Sykes did our wedding and engagements pics and we had no complaints.

He did what he said he would do at the time he said he would do it.

He was picky about his shots and his personality is a little different, but all in all we were very pleased with the quality of our shots, which was the most important thing to us.

Sounds like baby and kid pics might not be his thing, so I can't speak for that but I'd definitely say he's worth a shot for weddings/engagements. We enjoyed our pics and are about to use him again.

This is the guy that did the wedding I was in a few weeks ago.

No groomsmen shot.

No bridesmaid shot.

Now I don't know if the couple requested that but I found it really odd.

His lame jokes were particularly lame and half the time we couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

He seemed to know what he was doing from a photography point of view but his people skills just sucked. I'd definitely not work with him for anything if I lived down there.

I did not realize that some of you had such a problem with him, but in College Station, if someone does not do things exactly your way, they must be evil. This town really drives me nuts.

First of all, choco, We have used Mark a long time, and he does excellent work. He is not a Sears or KMart photographer that takes your money and then takes pictures. He is an elite photographer with a phenomenal reputation, who does GREAT work. He wants the shots to be the best that they can be, and yes, has asked us to reschedule because our son was not acting his best, and then we learned...to reschedule ourself if our son was not at his optimum.

Secondly, did you talk to Mark about this, or did you just decide to stay quiet and complain in a public forum? If you ask Mark, you receive, plain and simple. But to run away and then smear him on a public forum is not only rude, it is cowardly.

Third, were you angry at Mark, or frustrated? Baby pictures can be a frustrating experience and we have found that his humor relaxes the situation. If you do not like his humor, then tell him so, and watch what happens! He adapts! He wants you to come back again and again, but you have to talk.

Fourth - Those of you that want to use other studios, be my guest, it makes it easier for us to schedule. I used Specialties before Sykes, and now stay with him...you will find out soon enough. Those of you that go to Sears or WalMart should not be going to Sykes, because your expectations are just a little too low.

I think this situation is more about a hormonal mom with an average baby who is angry at someone else. Mark is a good man who deserves better than this from people he has helped.

Welcome to texags Mark!

I understand what you're saying about going to Mark and asking for help - he did fix the things he could. However, he cannot go back to my wedding and take pictures of cutting the cake. There was not time to redo bridal portraits when he did not have flim in the camera.

Before you overgeneralize about the people here being judgemental, just remember that they are sharing real experiences. This is no different than giving restaurant or hotel recommendations.

I have a feeling this thread is about to get interesting.

where's the popcorn icon when you need it

Yes, it could get interesting.

This entire post is my opinion only. I know Mark through work, but I used Chandler for our family picture. Mark is weird and Chandler is much nicer. However, if you look at their work, Mark takes better pictures and delivers a finer product. I wish I had used Mark.

At least when Dr. Gates posted using the third person he was believable.

Based on the volume of posts stating the same basic thing there must be more "hormonal moms" in BCS that I was aware of. Or maybe the moms aren't the hormonal ones here.

Welcome to texags, Mark.

It is very much a status thing to have the "Sykes" name at the bottom of pictures in this community.

typical rookie post.

It's a discussion forum. This is what it's here for.

People are going to post their opinions when they are asked for.

So far the opinion is running strongly against Sykes on the basis of lacking customer service.

Nobody on here doubts his work. It is phenomenal. It seems that the people on this board place a high value on personable service, and may be willing to take a negligible loss of picture quality in order to get said service.

Maybe Mark can learn from this. Let's be realistic...if you are taking a toddler for pictures, they will almost never be "optimal" for a photo shoot. You have to do the best you can.

quote:

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He is an elite photographer with a phenomenal reputation

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Judging by the responses on this thread, which is probably a fairly good cross-section of the people who live in this town, you might want to rethink that "phenomenal reputation" phrase.

And way to get all bent out of shape because people don't have the same opinion as you. And THAT is why *I* hate this town.

