Al Ungar Photography

Al photographed our event several years ago. I still get upset when I look at the pictures.
When we arrived at the venue with family members at the agreed start time, Al had just arrived in the parking lot and was beginning to unload his truck. He seemed harried as he unloaded and set up his equipment. Our 18 family members, who we had asked to dress and arrive early for photos, waited 30 minutes for him to set up his equipment.
Al only set up one light on a broken stand to the left of our group. I am not a photographer but I now understand the importance of having more than one light or perhaps the importance of single light placement. All of our formal photos have very harsh light on the left side of the face and very dark shadow on the right like a horror movie.
Our family group photos had several missing faces due to shadows cast from the person in front of them. After some cajoling, Al gave us one family group photo where he replaced a missing cousin’s head using Photoshop.
Because Al was not ready when we had mutually agreed, we did not get through all of the photos on our list. Because of the lighting issue, all of our photos have very harsh shadows. Believe me, this isn’t pickiness, it’s very obvious to any eye that sees it.
After the event, Al blamed the problem on being unfamiliar with the venue and gave us a couple free prints. I think anyone would agree that it’s his job to become familiar with an unfamiliar venue (perhaps by arriving early for set-​up?).
Do not use his services. The photos he took of our happy event are very disappointing.