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Hello, I am in need of some urgent help please.
I am a part time photographer (by no means a pro, everything I learnt is from here and kind helpers), I do family and close friends weddings mainly. Long story short, my wife is a make-up artist. We're very small people, and we don’t run our mouths stating we are big people.
We had an event a few months back for a junior doctor couple (who’s brothers a barrister, the other brother is solicitor, and her farther a well-known business man, and they are very rude and have no manners how to talk to people anyways.. what a mistake helping these lot out.. )
My wife did her make up on the day, whilst I was the photographer. Now the bride is accusing my wife of getting her ready late as apparently my wife was 15 min late to the event, the bride is now saying this had a 2 hours delay knock on effect on her whole event (which is 100% a lie, as my wife was supposed to have her ready by 4.30pm and according to photograph images she was done by 4.29pm).
We have received a solicitous letter on behalf of the bride asking for compensation to the value of £25,000. Thats a lot and unfair considering my wife only charged her £60 to do her make-up and the bride is lying out of her teeth to get money out of us..! The makeup was fine, everything else was fine, but now she's making lies to screw us.. There was No written contract nothing, and it was last min booking to help her out, as she didnt not have a make-up artist.
OK Here’s the tricky bit I don’t understand and need urgent help with please. The bride has produced as evidence some images of my wife doing her makeup, and one of the images she has produced as evidence is the image I shot with my 5d mk2. Its a JPEG image (no RAW) but when I check the same image she has produced as evidence, the date is the same as her image produced, but the timing is completely different. Her image is approx 2 hours later compared to mine. We think she was somehow changed the timing to suit her case... Can this be done?
Regardless, she wants to take her to court, how can I prove my wife to be innocent and her (bride) images to be faked timing or at least prove mine to be original unedited etc.. (which it is)?
I really need some help ASAP.. Right now, I do not have a copy of her image that she has provided as evidence to her solicitor, but I do have the original image on my PC. I have backup copies on 2 external HD and my PC which ALL show the correct timing to be 4.29 but her image shows 6.30 pm….???
PLEASE HELP…!!
First of all there are numerous tools to change date/time data on JPEG images, so they mean not a lot. Secondly, surely you have lots of other photos from the day, presumably with an identifiable set of sequence numbers, all of which will have the correct time on them.
It all sounds very odd. I would take the Solicitor's letter to the CAB and discuss the best way forward with one of their pet lawyers.
Next time: written contract, disclaimer, insurance.
Did you carry a mobile phone with you? If so that could prove the times and where you were (or at least where the phone was) as each time your phone when switched on will automatically get logged on the network with the phone company. You could speak with your phone company and see if they will allow you access to the information.
EXIF data cannot be relied upon alone and has stated can easily be changed either after the picture was taken or by changing times in camera.
Worth a chat with a solicitor yourself and maybe fire an email to the law society if they are indeed trying it on as you say above.
This isn't going to go far. You say her photo shows the time to be 6.30pm. If your wife had to have her ready by 4.30pm, then surely that was so she had to be somewhere - presumably long before 6.30pm. There must be plenty of witnesses to her location at 6.30pm.
Her photo, showing the time - whether that is shown on the photo, or as part of the exif is unlikely to admissable in court.
and finally, I assume she can show the agreement that states she must be ready by 4.30pm and further, she can explain how this knock-on effect added up to two hours.
Find a local solicitor who offers a free first consultation and go and have a chat.
The most they're going to get is £60 ... which is unlikely. Turning a 15 min delay into £25,000 is going to take alot of proving. Sounds like they got an expensive wedding bill and they are trying to offset the costs. How did she get the jpg images ... did you give them ALL to her ?
Last minute booking to help them out ... sounds like they had other issues and didn't organise things in a timely fashion. Also, sounds like they are bullying, self important, intimidating people.
Good luck.
Quote: I have backup copies on 2 external HD and my PC which ALL show the correct timing to be 4.29 but her image shows 6.30 pm….???
Found this about 'tampering' with 'evidence' on web...
