„Just a few more photos as you are already here…” – how to protect yourself from a client, who wants more for less.
Regardless of whether you are a beginner or have been taking photos for some time, it may happen to you that a client will want to get more than what you have agreed, for the same price. In this article, we will show you how to protect yourself from such a situation.
„But it will just take you a moment.”
You have a client who wants you to photograph his wedding venue. You pack your equipment, finally you go there. On site, you set up your session and start taking pictures. The client seems to be satisfied and well prepared. He seems to be even better prepared than you have expected. He shows you other rooms and sceneries he has arranged, which he has not mentioned earlier. After a few minutes, it becomes clear he wants you to take photos you have not discussed when speaking about the session. "But it will just take you a moment" he says.
On another occasion, you go to a client who bought a family session from you. Everything goes well until the client starts to show you different items and asks you to take photos of them, obviously as a part of the session. He wants to use them on his website or at sales auctions. "Well, don’t exaggerate, you are here anyway," he says before you even try to oppose.
A frustrating service
Not to offend the client and to get money for the session, you take additional photos. The session takes more time than it was supposed to. Later, at home, you review all the shots, select the best ones from each series, process more photos than you had planned, and finally you send them to the client to make him happy. As a result, you spend a lot more time working on the session for the same amount of money, and you feel frustrated.
Sounds familiar? It is a problem that many photographers, both beginners and experienced ones, have encountered. By working with different clients you are exposed to it, so it is useful to know how to prepare yourself when such a situation arises.
Why do clients behave this way?
Very often clients don’t treat photography as a regular service. None of them would ever go to a hairdresser and ask for a free haircut for their son, just because “he is already here”. With photography, such behavior may come easily, because the clients simply don't know how much time you spend to take and process photos and how much work you put into being a professional photographer. They have no idea about costs of good equipment. After all, each of them has a camera at home and knows that taking a picture takes “one second”. The fact that their photos will look poor in comparison to yours, somehow escapes their mind…
How to protect yourself from such behaviour? Educate and have a good contract ready!
To avoid such situations, you should educate your clients first and then secure yourself formally. As part of education, you need to be clear about the service you offer. It is worth doing it on your website: describe exactly what the session looks like, how long it lasts, how much it costs, how many photos the client will get as a result and what is the price for any additional photos. It is also worth briefly explaining it to the client in person when he decides to use your services. You don't have to do it in a formal way – it is best to mention it during a conversation when you discuss details of the session. If the client has any doubts or was planning to use your time differently, he will have a chance to say it right away or think about it again and give up his idea.
It is then necessary to sign a well-structured contract, containing a clearly defined scope of the session, specifying the exact number of photos in the package, the price for the package and the price for additional photos. This way, the client will clearly see he is dealing with a professional photographer who is not easy to take advantage of. With such a contract signed, it will be easier for you to refuse to take additional photos if the client asks for them during the session and will not be ready to pay extra.
What else can help? A reliable online platform for sending photos to clients.
A good idea that will help you protect yourself from difficult clients is to use a good online gallery, which, apart from publishing photos, allows you to sell additional ones. Using such a platform, you can easily take a few additional shots if the client asks you to do so, and then charge for them. This is exactly what Photonesto does – it allows you to publish photos with watermarks protecting them and transfer them to the client. He then chooses which photos he wants to receive as part of the package and which he will buy as additional photos. This solution will satisfy both you and your client and will help you avoid many stressful situations.
Clear and understandable offer, a good contract and a reliable platform for transferring photos are three elements that will make your life a little easier. They will also help your clients understand the exact value of your service.
Author
Dagmara Budzbon-Szymanska