Client broke contract, stole images now what?

[KmH]

You'll save gas too, since that will really limit trips to the bank to make deposits.

 

[lschaaf]

Good luck with your wedding Jess. Try not let this affect your shots, I think you're e-mail was well written. They are only doing what the majority of our clients are doing...they just got caught!

Bottom line, if the music industry with their bottomless wallets can't stop copyright violations, we're not going to be able to stop it and are naive to think (not you Jess, pro photographers in general) that because a contract says no copies, people are going to abide by it. Heck, 20 years ago I was taking photos of our horrible family portraits and creating B&W prints in my kitchen darkroom. At the time, I didn't think twice about it. It's been around for a long time.

So what can we do? Number 1, like it's been said, don't do online proofs. I can screen capture almost anything, so if someone has similar software, they can make a copy to e-mail grandma, watermark or not. Price yourself so you're getting paid whether they buy a lot of prints or not, either by higher session fees or minimum orders. Go with the flow, offer free Facebook sized digital files with a minimum purchase (or for small fee).

This is the one that works the best for me mentally - I realize they aren't going to spend more money. If they are thrilled w/the photos and maybe scan/download a few proofs to their desktop to show people, it's more advertising for me! Again, my mentality is I can't stop it, it's so prevalent and encouraged by their friends and family, what can I do to minimize the negative impact to my business. I have recently been telling my clients they can download the sneak previews on my blog to send to their friends. Great pics, great experience, great friends and family base, hopefully will add up to great new clients!

I know there are a lot of studios that will disagree with my posts, but I tend to think the teens and twenty-somethings will expect more and more digital rights as they become the primary clients, so I'm trying to find the best way to work that into my philosophy, marketing, and packages.

 

[jess28]

Well, the wedding went much better than I expected. The bride apologized again when I got there, and thanked me for showing up. She said if it were reversed she wouldn't have come.

In the end I was too busy to have time to remember that I was annoyed. It was chaotic and exactly what I expected as far as personalities went.

I also decided to drop Backprint as my printing company and move to Zenfolio with MPix for fulfillment. Backprint still has not corrected the issue that allows images to be right clicked and saved from one area without the watermark. When I contacted them this morning they told me it would be 30 days or more to fix it, which is completely unacceptable. I had heard many good things about them, and their security, which is why I chose them in the first place, but have had nothing but hassles. I'm guessing there is a reason so many people on here suggest Zenfolio.

Thanks again for all of the support and advice in here, it is all very appreciated!

 

[msf]

Yep, looks like I am learnign that the hard way. I online upload high res on Backprint so they can order without me having to upload anything. Apparently Backprint has a glitch that when you add an image to your cart it removes the watermark so you can choose a custom crop for the one you order. From there it can be clicked and saved.

On the plus side at least she told me how she did it so I know from now on. I was wondering how she removed watermark from across the entire image.

I also think in person proofing is a great idea, and will be going with that.

Form now on I will make sure only low res goes online and will just go back and upload hig resolution for the ones that are ordered. Lesson learned.

A bonus for showing the pictures in person is you can help them buy more.

Eventually I want to have a large screen tv, and show clients the pictures on that. I wonder how much you can wright off tax time for this.