Help, angry customers and bad word of mouth...

[oldwolf]

If you don't like your work and don't think this represents who you are as a photographer and know that you can do better then reschedule the shoot. It's your business. You are in charge. Take responsibility for your actions. You don't have to make excuses for the pictures. Just tell them that you don't think this represents who you are as a photographer and you'd like to reschedule the photoshoot at no "extra" charge to them.

You can't let the customer push you into doing something that you know will turn out bad in the end. If they insist then tell them, "We can go check out the location but if the conditions aren't right then I would rather not continue with the shoot because I want to give you the best product for you money." You will usually never get someone arguing for a subpar product for their jhard earned money.

If she keeps looking at her mom then redirect her attention to you. Don't tell her not to look at her mom (this might piss mom off) but tell her where to look. The model doesn't always have to look directly at the camera to make an impact but the photographer has to direct them to do what they want.

If you don't like the pictures because it makes her look bigger then have her turn her body a quarter of a turn away from the camera then turn just her head towards you. You are in charge. If she insists on a pose and you think it will be really unflattering then take it. The customer wanted it. They just have to realize that they wanted the picture and not you.

As for waiting for mom to call or if you should call? I'd call them. Take the initiative. This will catch her by surprise and she can't build up any steam to yell, scream and complain. Most of the times when people do complain, they've already been thinking about it for a long time and they just blow up because it's been building and they're prepared to yell, scream and complain. If you catch them when they aren't ready then it's not as bad.

Again, you don't have to tell them you screwed up, the camera screwed up or they screwed up. Just tell them that after careful consideration, you are not happy with your work and you would like to do a reshoot at no extra charge.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[KodiakStar]

Take my comments for the .02c they are worth, since I do not sell my work, or ever plan on doing so.

Should they complain, I suggest you schedule a time to meet with them face to face. Over the phone, it is easy to get worked up and yell, and would be seen as you taking time out of your day to make things right for them.

First, ask them what they are not happy about, take notes if you need to. While it may be done in anger, you can learn a lot from the customers side of why they are not happy.

Then rather then offering them the horse, buggy, and all the goods, ask them "What can I do to make you happy?"

Maybe it will be such that you only have to give them a couple of free prints, or do some additional post work. But in that case you are catering to their needs directly, so in the end they can say that you took time to find out what they wanted, and made it right for them. It gives them that feeling that they are special as customers, and not just another job.

Again. Just my .02c

[katsclass]

I showed them approximately 50 I thought were good, they were especially fond of 15 or so...

[jdepould]

If they liked 15, what are they complaining about? That's a lot of pictures for a senior portrait shoot. I wouldn't do anything if they don't complain to you. Who knows what was really said to whom. It's like playing telephone.

[metalpam]

I think those shots are lovely but I would contact them, say you heard they were unhappy and thst you're hoping to make them happy. Ask them what they're not happy with and offer ONE reshoot.

Personally I don't know why they're unhappy but I think it's worth the effort to try and make them happy. But don't let them take advantage of your kindness either!

[valleygirl]

I'm not sure how to advise you, but wanted to say that a great majority of the photos of this session in your Flicker account are fabulous. I guess maybe the mistake was showing her some of the not-so-great ones. One of my problems is being eager to please, and trying to give the client the most proofs I possibly can from a session, so that they feel they got their money's worth. What I need to start doing is giving them less to choose from, and making sure every shot is perfect.

Find out first of all what she doesn't like. I am guessing it's a body image thing, in which case, there isn't much you can do. Maybe offer to retake the photos, but don't allow them to choose from this batch if you do. Most photographers who retake will discard the first session.

Anyway, I think that there are plenty in the Flicker account that she would be pleased with, so I don't really know what she is concerned with.

[Saralonde]

Sometimes making the customer happy is the best idea, even if you don't make any money on the deal. Your reputation can be worth more. Everyone is right about an unhappy customer telling people you did not do a good job. All you need is your name to come up in a causal conversation and someone saying, "Well I heard so-and-so was not happy with the job she did." Would you want to go to a photographer with even the slightest hint that they didn't do a good job? Competition out there can be tough.

You have some nice shots on your flickrsite. Lauren may be right about it being a body image thing. Some people expect to be Heidi Klum in the finished shot.

Just make sure from now on you never show them anything unless it's your best. I'm not sure the one at the top of this thread is the best in the set from what I see on flickr.

I think Kodiakstar's idea of asking "What can I do to make you happy?" is a good one. They may surprise you (in a good way!).

[Nathan deGargoyle]

Not diplomatic but being honest.....


She's a big lass and the clothes she's wearing do little to flatter her. Tell her that if she wants to look good in her photos she should diet and get some dress sense.

[katsclass]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

Sometimes making the customer happy is the best idea, even if you don't make any money on the deal. Your reputation can be worth more. Everyone is right about an unhappy customer telling people you did not do a good job. All you need is your name to come up in a causal conversation and someone saying, "Well I heard so-and-so was not happy with the job she did." Would you want to go to a photographer with even the slightest hint that they didn't do a good job? Competition out there can be tough.

You have some nice shots on your flickrsite. Lauren may be right about it being a body image thing. Some people expect to be Heidi Klum in the finished shot.

Just make sure from now on you never show them anything unless it's your best. I'm not sure the one at the top of this thread is the best in the set from what I see on flickr.

I think Kodiakstar's idea of asking "What can I do to make you happy?" is a good one. They may surprise you (in a good way!).

I agree on kodiakstar's suggestion, and I purposefully did not put the best up there, I guess I thought it was medium as far as the shoot went so a good representation overall. I'll reshoot if they really want me too, but they will not have the option of any of these shots. And I am going to initiate the conversation through a simple courtesy call asking what they thought of the experience overall.

In all honesty, I think there is a 2 part issue here- 1. her body image
2. A very good friend of hers was planning on getting hers taken with me but found someone cheaper so she went with her, her loss. But they got all of the shots in 4x6's a free album, blah blah blah- things I never promised, and in all honesty the shots don't have any pp, but they are decent, the photog has a good eye- both girls are in my hubby's youth group so I've seen them. They got all this for $100. And there was a kindof shot that they wanted that the friend got that we weren't able to get because it was a staircase coming up out of the ground, there was little available light and I wasn't going to use fill flash. And her friend is skinnier than she is and it simply wouldn't have looked good.

Third problem is some of these simply don't meet up to my standards and this shoot overall isn't as good as others I have done, which makes me want to say let's reshoot, but I don't what problems would actually be solved if we did this. Up until now, I was getting the rep of the new cutting edge creative photog in town. I don't want that ruined, so I will do whatever it takes...

Thanks for the support and insights,

[katsclass]

But in all honesty there are flattering ways to pose different body types, does anyone have any suggestions?