Strange Crops????

[smoke665]

@Desert Rose so you'd be ok with name attached to work you believed was in bad taste?? I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch of imagination, but I own/owned several successful businesses over the years. When dealing with a new customer it was "my" responsibility to showcase the services/products I provided and to do my best to accommodate that customer's needs. However there were times when the customer's requests were so far off that it was better to walk away.

 

[Desert Rose]

Nope. I don't do work where others make any of the decisions about the end result. Weddings are a no win situation when the clients want tacky pics. You provide the bad pics and ask that your name not be associated with them but you can't know if they tell friends that ask who took the pics or you refuse and refund the money and are creating a possible law suit where you are named for damages beyond the cost of the pics due to the nature and cost of a wedding.
Photographers don't get paid enough to do weddings to be worth my time.

 

[smoke665]

. I don't do work where others make any of the decisions about the end result.

you refuse and refund the money and are creating a possible law sui

I'm confused because in one comment you seem to agree that the photographer can and should take the lead in guiding the client on the type of work they do but then seem to waffle when it comes to a wedding. If you've done your initial visit/contract correctly then it should be known in advance you don't do tacky shots, and you have the final approval.

Granted all of my business was B2B and contractual but we still had those customers who would attempt to deviate from the terms. Lawsuits are unfortunately an ugly side of being in business, I didn't seek them out, but I didn't run from them either. I found that with clear concise contracts specific to my servives and written documentation of issues and resolutions, most threats were minimal.

I also realize that weddings are highly charged emotional events and rational thought on the part of the client are likely absent. I'm not a professional paid photographer, nor do I ever intend to be, but if I were it would be operated on sound business principles. There are many paid professionals on this site, that are quick to echo the same comments to aspiring photographers. Unfortunately there are many (including the one in my OP) who also believe that a camera and a little equipment puts them in business without concern for the mundane and boring aspects of running a business. Those are the ones that will likely find themselves in a courtroom without a leg to stand on!

 

[dennybeall]

I guess I'm a photographer, not an ARTIST, so what the client wants is what they get. As long as it's not in bad taste or illegal.
No problem with being an artist, just not what I am.