Category Archives: Photo Shyster

Honeybee Retreats aka Stylized Shoots with Sarah Elizabeth Photography aka Sarah Elizabeth Photography in

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeybeeretreats
Website: https://www.sarahelizabethphotography.us/new-page/

**Note: there are two companies using the name Honeybee Retreats this is referring to the styled shoot/workshop one that doesn’t have much of an online footprint, instead it is hosted on Sarah Elizabeth Photography’s website**

Here we are in with yet another disaster of a workshop/styled session/retreat/whatever-the-fuck-cutesy-name-you-want-to-call-it, this time featuring Honeybee Retreats which is run by Sarah Elizabeth Photography based in NE Georgia.

Much like similar international retreats with Julie Paisley and Sallee Photography, Honeybee’s international retreats have not gone anything like the attendees thought it would and the chatter has been growing and growing.

Originally I was going to cover it on the Substack but, surprise surprise, they used images not from their styled shoots/owners to advertise with, leading to a lot of confusion over a location so we’re on the blog instead.

Update 5/3/2024: Rewrote a bit (Sarah I know you’ve already got your screencaps) as things were cleared up/clarified after talking more with the photographers, listening to their story on Slow Shutter Podcast and researching more, added more receipts (literally and figuratively)…

Update 5/6/2024: It just doesn’t end. Added more information for previous styled shoots this happened with when Sarah ran Stylized Shoots with Sarah Elizabeth Photography (who is based in Georgia).

Update 5/7/2024: The Shoot and Sip podcast talked about their experience in Greece and I updated the information for that section. Added Tulum stolen photos. Slow Shutter Podcast also released a recap episode after their 3 episode interview with some of the attendees.

Update 11/25/2025: It’s been a while but shit has just kept going with Sarah Elizabeth Photography / Sarah Elizabeth Rutherford and her retreats.

Update 11/25/2025: It’s been a few months since I’ve updated about Sarah Elizabeth Photography // Styled Shoots by Sarah // Sarah Elizabeth Rutherford but apparently I need to update this post. 

  • Moved things around so the timeline is chronological. 
  • Added a styled session in 2019 she did not show or refund for after she was in jail.
  • Added 2020’s brides that allegedly did not receive photos from Sarah Elizabeth Photography. 
  • In May Sarah commented to The Vendor Table claiming that styled shoots don’t equal wedding experience while at the same time posting images from Scotland to her feed claiming they were elopements. 
  • Added the mess in May 2025 with Chateau de Michellia. 
  • 8/2025’s Great Marsh Estate was cancelled and not all clients were refunded. 
  • Sarah now only will accept payments that can’t be disputed. 
  • More stolen images are used without permission AND fed into Google’s Gemini AI to create an ad for her Ireland Retreat in 2026.

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White Oak Images aka White Oak Photo Co aka 422 photo + film in Warren, OH

Website: https://www.whiteoak-images.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteOakImages
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiteoak_images
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white.oak.images/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white.oak.photoco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/422photofilm/

**THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH WHITE OAK PHOTOGRAPHY IN MORROW, OH WHO IS A REPUTABLE PHOTOGRAPHER!**

The story here isn’t stolen images, although there are those at play here too but mostly it’s just ads that I’m aware of that have images not taken by Victoria Karlovic aka Tori / White Oak Images originally. There is also some issues of associate photographers and second shooters who have had their work featured on White Oak Images’ website when they never signed a copyright release to Tori and often it was a one off when filling in at the last minute under the guise of an emergency.

I live in the same service area as White Oak Images and I’ve been watching over the past few years as the complaints roll in on the local wedding groups and then curiously disappear just as quickly. Today was one of those days where one bride posted their experience with White Oak Images / Tori and then the floodgates opened and the comments were lit.

The OP posted that Tori / White Oak Images canceled on them last minute for their engagement session and then the night before their wedding said she wasn’t going to be able to make it but then she ended up showing up, although she was late. Then after the wedding there was a delay in getting the video to them and the whole experience with Tori was not professional in the least.

Other clients commented similar stories – down to the same excuse for canceling on them last minute despite their weddings being years apart. In the past the complaints have been the same but since the posts are now gone you’ll have to take my word for it.

Photographers commented and privately messaged me about how White Oak Images was consistently reaching out last minute (anything from 2 days before to hours before) to cover as a main or second photographer at weddings.

Photographers also told me how there was a styled shoot (possibly more than one) that didn’t take place and wasn’t refunded.

Photographers also reached out to me privately to state that Tori was slow to pay them when they did fill in last minute and getting their memory cards back was another hassle.

Wedding Planners chimed in stating their clients have had issues with this company as well, particularly with cancelations at the last minute.

While the original client posted in a few places, one post was removed, one post had comments turned off and one post remains that I can see. I’m sure they will all be gone soon enough so I’m just done watching local brides not have all the information prior to booking. So here we are. Now they can make informed decisions on their wedding photographer.

Total last minute cancellations for weddings starting in 2022 due to being sick/injured/dog emergency/misc: 35 (prior to the update in May, I give up counting now).

Cancellation reasons: Dogs (bite on hand or emergency vet visit) 8 times, appendix burst 3 times, grandma in hospital with heart attack 7 times, family emergency 3 times, family member in hospital 3 times, covid 3 times, generic sick 8 times, stomach bug/food poisoning 6 times, miscarriage (her own) 3 times, miscarriage (employee) 4 times, scheduling mishap 1 time.

