Unhappy Customers

kellyanne1703

kellyanne1703

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Name
Kellyanne
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello


I did a Photoshoot for a friend & sister in laws children and she's not happy with the turn out of the photos!
I never charged her, told her I'm still learning, plus trying to take control of 5 children under 4 that didn't want there photos taken to start with no matter how much we bribed them!

I gave them both a cd of all the images fully edited whilst my friend is happy with the photos of her children her sister in law isn't! Cause her 2 are either sulking, crying or not looking! ( they really didn't want the photos taken)

I told them the editing will take 2 weeks as I work full time so can only do them in the evenings and at weekends! I had to rush *** they text me asking to have them 9 days later which gave me 1 weekend day to work on them. I've offered to redo them but can't help how the kids act.

What shall I do?
 
Tell her to F off.

The cheek of some people.... you did it for free, you explained you are learning.

If she wants a professional shoot then she can visit a professional and pay professional fees.

I read it that she is a friend's sister in law so she means nothing to you.
 
kellyanne1703 said:
Hello

I did a Photoshoot for a friend & sister in laws children and she's not happy with the turn out of the photos!
I never charged her, told her I'm still learning, plus trying to take control of 5 children under 4 that didn't want there photos taken to start with no matter how much we bribed them!

I gave them both a cd of all the images fully edited whilst my friend is happy with the photos of her children her sister in law isn't! Cause her 2 are either sulking, crying or not looking! ( they really didn't want the photos taken)

I told them the editing will take 2 weeks as I work full time so can only do them in the evenings and at weekends! I had to rush *** they text me asking to have them 9 days later which gave me 1 weekend day to work on them. I've offered to redo them but can't help how the kids act.

What shall I do?
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I suppose they want you to redo them for free (again).?? I know you say you are only learning, but you were kind enough to offer them the first time round for no charge, I think they are being a bit selfish to be honest. If her kids wouldn't behave and do as you asked, then I can't see why that is your problem!?!?! You did your best, for no exchange of money, spent time editing them, ALL FOR FREE, what more do they want?

Personally I'd tell her where to go, but if you don't want to risk falling out over it, offer to do them again (possibly for a small charge for your time) and ask her to stay during the shoot to keep her kids in under control and in check!!!

Some people just want the earth for free unfortunately........
 
You've done a free photo shoot to gain experience and hopefully to give your friend (who's happy with her results) and her sister in law (who's not happy) some nice shots of their children.

Unfortunately the friends sister in law isn't happy - that's a shame, but why do you feel you've got to do something. You haven't charged and they knew you were learning.

Look on the bright side, your friend likes her results :)
 
If you do redo them - whats to say the kids will be in a better mood this time?

You might be throwing good time after bad.
 
Has she complained to you about the photos, or has she just not used them?

Did they get arsey with you about time scales or was it a speculative text to you about how far into the PP you were?

From my understanding, there was no contract signed and no money changing hands (and therefore no contract implied) so you have no obligation of results, timescales or re-shoots. Chalk it up to experience and learn from it.

The only question you might want to ask yourself is would this effect your friendship with the friend and if it will, then does loosing that friend matter that much to you?

if the answers to above are NO, then the only answer i would give is "jog on".
 
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Wozzaaah said:
Ignore her. ;)
If her kids can't behave then that's her fault not yours.
Redo them? With an attitude like that towards a freebie I wouldn't even think about it. ;)
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This.

Tell her you're sorry she's not happy and that you did your best under the circumstances.
 
Tell them to take a flying F to themselves and add that you never see her whinging brats again it will be a relief.
 
For future info, you are the one taking the photos and you want them to be good so you need to be in control of the situation.
If the subjects are not doing what you're directing them to do then you need to sort it out with some firm but polite words, tell them that you won't get the results they want if the kids can't sit still and behave.
It probably didn't help that the kids knew you, chances are they would have been better behaved in front of a stranger in a studio. ;)
 
george g said:
Has she complained to you about the photos, or has she just not used them?

Did they get arsey with you about time scales or was it a speculative text to you about how far into the PP you were?

From my understanding, there was no contract signed and no money changing hands (and therefore no contract implied) so you have no obligation of results, timescales or re-shoots. Chalk it up to experience and learn from it.

