Brett Matthews Photograghers

Brett Matthews has such beautiful photos, I did not want to think the negative reviews were true. They were on the house vendor list for our venue and I was pretty set that I wanted to use them after seeing other weddings they have done. I attempted to contact them at least 7 times by email to get some information and set up an appointment and no response. I finally called the office and I spoke to Sheri who I believe is the owner and she was very nice and said I should look through their blog and see which photographers work I like best and then call make to make an appointment to discuss pricing. Well I did that right away, called back to make an appointment, left messages, emailed, and never heard back again. I decided to go with another photographer who answered my emails and actually seemed interested in being my photographer. Don’t bother.

I’m not sure what happens if you curse in Unilocal reviews so I’ll just use PG language for this. It took less than thirty seconds to realize that Brett Matthews Photography would be the worst choice for a photographer. We met with Sheri, who was completely condescending. When my fiancée and I told her that we were not planning on seeing each other before the ceremony (you know, like the tradition) she tried to argue with us and said that no one else does that and there’s not enough time to take good photos otherwise. From there, she was confrontational on every point, including insisting that it would be too cold to have a wedding outside in mid-​April. Then she said we wouldn’t be able to take pictures because if we don’t do it before the guests arrive, there will be no place to do it. All of these sounded like problems that we would presumably be paying her to deal with, but instead she was asking us how we were going to solve those «issues» that, to me, sounded like they occur at the majority of weddings. I would expect a professional wedding photographer to have the experience to handle things like asking other people to not be in the way of a picture. Before we even discussed pricing, we asked if she would be our photographer. She cackled and then told us that she only does «high-​end» weddings and made it clear that she would be out of our price range, even though we never gave her a budget. She elaborated and said she was giving us her cheapest photographer at a discount (down to $ 6500 from $ 7500). For that price, you get an album but no hi-​res digital photos (which is unusual) and a speech about how they retain all rights to the photos. We met with other photographers after who had no problem with us not seeing each other before the ceremony and had very easy and practical solutions to the apparently insurmountable issues for Brett Matthews Photography. I would encourage you to go anywhere else for respectful customer service.

BRIDES & GROOMS BEWARE!
Don’t be blindsided by the sales pitch, this is where it should end.
All of the negative reviews are true, unfortunately, I didn’t read them prior to booking. However, they were NOT the photographer that shot my daughters wedding, thank goodness, but it did cost me, since I did sign a one sided contract.
All I can say is run, run, run the other way. So many more honest, talented photographers out there.

Sheri LaMagna from Brett Matthews photographed our wedding on July 26, 2014 at Gotham Hall. We wanted a photographer and videographer who not only had a beautiful and creative finish to their work, but also who we «clicked» with on a personality level and would have fun with on our wedding day. From the moment we had our first meeting with Sheri, we immediately knew that she was the right fit for us. Sheri was fun, easy going, energetic and had a truly kind and compassionate personality. Her portfolio really speaks for itself and blew us away as her work is truly exquisite. We immediately felt confident that she would capture our wedding day exactly how we wanted it.
Throughout our entire wedding process, Sheri was always easily reachable and prompt in answering our questions. One of the most impressive things about Sheri, aside from taking incredible photographs and video, is how service-​oriented she is. She promptly delivered our raw footage or our video and proofs and answered all of our questions. For our wedding photos, our proofs were ready for us to view in less than 3 weeks from the wedding (and she took over 2000 photos)! Every photo captured something special and unique and it will be extremely difficult to choose a select number of photos for our album because they are all truly artistic! Sheri has an eye for lighting and angles, and her photographs have a finish that clearly sets her apart from others.
Throughout our entire wedding day Sheri and her team did a wonderful job at taking photos in all settings (from the Walforf Astoria, to the streets of New York, to Gotham Hall, both in the day and night and through two dress changes). They made us feel comfortable, at ease, and were just simply fun to be around! They not only captured all the important moments, but added to our wedding day in their own right with their kindness.
Sheri, we can’t thank you enough for capturing every moment of our wedding day perfectly, and for being such a thoughtful and wonderful person to spend our special day with! We highly recommend Sheri and her team from Brett Matthews. If you want creative and artistic photographs and to spend your wedding day with a professional who is fun to be around, look no further, she is simply the best!

Omg? LOL!
Terrible experience all around. First, picked the photographer we wanted. Pictures were number 1 priority and felt that paying more for great pics would be worth it. It might have if if got first rate pictures. Contract is entirely in favor of the studio. Any changes are at the whim of the studio.
Photographer was fired 3 days before the wedding.
Use someone else!