Well it sound like you have done everything right chocaholic, except check the recommendations he has on his website to make the sessions pleasant. The biggest emphases are on your baby dictating how the session goes AND on where he/she should be developmentally for that specific session. The fact that your baby didn’t smile is not yours or his fault. Not being able to support itself on its elbows is the reason why he recommended rescheduling AND did not charged for the “sitting” fee. And remember don’t judge a book by its cover. Mark’s work is impeccable and if you’re happy with your baby not smiling in the pictures then just tell him so and I bet you’ll love the end result.

No, I am not Mark Sykes, and as far as a Rookie post, I posted as LabAG on TexAgs before most of you even knew about it.

TexAgs, and MyBCS, never represents a cross section of the population. It represents a group of people who are on the whole non-confrontational, and like to hide behind user names rather then face facts.

If you contact TexAgs, they will be happy to verify that I am not Mark Sykes, but I do mean what I say.

The Sock Puppets! They're everywhere!

uh, oh, now its the baby's fault for this guy being unprofessional.

is this fight going to be on pay per view???



by the way, if people are paying you to do something for them, you should do whatever you can to make sure that your service that they are paying for is perfect.

Dog Lover 11 - She did everything right except vent her frustrations on a public forum. If she had taken the action to actually talk to Mark and he did not resolve it, that is one thing.

Sounds like she stormed out and decided to vent here.

I wonder if she embarassed the people who got her the gift certificate?

For every action, there is consequence, and that is why I hate this town.

I agree people are a lot braver on TexAgs than in the real world. I also notice that people without stars are "braver" than most.

quote:

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Mark’s work is impeccable

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No it's not, either. We scheduled a bluebonnet shoot with him and he tried to set us up in the middle of a half dead patch of bluebonnets in his yard.

Dear Aggiechick2003 if you need glasses then i'll pay to get you a pair. I haven't sayed ANYWERE that it's the baby's fault! Please read what is written not just scan the message.

Are you completely overlooking the other complaints and corroboration by clifton, etmydst, ryn, emgee, barney94, JetAg, lilaggie2002, AggieMommy, rich1, jjh88,
grumpyoldman, and NoACDammit. This isn't something that's isolated. That's 12 other people relating the same kind of experience and/or frustration.

OK the sope must end.

I am chochaholic's "friend" who gave her the giftcertificat. I know Mark and I know her AND HER KIDDO so pls let's be brave and let this die with her being happy somewhere else and me with Mark's work OK???

I will say that I have now used Chandler a couple of times and he is as patient as the day is long. The last photos he took of chunky, I called him prior and told him my ideas and that they would probably lead to a mess in his studio. He was all for it. He picked a day when he was going to replace the background sheet when we were done anyways and trash the old one so my chunky could do his damage!!!! Chandler was cracking up with me the entire time! Did he take Mark Sykes quality pictures? Who knows...but they were great pics and the third positive experince I have had with Chandler.

txdragonfly:

it's not isolated and i haven't stated that EITHER. But according to the US constitution we ALL are entitled to our opinion and mine is pro mark, theirs is con so we agree to disagree.

The pictures with the cake everywhere? I LOVE those pics! And he really did make a mess.

dog, that was more for Lab than you. Lab seems/seemed focused on calling out chocoholic.

maybe Lab knows something we don't! even so he's entitled to an oppinion pro or con. also this mess started from chocaholic hence the anger/frustration directed at her.

quote:

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It's a discussion forum. This is what it's here for.

People are going to post their opinions when they are asked for.

So far the opinion is running strongly against Sykes on the basis of lacking customer service.

Nobody on here doubts his work. It is phenomenal. It seems that the people on this board place a high value on personable service, and may be willing to take a negligible loss of picture quality in order to get said service.

Maybe Mark can learn from this. Let's be realistic...if you are taking a toddler for pictures, they will almost never be "optimal" for a photo shoot. You have to do the best you can.

