u/MissAuroraRed

My husband and I have been complaining for years about how there are so few quality ice cream flavour options at the grocery store, and how the few options we do have keep getting more expensive. Specifically, he wants fruit flavors that are just fruit. Not strawberry white chocolate cheesecake, just plain strawberry, and we don't have any options like this.

So I got him an ice cream making machine and 3 books about making ice cream for his 30th birthday. In the past, gourmet food gifts have gone over really well. Kitchen appliance gifts (from his mom)... not so much.

I just worry that it will feel like I've gifted him a chore, since he's not particularly interested in cooking or baking. I could take up the task of learning how to make the ice cream myself, but then it's like I bought it for myself.

This is really stressing me out because last year I majorly flopped on his birthday, and he always goes above and beyond to make mine special. He's the most wonderful husband ever and I absolutely cannot disappoint him again this year. Birthdays are really important to him.

We always bake each other a cake and write a heartfelt card, so that will also be happening.

I feel like I need one more little thing just to put my mind at ease. A secondary gift so it's not just the ice cream machine. What should I get???

Past gifts that went over well: Darn Tough running socks, high visibility running jacket, racing shorts, board games, escape room date, professional massage, gourmet nut butters, sauna/spa date, clothes he needed at the time (no current needs)

Things he likes: spas (none in our area), boardgames (we have a lot already), running (has everything he needs), bouldering (has shoes and gym membership), coffee, peanut butter, vegan treats (ice cream books include vegan recipes)

Things he does NOT like: videogames, alcohol

I'm also skilled in sewing, knitting and other crafts, but he doesn't need/want any more clothes and he's not into wearing knit sweaters.

Our wedding photographer sent us really low quality photos. In all seriousness, my cell phone takes better pictures. The close ups are okay, but the group family portraits are disappointing. I had one printed in 8x10" and it looks really bad.

I emailed her thinking there was a fixable mistake, like maybe the files were compressed by her editing software or by DropBox. She responded saying that it was her camera settings, apologized, and offered a refund. This really surprised me, so I declined the refund and insisted that she check the RAW files to see if they're different.

Here are some specs I can see from the file info, maybe someone here can shine some light on whether this is normal for a professional wedding photographer:

Size: between 0.6 and 1.2 MB

Dimensions: 4000 x 6000 or less

Dots per inch: 240 x 240

Camera brand: Fujifilm

Camera model: X-T2

Lens (1st camera): XF23mmF2 R WR

Lens (2nd camera): XF56mmF1.2 R

We asked guests to put their phones away and just be present in the moment, so there are no other pictures from the wedding at all. This is all we have, so I'm obviously distraught.

What might have gone wrong? Is there anything we can try to do to fix this.

UPDATE 1: This is how the photographer responded

"I’m afraid that RAW files do not exist. I have checked the quality of your photos to find that they have adequate resolution for printing, which is where the size of the files becomes most important. I, personally, think that the images are so great!

I know that you are concerned about the look of the group photos. There are many factors that affect the quality of a large group image. A wide angle-ish lens, such as the 35mm that I used to capture the group shots, kind of stretches out the edges unfortunately. Also, the lighting out on that back patio was harsh, with deep shadows, so I had to push the settings. It was less than ideal, but I think that most of them are so lovely! Finally, I shoot at a wider aperture, always- it’s my style.

I hope that you can enjoy your photos as they are. I’m so sorry that my camera settings were wrong as far as capturing RAW images. I could send a refund, if necessary."

UPDATE 2: She re-exported the files and they're more like 5-10 MG now, but they look the same to me. I honestly can't tell the difference at all.

So this leads me to believe that the people saying it's more an issue of excessive de-noisification and slightly out of focus shots are correct.

My understanding is that without RAWs there's not much more to be done except for AI stuff. It's a bummer but at least they're usable for social media or whatever (which I don't even use). I guess I'll print a tiny photo album of 4x6 images and learn to live with it. Thankfully some of the close up portraits of people's faces where the lighting was good are really nice, but there aren't a lot of those. It's better than nothing though.

I can't believe how much thoughtful advice I got here on Reddit though. You all really showed up for me, with some people even offering to edit them or run them through their AI tools. What a lovely community you have here. You have my sincere gratitude.