RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Imagine saving up to have someone else capture your big life events, only to lose the cash and wait well past the deadline for your prints.
“The agreement was that I would get 40 pictures by May 4, I believe,” said Brandi Dillard who booked with Seven Rose Photography.
May 4 came and went, with only a few sneak peeks out of the batch of Dillard’s daughter’s graduation portraits. She and several moms booked Bethani Yannis of Seven Rose Photography.
“It is now mid-June and I still don’t even have the pictures that I originally took in November,” Maria Luna.
“She had promised eight to nine photos within the first three to 10 business days. Which I had to email her several times about. I messaged her on Facebook, I emailed her, and she kept giving me numerous reasons,” said Savanna.
A post on the Rio Rancho Mom’s Facebook group blew up with comments from moms in the same boat, saying they couldn’t get a hold of Yannis for weeks. A lot of them also got sneak peeks, but not enough for what they paid for.
“She mentioned like, ‘Oh, you know, I have seven kids, I am running another business. ‘ And I understand that, but at the same time she had a commitment with me, and she is not coming through,” said Luna.
After KOB 4 aired, Yannis reached out to us saying she was ready to tell her side of the story. Yannis says she usually books 19 families every Saturday and around 8 on Sundays.
“Because my prices are so low, I have booked hundreds of clients and I fell short, and I fell behind. I am here to clear the air. I am here to do my responsibility to my clients and give them what they need,” said Bethany Yannis, owner and operator of Seven Rose Photography.
She admits she missed deadlines, and deleted her Facebook page after people flooded her inbox asking for photos.
“A lot of those women did have to wait for their turnaround time, but I have let them know and communicated, ‘Hey I am behind it is going to take me a little bit longer.’ But they did receive their images,” said Yannis.
One mom told us Yannis’ family got involved at one point, sending her threatening messages and asking her to stop posting about the business.
Yannis: “Yes, my mothe. I mean, I am one person and with all these people doing this to me, I do need a little bit of help.”
Feliz: “So you did give a client’s number to your mother, who doesn’t work for you?”
Yannis says she’s taking the summer off to catch up on all the work for her clients still waiting on galleries.
“I am getting out everybody’s photos as quickly as possible, but in my heart of heart I have morals. I have integrity and I would never do anything to hurt anybody,” said Yannis.
Some moms say they did receive some photos after the original post in the Rio Rancho Moms Facebook group earlier this month. Others are still waiting for their pictures.
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