Judge Calls Out Wedding Photographer’s “Deceitful Behaviour” in $22,000 Judgement for Couple

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We’re more than happy to admit that wedding photography is probably one of the most stressful niches in our field.

woman in gold dress holding sword figurine
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm

And it’s also one of the more drama-filled segments as well. Aside from social media and drones, we can’t think of another category more prone to generating viral content.

But this story is about a little more than your usual mishap or viral moment; this kind of delves into professional ethics and meeting certain industry standards that, apparently, one judge found lacking in this case.

A wedding photographer in Canada was hit with a $CAD 22,000 judgment for engaging in “deceitful behavior” as well as “unsavoury business practices.”

The couple, Kaman and Ramandeep Rai, ordered what was called the “platinum package” – a $CAD 8,500 option. This was for their wedding in 2015. After six years of back and forth with the wedding photographer and still no delivery of their photos, they decided to go to court. There, the judgment broke down into $CAD 7,000 for getting the photos processed, $CAD 10,000 for mental distress, and $CAD 5,000 in punitive damages, the Vancouver Sun reports.

For his part, the photographer, Aman Bal, claims he withheld the photos because the couple owed him a final payment of $CAD 3,500 but was unable to provide proof of this.

It was further demonstrated that Bal engaged in deceptive behavior, at one point seeming to argue that the couple’s contract was with another agency, Elite Images, rather than himself. The judge noted that the photographer, who has a career of some 20 years, was sued no less than five times from 2011 until 2019.

You can read the judge’s decision for yourself here.

Have you ever had or do you know someone who has had a really terrible wedding photography experience? We would love to know your stories in the comments.

Don’t forget to check out some of our other photography news on Light Stalking at this link right here.

[Vancouver Sun]

About Author

Kehl is our staff photography news writer since 2017 and has over a decade of experience in online media and publishing and you can get to know him better here and follow him on Insta.

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