Wedding Photographer Charges $8,500 for “Blurry” Photos – Some Are Defending Her Pricing

"You get what you pay for," is an old adage that seems to equate quality with monetary value. But ask anyone who works in the fashion industry and scrutinizes the workmanship behind posh luxury brands and they will tell you that this isn't always the case.

Things become even more troubling when it comes to art and the story behind artists and artistry, which is the crux of the debate that surrounded the criticism behind a wedding photographer's prices.

TikToker @tripp.photo posted a video where she shared her starting prices for a wedding package: $8,500. Another user on the platform, after looking through her artwork, @haussdrama, decided to look through Tripp's work to see what customers were getting for the same price as a used 2012 Scion TC.

"When someone inquires for wedding photography with a $2k budget and I send back my starting prices of $8.5k," the stitched video begins with Tripp, who is rocking dyed purple hair and glasses looking into the camera. She lip syncs a country singer saying, "You think I'm psycho don't ya Mama?"

The TikToker who stitched her video, Hauss, agrees with that assessment as the video transitions to a screenshot of the photographer's TikTok page, @tripp.photo. She advertises herself as a Wedding & Lifestyle Photographer who provides her services in North Carolina and California.

"Maybe just a tiny little bit. This photographer is getting a lot of backlash for releasing her prices which is $8,500 starting. Now I took a look at her gallery and let's see if these pictures are worth $8,500."

Hauss then begins to embark on a photo-by-photo commentary of the woman's pictures, which begins with a pair of undone leather shoes.

"Now with this picture I can see the intent, right? Going for that old, timey, rustic, I dare say you did not capture what you thought you did," she says sarcastically commenting on the, what appears to be, slightly blurry photograph.

Next up is a very blurry photo of jewelry scattered on what looks like a counter top. "What I did see is she's a very big fan of blurry photos. I just feel like the jewelry placement, it's just not working. It's really not."

Another picture Hauss highlights is of a dress on a hanger draped in front of a door, "Possibly one of the most unflattering photos that you could take of a wedding dress is just on a blank wall on a wooden hanger, it's giving nothing," she says of Tripp's work.

Hauss has positive things to say about the bride featured in the next picture of Tripp's work, however, she doesn't really seem to think that the picture taken of the woman really does her any justice: "Now this woman is stunning but this picture looks like it was taken in somebody's backyard."

Next up is a black and white photograph of a bride adjusting what looks like her earrings in the mirror: "Again, she's stunning she's beautiful, she is giving. But the photographer it just looks like this is in somebody's bathroom. There's nothing special to the photo that's like that wow factor."

Following that picture is another picture of a wedding dress hanging on a wall outdoors: "I would say posing wedding dresses for a photo is not her strong suit," Hauss says.

"Obviously everybody should charge what they think they're worth. If you think you're worth $8,500, go ahead and charge for the $8,500 but if I got my wedding photos back and they looked anything like those I would request a refund. Actually I would dispute it with my card company."

"Anyways go and take a look at her photos, come back to this video, let me know if she's worth the $8,500. I'll see you guys in the next one," she says at the end of her clip.

While there were plenty of folks who seemingly agreed with Hauss' assessment of Tripp's prices, there were also folks who thought that Tripp's work was consistent, with some calling it "story driven" and "high end."

What do you think?