Difficult client wants all unedited photos... please help

[Piccell]

I'm honestly not understanding why this is so complicated. The OP made a promise to the clients; albeit perhaps an unintentional one, but a promise nonetheless. There are two options: (1) Ignore the client's request and suffer; or (2) honour your promise and take the time & work it will cost you as a lesson well learned! This could be the make or break point for a fledgling business, and how you handle this client may well determine your future. A satisfied client will tell a few people. A dissatisfied client will tell everyone he/she knows! Suck it up and do the right thing.

THIS^^^^

I cannot fathom anyone, professional or not, advising a professional photographer to lie to a client and in effect steal from them what was promised and therefore theirs by right.
Very unethical. You only have one choice as I see it, Complete the contract you entered into to the satisfaction of all parties.

 

[Dave442]

In this case I would deliver them and move on.
You do have the option to enhance how you want. Your website apparently said, "all images enhanced" so they can take it to mean you will supply every shot enhanced, not just the shots you selected and enhanced.

Many have noted on here that many clients often love a shot that you would never select. Put it on them to go through the other 400 shots to their hearts content. While I would like to say to enhance in B&W or such, the best option right now is probably just a basic preset applied to all the extra shots.

 

[dennybeall]

I was not being serious but if you resize the shots after PP you can fit quite a few on a 3 1/4inch floppy.

 

[The_Traveler]

I suggest you not lie or in any way fiddle your way out of the word of your contract.
Don't give them reduced size or crazy formats.
That will certainly backfire badly in some way when your clients realize they've been tricked.

Own up to your mistake, tell them you'll honor your promise and do so.
Give them nothing to whine or complain about because they would be right.

 

[petrochemist]

I was not being serious but if you resize the shots after PP you can fit quite a few on a 3 1/4inch floppy.

Resized versions that would fit on a floppy would not class as 'high resolution'.

 

[PersistentNomad]

I totally agree about not indicating a specific number that you will deliver, because then you might come across a session where you don't get that many usable shots, causing another headache.

For the crossover people from another thread this will be familiar, but I also have been grappling with this "how many of what do I deliver" question. With the clients I've already done consults with, I let them know that they will receive an amount commensurate to documenting the day. For weddings, it's generally going to be a few hundred depending on how long I was there and what all they had going on. But, in the contract, I have a clause saying the the amount of delivered images is at the sole discretion of the photographer.

 

[The_Traveler]

This may not be the overwhelming edit job you think. If you use Lightroom, you can edit one and then select a set to repeat the edits (synchronizing) in the Library module.
If you need more help just ask.

 

[jcdeboever]

I like dogs more than people...

 

[PersistentNomad]

@The_Traveler Not to totally derail this conversation, but I always have trouble getting the sync to work. Most of the time what ends up happening is the edited file reverts while the others don't change. Am I missing something? Instead what I've been doing is copy/pasting the history (found on the bottom left while in develop mode).

 

[The_Traveler]

It is a bit non- intuitive but it works.
Select the one with the edits, then add the others to the selection.
I have always edited the first one in the set, then use shift left click on the last in the set to select the rest.
The initial one, the edited one, will have a slightly slightly deeper color.
Then do the sync and you can actually see LR step through the files adding the edits.
LR is doing essentially what you did, pasting all the edits into each xmp.

 

[astroNikon]

I love the sync edit
As Traveler states you have to select the main one first
Then select one or multiple after that in any manner then sync with your sync selections. Works great and saves a lot of time.

 

[ClickAddict]

I don't use sync, I use copy and paste (Ctrl-Shift-C / Ctrl-Shift-V) for photos in the same set (Color correction / white balance...) and then go adjust individually as needed (skin retouching...) From what I've read it appears to work pretty much the same as sync, but seems more intuitive (Copy from one, paste onto others.)

 

[PersistentNomad]

Thanks guys, I'll have to try it again later. It's possible that I wasn't selecting the edited one first and that's why it wasn't working for me.

 

[astroNikon]

Thanks guys, I'll have to try it again later. It's possible that I wasn't selecting the edited one first and that's why it wasn't working for me.

Here's a list of available methods to do this ==> 5 Different Syncing Methods to Cut Down Workflow in Lightroom 4

There's a couple more ways I've read in the past but this will give you the flexibility that you want.

 

[Frank F.]

I feel deeply with you, because I know how difficult things can get if a customer was not clear on what he was buying in the beginning.

Earlier I thought this was the customers fault mostly, but then I had to learn the hard way, that it is all about the wording and the wording should be done by an expert in imaging rights, and educated lawyer of the country you operate in.

Then these terms of service should also be communmicated to the future customer before signing the contract.

Later changes or differing expectations of the participants are nearly impossible to communicate and will nearly always lead to conflict.

I know that is a lot of money and work and I know in a perfect world it should be much easier, yet we do not live in a perfect world, so we have to adapt.

Good luck this time & better luck with better preparation next time.

Frank

PS: After deleting the "picking the ear" shots I give my clients all camera JPEGs unedited in a seperate folder plus the amout of edits as many as written in the contract in another folder. All burned to DVD which is the product. I deliver professional paper prints on top if customer wish is for good prints, but I know that many customers are happy with bad prints from the cheapo drug store round the corner. That is their business.