The only question you might want to ask yourself is would this effect your friendship with the friend and if it will, then does loosing that friend matter that much to you?

if the answers to above are NO, then the only answer i would give is "jog on".
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She's complained about them cause she wanted them for a present for Mother's Day! If I knew that I would of said about going to see a pro!

It's hard as she's a friends but also the mother of my cousins children so its kinda hard :)

I said to her that it will take 2 weeks and I get a text the following Sunday saying she needed them for the Wednesday!! So I had that one day to do them all, and the photos I have done for some one else I had to put on hold again for these 2!

Never gunna do a favour for family friends again lol
 
Steve said:
Tell her to F off.

The cheek of some people.... you did it for free, you explained you are learning.

If she wants a professional shoot then she can visit a professional and pay professional fees.

I read it that she is a friend's sister in law so she means nothing to you.
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I'd love to tell her to :)
 
Guys guys, it's easy enough to tell her to f*** off, but what you have to consider is all of the factors and variables and try and picture it from her point of view where she.....

nah f*** it, tell her to f*** off
 
arclight said:
Tell them to take a flying F to themselves and add that you never see her whinging brats again it will be a relief.
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:lol:.......Brilliant...........:clap:
 
Difficult situation when it's family though. And depends whether you want to keep good relations Tell her a photograph is a capture of a single moment in time and that's what her children were doing at that moment.

Seeing as you were doing them for free she has no room for complaint anyway.

Arclight's is the nest solution though. :-)
 
Even with years of kids photoshoots behind me, 5 kids under 4 would be very challenging - let alone someone new to it. There will often be 1 not doing what you want, and even a top pro would struggle.

The fact you told her you were not a pro and was for free, means I can only echo what others have said.
 
We can all say how we'd love to tell her to Foxtrot Oscar, but however do you want to risk souring other relationships because of the one unreasonable woman, let's face it she will be the first to say to all she knows "oh X took photos of my wonderful little angels, and they were rubbish" when the reality was that the little brats were impossible :( this was a learning exercise and I suspect you'll have learnt a lot, what you should have said mid shoot is "look your kids are not playing ball, have a word with them try and cheer them up otherwise you'll not be getting any decent photos out of the session, as has been said a large part of portraiture is physiological getting the subject to relax and partake, maybe you need to work on that..

In this case, maybe off a reshoot but make clear that she needs to make sure her kids are going to be a part of the shoot this time
 
Sounds to me like someone has an over-developed sense of entitlement!

To be perfectly honest, I would be very cautious about giving even more of your time than you have. What you're risking isn't money or time, you're risking your branding.

Branding in business is like standing in the family. If you behave like a push-over, who others can take advantage of, then pretty damn soon that's how everyone will treat you. Once that's set in, it's a heck of a hole to climb out of.

When I first started in web development services, I offered cheap and sometimes free work in order to build my portfolio. I figured I'd up my fees later, once I'd become established. Unfortunately, through glowing recommendations, I became established as a soft touch. The only way out of that hole was to shut down my business and start a new one with realistic (and vastly greater) fees for my hours.

The problem with mixing family into your business is that you can't re-brand if you set off on the wrong footing.
 
There is no way you should tell her to f off or take a flying f.

IMO opinion these are responses for times of sudden extreme provocation when you've lost it completely, not in any circumstance where you have had time to consider your reply.

That said, the attitude of your friend's sister in law is totally unacceptable. My take on it is she wanted a Mother's Day present on the cheap and if she had liked the photos she would have got an even better deal as you did not charge at all.

Not to tell you up front why she wanted the photos is also not on, especially as she is probably aware you work full time.

I think the comment about saying it was the best you could do under the circumstances is the best action. Perhaps she may reflect why, under the same circumstances, your friend is happy with her photographs but she is unhappy with hers.

Dave
 
You say you are learning at present, presumably with a view to charging in the future.

One lesson you have now learnt is that it is not only about the photography, it is a great deal of people management, both the subjects and client expectations and perception.

As some one said, it is down to you to get the children to do what you need to produce the results, however with a reasonable size group, consider for the future splitting the families to different times or even days. Failing that keep one group in a different room while you shoot.

Perhaps you needed to spend a little time "bonding" with the children first?

Failure is always an option but should never be the chosen outcome. Perhaps you should have called off the shoot and said " let's reschedule for another day when they may be feeling a little happier".

You gave her a time scale for producing the finished work and you should not have allowed her to pressure you into working to her time scale. always under promise and over deliver i.e. you said two weeks and it would look good if you supplied the disc in less than that.