Quote: Evidence, in broad terms, is anything that can support the truth of a statement. In law, evidence is anything that can support a legal claim or, on the other hand, show that a legal claim is false. Evidence tampering is an illegal action in which evidence is either falsified, edited, or amended in order to support or undermine a legal claim.
What a nasty woman she seems... perhaps you could threat to counter sue.
Got to wonder about their morals..... people that use their 'standing' to bully others to their own ends really are quite intolerable 
If evidence being used as a basis for legal action or even a THREAT of legal action has been deliberately tampered with, then surely this is attempted fraud or even extortion? Not sure of the legal 'niceties' but whatever, it sounds distinctly like a word with the boys in blue might be in order
Quote: We had an event a few months back for a junior doctor couple (who’s brothers a barrister, the other brother is solicitor, and her farther a well-known business man, and they are very rude and have no manners how to talk to people anyways.. what a mistake helping these lot out.. )
That would explain a lot!
This sounds to me a classic case of threatening an absurdly high liability on the expectation your wife will say 'Oh, dear, let me give you £1,000 to settle out of court'
Weddings (church or registry) are often timed down to the minute so if there was a 2hr delay they would have had an extremely pissed off venue. Not to mention the reception venue - belive me if they were delayed 2 hours they would remember it!!!
It sounds as though they are only just contacting you - why have they delayed if the wedding was several months ago?
Quote: I do not have a copy of her image that she has provided as evidence to her solicitor
You mean the solicitor who is either her brother or a colleague of her brother? Give me a break!
Firstly, do NOT be rushed by any comments they make for 'urgent action' from you - it is a classic negotiating tactic to keep you off balance and hoping you will make a poor decision in haste. It is up to them to prove the case against you: you should send a letter saying you are looking into their request and you will get back to them. This will give you some breathing space.
If they say it is 'urgent' then comment that this surprises you since the wedding was a few months ago.
Did you correspond by e-mail? Ask them to send evidence to your wife of their arrangements (timings, place etc) that confirm where she should have been and when. But play their game and admit nothing - not even that your wife was 15 minutes late (even if she was).
Ask to see the image that the solicitor has to support their claim - this seems to be the cornerstone of their evidence.
Ask them to itemise the £25,000 damages - they must have been paying an awful lot of people on a time basis.
Doing someone's hair will take more than 15 minutes so that shot could have been taken any time.
Check the date stamp of all your images of the wedding to show if the ceremony was delayed. If you can produce several hundred sequenced RAW images against their one JPEG that will be in your favour.
Contact the venue(s) and ask 'Do you recall the wedding party of XXX on (date) - I was the photographer and we want to catalogue the event properly. Please can you remind me the time the event started.' They will probably be happy to help you without realising why.
Keep all correspondence and if you ever have a discussion with them (or the solicitor) wite a summary of the call immediately afterwards with date, time and a summary. Record it you can.
If you really have the balls, threaten to sue them for falsifying an image with the intent to extort money 
No matter how innocent you are, being threatened with legal action can be a very traumatic experience. It takes a lot of bottle to throw the letter in the bin and ignore it so as suggested above I would go down to Citizens Advice and see what they say.
And if you go and see a solicitor of your won
Just a thought ... have they already paid you the £60. If they have, then that's a sign of acceptance of services rendered.
? Have they paid you and your wife for the services rendered....? ? ?
Or is this grief some way of " Weaseling " out of paying ?
All the above information should put your mind at rest, If they have tampered with the time on the image, Look for the images " Before that One " and " After it " , Then in chronological order all other images taken that day, As KeithH has pointed out, The proccedings would likely involve a set course, From the make up session through to the final images, Other parties ie: Vicars, Caterers, etc etc, Would have been heavily involved, A 2 hour delay on a wedding day is hardly likely to be a forgotten incident by any in a official capacity, Let alone guests etc.
Personaly I would say you have nothing to worry about, Just sounds like a bunch of smart arses trying to pull one over on you....!!!!!
I tend to be a bit reactionary with these type of people, So don't take my advise of telling them to go forth and multiply.....
However last words, This is a lesson learned for you and the missus, " Contracts " contracts, Always shoot RAW and where possible use " Image Authentication " options.....!!!!!!!!!!
Any clocks or watches showing the times in any of your shots?
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