Tips in Handling Client Demands

[glyzkie]

Hello everyone,

I have been a hobbyist for about 2 years. Just this year, friends starting paying for my service. It gave me an impression, that maybe, I am good that is why they are willing to pay for my services for their special events.

And so, just very recently, I decided to enter professional photography. My rate for the meantime is low (or at times for free because I package my photography service w/ our business events for free as a come on - although I now plan to charge extra if clients want to avail the photo coverage).

All in all, from the day I started getting paid, I had 5 gigs already (mostly 1st bday celebrations). As for the feedback, 2 were happy, while 2 weren't; the other one, i already gave the initial pictures but didnt give any feedback at all.

Now here are the questions:
1. As a starting pro photographer, are these experiences w/ unhappy clients just normal? And should this experience discourage me?

2, For the pictures, normally, the clients want to have it ASAP. I am then compelled to give the pictures the same day without filtering the nicer shots or do some photo enhancements. Is it ok to give pictures that arent enhanced? What do you guys do in giving the pictures to the client?

3. Now having experienced how critical/demanding clients could be, I realize that I am still a neophyte. And so, before I ruin my name (well, i do not dream altogether to be famous, but at least just reputable ), I was thinking if i could continue to offer my service for free (as an add on to our business events) just to build an inventory of experience from clients. I am thinking that at least, I would learn dealing with many types of clients w/o them being too demanding since they didnt have to pay for it. Do you think this is a good idea?

4. Or, do I need to stop this madness and just offer my services to friend? This is not my bread and butter so I think I should leave this to people who get their income from photography.

Would really appreciate your advice.

Thanks.

Glyzkie

[BigFuzzy]

Just as a warning, put on some thick skin as I believe this thread will get you some harsh (but probably needed) commentary.
Me.. I'm in a nice flowery mood (for once).

1. In general, though I've never had an unhappy client (probably more luck than skill), I'd imagine everyone has one every once in a while. Having said that, 50% of your clients have been unhappy, that's not good any way you look at it. So make sure you listen well to what they're saying they're unhappy about (since you don't say why here) and try to learn from it to make sure you do what you can to minimize it. Yes you should be discouraged, but use it as motivation.

2. WHY do you have to give it to them same day? Who says that, the client? That's what contracts are for. If you're not making contracts for your jobs, you're starting down a very bad road because you'll have no protection. I've never ever ever had a portrait session (as you seem to have had) that needed to be given to them that same day even if you agreed to give them ASAP. You should never ever ever ever ever (get it?) ever give a client your images until you're happy with what you're giving them which includes going through and deleting the bad ones and being able to do some editing. This, of course, does not include if you're shooting for editorial that needs to go to print NOW. It's ok to give your images not enhanced if they're good. But even the best of pros always do some editing prior to handing over the final product to clients. What do I do? I present the client with a proof (either in person or online) of my selection of images (ie removed bad ones) with watermarks (if online) so they can't steal them and print them. Then I let them choose which ones they want as part of the deal we agreed upon in the contract, then I either provide the prints or digital images depending on what you agreed upon in the contract (see why they're important?)

3. You will have differing opinions as to whether you should ever do work for free. I am one that believes you probably need lots of practice so it'll do you more good to do some jobs for free so there's less pressure on you. Either way, you need to have a contract about what they are to expect. I really really hope you use contracts with the "business events" though it doesn't sound like it or else you'd do it with the photography as well. You really need to learn about it and start using them to protect yourself, because no matter how picky/stupid/uninformed a client is, if you have a well-written contract you're protected.

4. This is tough to answer without knowing if you're any good. Looking at the fact that 50% of your clients have said they're unhappy tells me that in the very least you need lots of practice before you should consider selling your product seeing as the photos are part of your "business events" and if your images suck they'll reflect badly on your business as a whole because, in the end, all clients are expecting a good product, even if they get it for free. I'd rather pay a bit to get something good than get crap for free.

I hope this helps and is seen as the constructive advice it was meant to be.

EDIT: I looked at your images on DA, and to be honest the very few (three) proper portraits I saw weren't that great. Not bad for a beginner, but not great either. They all have exposure issues and I (if I'm being completely honest) really disliked your post processing, particularly the last one. This would lead me to believe you need practice photographing people before you start selling it as a product. And if you're shooting events such as 1st birthdays, please tell me you have a flash, and please tell me you're learning how to use it. I'd say you're almost guaranteed to do poorly most of the times in these circumstances without a flash (used well)

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by glyzkie

Hello everyone,

Hi!

I have been a hobbyist for about 2 years. Just this year, friends starting paying for my service. It gave me an impression, that maybe, I am good that is why they are willing to pay for my services for their special events.

False impressions from well meaning friends get a lot of people in trouble by causing them to "go pro" LONG before they're ready.

And so, just very recently, I decided to enter professional photography. My rate for the meantime is low (or at times for free because I package my photography service w/ our business events for free as a come on - although I now plan to charge extra if clients want to avail the photo coverage).

Terrible idea! 1. You're not only risking your reputation as a photographer, but you're risking the reputation of your existing business by offering sub-par services as a photographer. 2. If you're not ready to charge the "going rate" for photography, or any other service, then you're not ready to charge at all. 3. Giving your work away for free or at a low rate, aside from some charity events that you would support anyway, is also a really bad idea as it's hard to break out of when you're ready to start charging.

All in all, from the day I started getting paid, I had 5 gigs already (mostly 1st bday celebrations). As for the feedback, 2 were happy, while 2 weren't; the other one, i already gave the initial pictures but didnt give any feedback at all.

