but the Master Photographer, Jonathan Ho himself.
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Delivery of final product: AD DVD to be ready before 11 Aug 2014.
My AD was on 11 May 2014. However we only got the DVD (mailed to us) on 27 Oct 2014. Yes almost half a year after my wedding. He was totally unresponsive to our calls and SMSes when we asked him for our photos.
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The Package: Expressively Joho package (10th year anniversary promo) AD - Bliss (Singapore) - $2380.00 (2800-15%)
1. Up to 8 hours of on-location wedding photography
2. Available images will be basic edited (at least 30 per service hour)
3. Basic edited images returned on DVD in hi-res (2400x1800px)
4. Complimentary 1 hour engagement session
5. Complimentary 100 pcs credit card sized thank you cards
Total : $2380.00
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The catch to Joho’s package:
1.
8 hours for AD (morning gatecrash, banquet dinner and same day solemnization) is definitely not enough. Before signing, we discussed with Joho and asked if 8 Hours is sufficient. Joho assured us that 8 hours is definitely enough. 3 days before our AD we discussed our AD schedule with him. The true shocker came just before our second march-in when Jonathan Ho turned to us and said: “
I will leave after the 2nd march-in and speech. It’s about time hor. I’ll let you know the charges.” This caught us. How do you expect us to react? He could have discussed with us 3 days earlier or we could have topped up right from the start during the promo. Joho charged us
additional 2 hours at undiscounted rate of ($450/hr), totaled $900. Lucky we had a photographer friend helping us with table shots. Otherwise we would be left with either uncompleted wedding photos or exorbitant charges.
2. The 100pcs of thank you cards from the engagement session - We never see the photos until 6 months after our wedding, which was too late to print and send out as thank you cards. Thankfully he agreed to give us the soft copy in lieu of printed cards.
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The photos: I was totally devastated. These were far from the portfolios Joho showed us/ on his website. We got about 600 photos in return of which only half were nice/ professional
1.
There was only 1 photo (yes just 1) of the Gown unprofessionally taken (I wonder if there was even editing done). You can judge for yourself
2.
Our rings - When we pass Joho the engagement ring together with wedding bands in the evening, Joho rejected our request to take a picture of the 3 rings. He said he took liao (which was not possible as the rings were never together). Ended up there is only 1 picture (yes one and only) of the wedding bands only (without the engagement ring)
3.
No pictures of the solemnization venue and setup. Yes, we spend $ to rent the venue and deco and there was absolutely no picture of the whole venue setup. As for the deco only 1 pic of the bride & groom signs on the chairs were taken.
4. Only 2 pictures of the banquet deco. Yes you heard me right. One wishing tree and 1 ang bao box (with the same bride & groom sign for solemnization). We have a lot more details and deco. How painful it is when all the decorations that were carefully chosen by the bride to accentuate the venue to the theme were not taken.
5. Above all,
the wrong moments. The most touching veil moments with wrong angle/ expression. Touching moment of bride hugging brother turned out with bride awkwardly stretching arms towards the brother. Closed eyes, awkward smiles and all you name it top 10 awkward moments you won’t want to see in your wedding album.
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oho’s attitude: we had to manage his
black face throughout the wedding. Joho openly expressed unhappiness when VG blocked him, when family members passed him personal camera/ phone to take pictures, etc. After all it is the couple’s big day, least you want to see is your PG giving you black face. And did I mention, I couldn’t find my PG Joho most of the time during the night banquet.
Conclusion: For the price/ premium (
total $3280) we paid to Expressively Joho, we could have more options and maybe with a more pleasant experience. Perhaps we were unlucky or our expectation of Joho was too high to begin with since he is the master photographer/ founder of Expressively Joho and part of the WPN (Wedding Photographer Network).
If you really like his works, I urge you to discuss in details (in writing) with him upfront. It still gives me heartache now whenever I think of my AD photos. You can retake Pre-wedding pictures, but not AD moments.
Do think twice and do your research thoroughly.
Good luck ☺