---

Summarized in a nutshell.

quote:

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He wants the shots to be the best that they can be, and yes, has asked us to reschedule because our son was not acting his best

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And the original poster stated "My baby was happy and was being who he is and he tells me I have to come back. I was furious." -- that isn't being asked, it's being told and most wouldn't be happy with being treated like that.

Your experiences are JUST AS VALID HERE as those of everyone else...no more, no less. You trying to put forth that your experiences are "the way things are" and no one else has the right to post theirs (or they're a coward) is simply a horrible breakdown in logic on your part.

quote:

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TexAgs, and MyBCS, never represents a cross section of the population. It represents a group of people who are on the whole non-confrontational, and like to hide behind user names rather then face facts.

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The old adage of the Internet being for people that hide behind a nickname is far from true these days...it isn't all young geeks anymore. Sure, those types will always be around, but the topics that are discussed here show the diversity fairly clearly, IMO.

quote:

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For every action, there is consequence, and that is why I hate this town.

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This holds true far beyond the borders of this town.

[This message has been edited by Chase (edited 5/11/2007 12:32p).]

quote:

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The old adage of the Internet being for people that hide behind a nickname is far from true these days...it isn't all young geeks anymore. Sure, those types will always be around, but the topics that are discussed here show the diversity fairly clearly, IMO.

---

For anyone new to TexAgs and Aggieland, I can see how they might buy into the old school of thought. However, for those who've been to an HH, they have an advantage of knowing what names match up with what faces, and even what they do for a living. Even for those who haven't been, just reading and paying attention will tell you who's who.

Sunrise isn't bashful about her role with the city. Everyone loves thisladyisacop and we even get to hear her soundbites on the radio or see her on tv when CSPD makes statements. BVD will flat out tell you to give Doe's Place a chance and talk to him if you're not satisfied. child of grace will talk about growing up here and how her parents have managed owning Ken Martin's all this time. when we hear from mr. traffic and egret, we usually get some useful information about changes around town or best practices for homeowners and water conservation. alldayap may like to pick on CSPD, but he does take great pictures and goes to most every athletic event. After Chace Murphy's hospitalization, we got to hear from a few KBTX execs and they weigh in on topics occasionally; the handle tells you who is posting. halfpint05 and MarineBQ04 are happy to talk about the schools and what's going on if asked. They along with Blair are also very happy to share information about Woodstock Animal Foundation and animal issues in town. theycallmejonlee is always looking for ways to improve Buck's pizza and doesn't mind making changes or lending a hand.

Some of those people I've met. And some of them I haven't. I don't have a spreadsheet, I just try to pay attention to what I read.

edit: me fail english? that's unpossible!

[This message has been edited by txdragonfly (edited 5/11/2007 12:39p).]

Username: doglover11
Number of Posts: 5
Account Created: 5/11/2007 10:51:46 AM

Username: LabAG93
Number of Posts: 3
Account Created: 5/11/2007 10:08:20 AM

Because a poster is new, does not make his opinion worth any less...

As mentioned above, my original handle was LabAG on TexAgs, Austin360, HornFans, etc.

I forgot my password since I gave up on posting a while ago. I will read a lot, and when I saw the topic, I checked it out, and since there was a gangup of people on a good person I decided to take his side.

I have no idea who dog lover is and do not care.

So get off the "rookie" or whatever status you keep preaching. If you have the ability to actually WORK, ask the staff, and they will verify that I am not Mark Sykes.

LabAg93-

I just find it interesting that most people on here are sharing their personal experiences with Sykes photography and how they were displeased, but you come on and start defending the guy by calling people names.

You then proceded to complain about the anonymity of the internet and how people are much more brave here than in real person. Quite frankly your posts have been insulting to everybody and I can guarantee that you would not have been nearly as confrontational in person.

Every business owner knows that word of mouth advertising is the most beneficial to a business. You will find posts on this board that rave about a business as well, so it cuts both ways.

labag, you missed aggienk's point. which was that the two accounts were created within an hour of each other.

and coincidentally (or not) the sole purpose of both account owners is to post in this thread.