40% unhappy clients? That should really tell you something right there. My client list for portraits and events combined for 2010-present is 1485 people. Unhappy customers? Three! One of them is an idiot, and two of them were my fault. I fixed the problem and now there is really only one left unhappy.

Now here are the questions:
1. As a starting pro photographer, are these experiences w/ unhappy clients just normal? And should this experience discourage me?

No, not normal, unless you start before you're ready. Should it discourage you? Well, maybe not "discourage," but it should definitely serve as a wake up call with a heavy dose of reality.

2, For the pictures, normally, the clients want to have it ASAP. I am then compelled to give the pictures the same day without filtering the nicer shots or do some photo enhancements. Is it ok to give pictures that arent enhanced? What do you guys do in giving the pictures to the client?

Compelled? What, do they hold you at gun point? You tell them "It takes me [insert time frame] to select the best of the best and get them to you. In a form which presents you, your event, etc in the best light." Blah blah blah.

3. Now having experienced how critical/demanding clients could be, I realize that I am still a neophyte. And so, before I ruin my name (well, i do not dream altogether to be famous, but at least just reputable ), I was thinking if i could continue to offer my service for free (as an add on to our business events) just to build an inventory of experience from clients. I am thinking that at least, I would learn dealing with many types of clients w/o them being too demanding since they didnt have to pay for it. Do you think this is a good idea?

As I mentioned, you put your existing business at risk by providing any service that is not at the highest standard. In short, no I don't think it's a good idea.

4. Or, do I need to stop this madness and just offer my services to friend? This is not my bread and butter so I think I should leave this to people who get their income from photography.

Sounds like a good idea to leave it to others. That said, if you want to continue there are ways to go about it without giving your work away, even to friends. Read the forums for tons of ideas.

[SusanH1970]

Jim nailed it. Also, before you start offering your photography for any price, you need to have your photography skills honed. Practice on family and close friends. Once you have the technical skills down (correct exposure, good focus, correct white balance, thoughtful compositions, etc.) and your post-processing skills are also good, then you are ready to start portfolio building with other folks. At that point, you should be educating yourself on the business aspect. It's not just snapping photos and accepting a few bucks. When you have a decent portfolio and know what you're doing business-wise, you're ready to start charging, and not at a sub-par rate.

It's a tricky business to get into and I hate to see someone jump in over their heads and end up regretting it. Education is the key. Read up here, ask questions, post photos for critique. Best of luck to you!

[karen_s]

Great advice so far so I'll just add this tidbit on #3 ...

Originally Posted by glyzkie

3. Now having experienced how critical/demanding clients could be, I realize that I am still a neophyte. And so, before I ruin my name (well, i do not dream altogether to be famous, but at least just reputable ), I was thinking if i could continue to offer my service for free (as an add on to our business events) just to build an inventory of experience from clients. I am thinking that at least, I would learn dealing with many types of clients w/o them being too demanding since they didnt have to pay for it. Do you think this is a good idea?

First, I TOTALLY agree with Jim about risking your existing business. Second, no, I don't think it is a good idea. I really don't think any business client is going to be less demanding just because your product is free. They still have a reputation to protect and are still going to want a quality product, wether they pay for it or not. And in my own experience, I have found the opposite of what you suggest. The most demanding people I have worked with have been the ones in which my services were provided for free (a couple of not for profits and not photography).

Just an idea ... rather than offering the photography as a free service to gain experience, you might just write into your even contract (or whatever you business you have) that you will be shooting pictures of the event to document it for your business and nothing more. In other words, practice without consequence. As you shoot, maybe post some here on DPS for critique to improve your skills. Once you get to an acceptable level and getting good critiques, then move up to a service in which you can charge the going rate.

That's my 1 cents worth as my services aren't free

[glyzkie]

BigFuzzy was right when he warned me I should have a thick skin here. But what more could I not endure? Nothing is more stressful than a client telling you he/she is not pleased.

I really really appreciate the comments. Some very practical too. Ill surely put them in mind. And yes, i should post photos here for comments.

Thanks so much!

And for those who still want to comment here, would really love it. I need to hear what I need to hear

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by glyzkie

BigFuzzy was right when he warned me I should have a thick skin here. But what more could I not endure? Nothing is more stressful than a client telling you he/she is not pleased.

I really really appreciate the comments. Some very practical too. Ill surely put them in mind. And yes, i should post photos here for comments.

Thanks so much!

And for those who still want to comment here, would really love it. I need to hear what I need to hear

You got the message..good! I echo all the statements posted by the folks above

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by glyzkie

BigFuzzy was right when he warned me I should have a thick skin here.

The thickening my skin has been a wonderful side effect of my short time here in the forums. I may go into a business of my own someday and I really think it will be a plus.

And if it makes you feel any better, few people (if any) start at the top of their field and make no mistakes along the way. You just have to be able to take the criticism, challenge yourself to improve, and move forward.

[mshockley]

I'm stuck trying to imagine under what circumstances I would ever give someone my images before I proof and edit?.....I'll return if I come up with someone--don't hold your breath waiting....

[funcrunch]

Originally Posted by mshockley

I'm stuck trying to imagine under what circumstances I would ever give someone my images before I proof and edit?.....I'll return if I come up with someone--don't hold your breath waiting....

Unfortunately I've seen a fair number of bargain hunters on Craigslist who are looking for a photog to hand them their card with all the unprocessed images on it at the end of the event, and I'm sure more than a few eager beginners go for this.