QUALITY OF WEDDING PHOTOS: Some great shots but not as many as I had hoped. Wasn’t wowed like I expected to be. They didn’t pay as much attention to detail as I would have expected from a high caliber photographer (i.e. photos that would have been great except the train on my dress is messed up or my husbands bow tie is crooked).
CUSTOMER SERVICE: It is very difficult to get someone to return your call (except Nicole or Danielle see below). The whole process from begining to end feels as though they are doing you a favor. You certaintly DON’T get special attention!
COSTS: Their prices seem high but manageable when you sign your contract, but after the wedding they nickel and dime you like crazy. Everything regarding the album is extra, even basics like a cover. Wedding trailer is an extra $ 600. They charge you to ship every little thing which just gets annoying and you feel taken advantage of.
DIGITAL IMAGES: My BIGGEST complaint about them is that they don’t give your digital images (even after spending a lot on albums and portraits). I asked around and apparently this is NOT standard industry practice. If you want the «rights», you have to pay them a few hundred dollars per photo. They tell you that you get a disc with images that are «web ready». These are super low resolution thumbnails that are useless.
TIMING: It takes FOREVER to get anything done. It took 4 months for my proofs to come in (at that point the excitement of the wedding had died down). It took 9 months for them to do my album. Everything with them moves in slow motion.
VIDEO: Don’t use their video person PERIOD. My video is poor quality. I don’t know much about video cameras etc but parts of it look like it was shot with a shaky camecorder while the rest of the video looks grainy and color/​lighting is completely off. Also they completely botched the editing of my trailer but did agree to redo it.
PROS: Danielle and Nicole (who help you through the album process) are great and the only people that were at all available and answered my emails. They did a great job helping me put together and edit my album. I am very happy with the final product.
BOTTOM LINE: I wish I did more research and met with different photographers before I just assumed they were the best in the area. They aren’t.

They deserve 0 stars!!! Do not even bother with this company!!! My wedding is next summer and my fiancé and I are in the process of looking for a photographer. We made an appointment for 4pm. they called that day and asked us to come in earlier at 3:30 so we did. Once we got there, we still had to wait about 15 minutes to be seen. A woman finally takes us back into the room and her first sentence was «we will be the more expensive then any other photographer». A very weird way to start the meeting. It seemed like she was talking down to us the whole time like we could not afford her services. We are getting married at Carlyle on the Green which is not a cheap place… So we can afford any photographer we want. She kept saying how bad she felt telling us the price bc we looked like a cute couple but loves that she is more expensive. She then felt the need to educate us on photography and what to look for when we look at other photographers. My fiancé and I were in shock!!! We told her we are open to any photographer. She finally tells us the price after implying she is too good for us. And then she asks if we are interested… never once did she say what was included in the price or anything. I had to ask what we were actually getting for the price. She gave us a folder with the papers which we threw in the garbage as we walked to our car. So unprofessional and rude. I can’t wait to call my venue and tell them they do not deserve to be on their list of vendors..

It saddens me to write this but as a bride I wish someone had before I hired BM. I fell in love with their work right after I was engaged. The saying love is blind is true when it comes to their work. I thought every picture I saw was amazing, unique and creative. Seth (the salesman), did exactly what he is paid for, schmooze and seal the deal. At first there were a few hiccups, any issue Seth apologized profusely and stated that there was a miscommunication and it would not happen again, but it did. I specifically asked during our first meeting if they hired free lancers or if everyone solely worked for BM and Seth looked me straight in the face and said they do not use free lancers. Fast forward to our engagement session which was a disaster to schedule with them. I had to call and do everything, set up a date, a place, I had to get permits and pay for the permits, things that were NEVER mentioned when I first stated that I wanted an engagment session. When we recieved the pictures back I was totally disappointed. There was no creativity, the pictures that we actually did like were the ones I had to suggest to our photographer. After getting to know our photographer a little later on, we found out that he was a free lancer and worked for several companies. I have a lot of friends who recently have gotten married and I talked to them about my situation with BM. They all recommended that I fire them before the wedding. I spoke to some other photographers from smaller boutique shops which they personally owned and the customer service was out of this world. I realized that I made a huge mistake by hiring BM and I cancelled my contracts. The only thing I want for our wedding day is to marry my fiancé and have pictures that capture every moment. I did not want to worry whether or not they got the shot. Now that I am not longer blind to their work, I realize that every couple has the same generic poses that are predictable. I have found a photographer that has the unique view point that we want for our wedding day. Do not let Seth schmooze you!!!

OMG!
The pictures from our wedding are unbelievable. Seriously, it was so worth the 9 week wait to see our proofs.
We have so many great photos to choose from; it will be hard to choose a few for our album. I’ve already ordered a few for our family and friends. :)

If it wasn’t for their beautiful photos, they wouldn’t even get one star. We met with them as our potential photographers for the day of our wedding. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. You do not meet with they actual photographer who would be shooting your day but a sales rep instead. Our sales rep was a huge jerk! Through out our meeting he managed to be on his cellphone, flirt with the women in the office, curse several times, insult a friend I had brought along with me and be just plain unprofessional and rude. Before I was even done asking the questions I wanted to ask, he was pushing me out the door.
They are super pricey. They claim to allow you to customize their package and you barely can do so. I was prepared to spend the money and the experience left a horrible taste in my mouth.
Brides beware!!!

Expensive. but worth it!
Best photographers you can find! They are always up-​to-​date and artistic… beautiful pictures guaranteed.
If you are unsure — go with Brett Matthews and you will not regret it