It caused a family feud

The man’s mother took to Reddit to share the story after a family feud unravelled, asking: “Is my son the a**hole for deleting his aunt’s wedding photos?”

She went on to explain that her 24-year-old son had reluctantly agreed to act as the photographer for the big day in exchange for $300.

However, a year after the nuptials, the photographer still hadn’t received payment for his work so he withheld the photos and went as far as deleting the files in a moment of anger.

The post read: “About a year ago, my son agreed to be the wedding photographer for my sister - his aunt. My sister is flaky at best and has a track record of saying one thing but doing another. 

“My son is no professional but took four years of photography in college, has won a few awards, and is quite talented. He only takes photos as a hobby now and has a regular "day job." He reluctantly agreed to shoot the wedding and said he would only charge my sister $300, which she said she would be happy to pay.”

The lady described the work her son put in on the wedding day and the days following.

She said: “My son arrives early, gets those "getting ready" photos, shoots the whole wedding and reception, and takes tons of group photos.

“Two weeks go by and no payment, but my sister wanted to know where her wedding photos were. My son said he had them, beautifully edited and ready to go on a flash drive but wasn't giving them up until he was paid. My sister said, "sure, okay, I'll get back to you."

“Fast forward A LOT, about eight months. My sister still had not paid my son and asked again about "her" wedding photos. 

“My son said the photos belonged to him until they were purchased. My sister pulled the "hook your aunt up" card and tried to get him to give her the flash drive containing all of his hard work (he spent hours and hours and hours the day of the wedding and on editing afterward). My son doubled down and said no.”

At this point, the relationship was strained as a series of other factors contributed to the sisters growing apart.

“During all this time post wedding, my sister had basically vanished from our lives. It was literally as if she replaced her family with her new husband's family.

“She wasn't coming to holiday gatherings anymore, not calling/texting like she used to, etc. Our mother had a health scare during that time, and it was nothing but crickets from my sister's camp. She showed no concern. 

“I was going through a divorce during that same time, and she didn't even check in to ask how I was coping.”

At this point, the son decided to delete the photos. When his aunt next asked for the photos, coming up to her one-year wedding anniversary she was furious to discover what her nephew had done.

The mum added that she was proud of her son for standing his ground as his aunt had never really shown any interest in him or any of her children, but he was left with feelings of guilt.

Commentors were mostly supportive of the son. One user said: “She would have been sued if she had gone with a professional wedding photographer as they always make the couple sign a contract.”

Another agreed: “I don’t mind doing things as a favour now and again, but that’s not a favour, that’s a service – a very expensive one for that matter. Just $300 for a WHOLE wedding session is a steal, but she wanted to do a literal steal by not paying at all – the audacity!”

However, one commentor said he should have at least warned his aunt of his intentions to delete the photos. They wrote: “I would have felt a bit better if he had given her a warning – “pay by X date or I will delete them”. Deleting them on a whim seems especially harsh.”