Also while we’re on the numbers: complaints about missing footage or photos 25 times, missing second photographer 5 times, late delivery on photos and/or video 20 times, late to wedding 10 times, left early 8 times, associate or second photographer inappropriately dressed 6 times.

TLDR; This photographer often bails at the last minute sending in someone that she likely found the night before or day of to cover for her, usually when she’s overbooked herself. Often claims to be sick but also has a lot of dog emergencies and random other excuses.

Update 1/12/2025 – I’m told that Tori is working out refunds and cancellation agreements with clients for 2025. There’s already at least 2 dates she is/was double booked for for 2025 and all thought they were booking Tori not the associate package.

Update 5/27/2025 – I shouldn’t be surprised and yet somehow I am that this past weekend there was another instance of Tori being overbooked and sending in an associate whom she was searching for as late as Friday night for a wedding Saturday. There’s also been small updates that I’ve noted on Substack but haven’t updated here that I’m adding now since I’m here already. After this past weekend’s wedding mess was posted more clients found out that they’re booked with an associate via a post that Tori made to her social media and they didn’t hire an associate and are not happy. It’s a mess.

Update 9/7/2025 – While this summer has been better for Tori there are still issues and clients are beginning to come forward that are owed refunds. I updated a ton of info from weddings in 2024 that were still hesitant to come forward at the beginning of 2025 when the post initially went live and what has been going on this summer.

Update 9/8/2025 – After my post yesterday I had a guest come forward from a wedding on 7/26/2025 and say that Tori was also a guest at the same wedding. On Tori’s initial list, this wasn’t an associate wedding but from her post on Instagram it appears another photographer shot the wedding. It’s unknown if the client knew she was getting another photographer or not.

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Julie Paisley Photography / Julie Paisley Education

THIS PHOTOGRAPHER HAS NOT STOLEN PHOTOS!

Yes, this is who I was talking about yesterday on the Substack.

Julie Paisley is a film photographer who has been around for quite a while and is well known within the film community. She’s part owner of Hybrid Co., has lead a shootout at WPPI, she leads workshops (she calls them retreats), she sells a ton of shit (online courses, notebooks, cards, vintage books, layflat mats…), and is an author (memoir and a never-actually printed Paris guide). I’m sure there’s things I’ve missed.

Over the weekend someone that booked a photography + mentoring session with her posted in a Facebook Group asking for advice. They’d booked with a prominent photographer and after asking other photographers for advice it was discovered there were a lot of people experiencing a similar issue with this photographer. So they posted to the group and it kind of exploded from there. It was brought to me and I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it at first since she is allegedly battling some health issues.

I posted the story to Substack without naming names and decided that the decision would make itself known to me. As the day progressed I got more and more stories and it became overwhelmingly obvious this isn’t just a couple people having an issue. Then one person turned the tides and I decided to go for it.

There’s a multitude of issues at hand here but overwhelmingly it’s people not getting what they paid for and often not getting refunds.

I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg here. I kind of feel more like I’m on Ocean Gate instead of the Titanic at this point. All I need is a Logitech controller…

The easiest way for me to tell this is via timeline I think. I don’t know. Fuck. Continue beyond the jump and I apologize in advance for the chaos.

Updated 10/9/2024 : Added more stories, added more updates, added more WTF below. It was going to be in the newsletter like it was last week but hot damn, there’s just too much.

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Lenaria Photography in Anderson, IN

Website: https://lenariaphotographyindiana.mypixieset.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lenariaphotography
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenariaphotography/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lenaria-photography-fortville

Location: Based in Anderson, Indiana ish. She’s also had Fortville and Fishers as locations as well.

Other Areas She Advertises/Has Booked: All of Indiana, Illinois (she was in a Chicago based group), Missouri, Washington (Seattle), North Carolina and likely more areas I haven’t found yet.

After my post about Well Kept Design I got a few messages from people wanting me to look into Lena because she has a similar shady track record as a photographer.

The complaints are varied but all basically boil down to me not even letting my ex husband book this photographer. Stolen photos, last minute cancellations, no showing, overbooking, not paying photographers, not refunding clients, faking her Mom’s death, booking multiple photographers for her own wedding and cancelling last minute for various reasons, and just flat out not being professional.

Lena has been changing her name often on Facebook to avoid the comeuppance coming for her or to possibly evade getting booted from the hundreds of wedding related Facebook pages she’s in. She’s currently using Lena Ralston but has gone as Lena White and Lena Ervin.

This post took me almost 6 HOURS to write. So buckle up and figure out below where I finally lost my cool with all of these terrible stories.

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Well Kept Design in Summerville, SC and Lancaster, PA and Pigeon Forge, TN and more

Website: https://wellkeptdesign.mypixieset.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellkeptdesign/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellkeptdesign/?hl=en
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/well-kept-design-summerville

I cannot tell you how many times Well Kept Design has been sent in to me over the years. It never fails that something always happens when I’m swamped with weddings and I can’t get a post up.

I finally have a tiny smidgen of downtime and the thieves I was working on seem to have taken down their images so I thought it was about time I posted about Amber.

Much like her partner, Whitney (YES), Amber’s history isn’t focused just on stolen photos (although they have been part of the story) but more about her repeated backing out of sessions, not delivering sessions and not refunding when she doesn’t deliver or ghosts the client.

So grab the beverage of your choice, get comfy and your scrolling finger ready.

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