When things go horribly wrong

joeymas

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phillysnaps.com
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This is an article from my blog I wanted to share.


I don't feel that anyone can run any type of business without having an unhappy customer at one point or another. When it comes to photography, there are a vast many things that can go wrong during the process of a job.

Fortunately for me, I have never had a really big job go south. By big I mean a wedding or commercial project. Knock wood on that one because at some point, it is bound to happen and the odds that they are going to cut the cake a second time are not good. lol. Today I want to discuss things that can go wrong for a photographer and how to handle these situations.

I have been taking photos for a really long time. I have worked with a vast amount of people and personality types. In all this time, I have only had 3 customers that I could just not satisfy no matter how hard I tried.

I have never had an issue with a customer where I charged my max rate for a job. Rule of thumb is that people are going to expect amazing results no matter if you charge them high or low so charge high and do the work. Never charge low and consider it an easy job because of the money a person paid. They will still force you to put your best foot forward and if you do not take the work seriously they are going to hold you to your standards anyway.

I told you that to tell you this so let's look at what goes wrong with a real job and how I handle it.

Equipment problems! Nothing in the world can save a job if your camera fails. I have been incredibly lucky in this respect. I always carry 2 camera bags with me and YES I have had to use the spare plenty of times. I have also resorted to bubble gum and tape to get through a job. If this ever happens the first thing you should do is look for the quick fix. If that fails then immediately inform your client of the issue and if need be, call every single photographer you know and either get this job handled by them or borrow what you need. If that fails, it is time to put your tail between your legs and refund the money. You are screwed!

I feel the worst situation I was ever in was after I shot an entire wedding and came home to find out that my memory card had corrupt and failed. Lucky for me, I was able to download software that repaired the card and saved my photos but I did have to sweat it out for 2 days while the computer chugged away. It was horrible. I now use multiple cards for large events. So if I lose one, I do not lose the whole day.

Lack of Content: This one is a classic. You are hired to shoot an event where there is nothing worthy of a photo happening. I have been to parties where the turnout was not as expected or people were simply not in the mood to have their picture taken. In this situation, man you just do your best, but also... Make note of this to the client. If you do not point this out as the event is happening, then rest assured, they will remember it differently and hound you for all the amazing photos they assumed you took. Communication is everything!!! - I once did an event like this and after delivery of 100 good photos that I salvaged from a nothing day, My client LOVED the work I did! Then the client called me 1 year later (while making an album) to tell me they were not happy with the amount of photos and demanded a refund. People forget. We must remind them as this happens and also again on delivery.

Expectations: One thing a photographer will always face are people that are simply not happy with their own appearance. They feel that if they hire a photographer that I will make them look like a super model. This promise is never made and should not be assumed. The promise is that I will take a great photo of what is presented to me on the day of the shoot. We can not solve a lifetime of insecurity by pointing a camera at you. This is like trying to save a bad marriage by having a baby. Clients like this will come into the studio and shoot very halfheartedly . Although I will do everything to make them comfortable and confident, they are going to hate every photo I take and the reason will have nothing to do with the quality of my work. As a photographer, their is nothing we can do to fix this. It is just your lucky day.... lol The best way to attack this to not make promises that you can not keep and work closely with your client in post processing. Easy as that.

Impulse:: I get this one often. We do a wonderful photo shoot or event and we send over proofs. Our client is pleased and everything is going swell. right? After the finals are delivered and in the client's hand, then they instantly hate the photos and demand money back. This a major no, no. If I were to give in, then the client has both the finished product and the money. The best way to handle this situation is to find out exactly what the issue is with the product. If the claim is legitimate then maybe we can re-edit the set, re-shoot the photos and so on. Exhaust all other options before returning money and make sure you agree with the actual problem. People tend to hire a photographer on impulse, and then after paying they will sometimes go through buyer's remorse. An unhappy client is an unhappy client, but we have to insure the complaint is valid before reacting.


As I stated above, I have not had too many complaints but this is part of being in business and I always like to think that I conduct myself in a very professional manner and give the client the benefit of the doubt.
 

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