Tamara Sauer Photography
Crooked photographer who doesn't understand that happy customers make good business

I've been looking for a place to post my complaint against a professional photographer for months, and thankfully I found this place. I want to caution anyone in the Friendswood, TX area to avoid using Tamara Sauer Photography. Her professional work is fabulous and she is great with children and friendly, but when it comes to the business of giving you the pictures that you paid for, she is un-reachable. She somehow got my name and address from the hospital after I had my twins, and offered her services as a photographer, with a discounted rate for certain services. Since I had no idea how to go about picking a photographer, and I didn't want a bargain photo center, I chose to use her. We took my twins for 3 sets of age progression panels (able to hold head up, sitting unsupported, then standing), 2 collages, and some individual shots, and the total outcome was more than my mortgage.

I didn't mind paying $1100, still don't, when it comes to memories like that, and I think a professional photographer is much better than the discount photographer shops, but we had a miserable time getting our pictures from her. She gave us a date when the first round of pictures would be ready, and it was 2 weeks later than her promised date that I was sitting in front of her picking them up. She would not return my phone calls or emails. Next, after our second set of pictures, the wait time was even longer. It was coming on summer, and she has school-aged children, so I waited a week or two after her promised date to begin trying to reach her in case she was vacationing. I left multiple messages on her business phone, email, and personal phone, and didn't hear a peep out of her until 8 weeks later. She said she had family visiting, or something, and I explained to her that if she would just let me know that she got my messages and she had family plans, I would have no problem with waiting until things quieted down for her. I'm a pretty patient person and understand that other people have lives, too.

Our third and last set of pictures was by far the most traumatic. It was at least 6 or 7 months later that I was able to get the pictures that I'd already paid for in the beginning of our 'contract', my twins were 2 years old by the time I got all of my pictures in the panels. When I did reach her, about 5 months after our last shoot, she had many excuses to why she didn't have them. The lab lost the order was used more than once, Fed Ex lost them, she had to take a child to the doctor, she was going out of town. I can't remember all of them. Her final excuse was, her hard drive went out in her computer and she couldn't retrieve the pictures to resend them to the lab and had to take it into the shop. So, in the end, I did get my pictures, but she was unable to complete the final panel that had both twins together, and she agreed to refund me the money for that one. And she was not prompt about that, if you can believe it. It was another month or two of constant, daily bombardment in one way or another, and it wasn't until my husband took over that she refunded me for that. He called her home number every 30 minutes in one day until she answered her phone and told him she would have my check in the morning. Apparently she had a migraine and all the phone calls were just too much.

I know that I am a very passive, very patient person, and am willing to give people as much leeway as they need, but even that has a limit. I was afraid to anger her too much, because she was holding my pictures hostage and she was the only photographer we had used during the early stage of my childrens' lives, and I wanted the pictures more than anything. We decided to sue her in small claims court just before my husband got us our refund, and when we stopped at the police department for some information, they knew her very well. Whatever that means.

I hope that someone reads this who is looking for a photographer to avoid in my area, the best way I can return the favor for all she did to me is to let everyone know what kind of professional she is.

Company: Tamara Sauer Photography
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Friendswood
Address: 1301 Silverleaf Dr
Phone: 2816484400

  <     >