Telling her to "F off" whilst attractive is not on. This would only alienate you with both mothers and all their friends as they tell everyone how terrible a photographer you are. This won't help any future business plans.

Similarly what she wanted to do with the photos is irrelevant. you agree to take them.

If you want to keep your friend and help future plans offer a re shoot for the disgruntled mum but process them to a time scale you set and not hers.
 
mikeplow1961 said:
Difficult situation when it's family though. And depends whether you want to keep good relations Tell her a photograph is a capture of a single moment in time and that's what her children were doing at that moment.

Seeing as you were doing them for free she has no room for complaint anyway.

Arclight's is the nest solution though. :-)
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As photographers we get taken advantage of enough, the way I see it (and I might be being a bit 'black and white' about it) is the other person doesn't seem too adverse to ruining your friendly relationship, so why should you?
 
Politely offer a full refund for return of all copies of the images....then leave it. Tempting as it is telling them to do one won't actually help
 
Thats the point :thumbs:

It might hit home to them when they reply with "but I didnt pay anything!..."
 
MWHCVT said:
We can all say how we'd love to tell her to Foxtrot Oscar, but however do you want to risk souring other relationships because of the one unreasonable woman, let's face it she will be the first to say to all she knows "oh X took photos of my wonderful little angels, and they were rubbish" when the reality was that the little brats were impossible :( this was a learning exercise and I suspect you'll have learnt a lot, what you should have said mid shoot is "look your kids are not playing ball, have a word with them try and cheer them up otherwise you'll not be getting any decent photos out of the session, as has been said a large part of portraiture is physiological getting the subject to relax and partake, maybe you need to work on that..

In this case, maybe off a reshoot but make clear that she needs to make sure her kids are going to be a part of the shoot this time
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Hello

We had bubbles going, bribing with sweets the works, they just didn't want to sit or stand there lol I'm gunna redo them this weekend! If they don't participate I will tell the mother to tell her kids to sit! The most pain in the backside ones are the eldest two!
 
You did the shoot to learn how to take photos. Use this "complaint" to learn how to deal with unsatisfied customers. :) All part of being a professional.

Tell her that you are sorry that she was not satisfied with the photos and say that your friend should have explained that you are still learning and that you gave no guarantee regarding the quality of the photos.
Also tell her that you are doing the photo-shoots and editing in your spare time and that your timescales were made clear to your friend and unfortunately, due to other commitments, you cannot produce the edited shots in the new timescale which she has asked for.
If you want further practice you can offer to shoot (photographically :D) the children again, it will help you learn how to get the best out of awkward subjects and you need to learn that before you start charging.
If you do not want any more contact just leave it at the original photos.
 
It would be tempting to say you're very sorry about the results of the free shoot but thank her enthusiastically for the experience at getting the most out of the more miserable kids as it's one of the most difficult aspects of the job.

In reality though it's best to just apologise, reiterate that it was a free shoot for your own experience and thank them for their time.
 
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PsiFox said:
You say you are learning at present, presumably with a view to charging in the future.

One lesson you have now learnt is that it is not only about the photography, it is a great deal of people management, both the subjects and client expectations and perception.

As some one said, it is down to you to get the children to do what you need to produce the results, however with a reasonable size group, consider for the future splitting the families to different times or even days. Failing that keep one group in a different room while you shoot.

Perhaps you needed to spend a little time "bonding" with the children first?

Failure is always an option but should never be the chosen outcome. Perhaps you should have called off the shoot and said " let's reschedule for another day when they may be feeling a little happier".

You gave her a time scale for producing the finished work and you should not have allowed her to pressure you into working to her time scale. always under promise and over deliver i.e. you said two weeks and it would look good if you supplied the disc in less than that.

Telling her to "F off" whilst attractive is not on. This would only alienate you with both mothers and all their friends as they tell everyone how terrible a photographer you are. This won't help any future business plans.

Similarly what she wanted to do with the photos is irrelevant. you agree to take them.

If you want to keep your friend and help future plans offer a re shoot for the disgruntled mum but process them to a time scale you set and not hers.
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Obviously I won't tell her to F off that me not the sort of person i am but there's no reason I can't tell her in my head :)

It doesn't bother me what she wanted the photos for I just wanted the experience, I'm gunna try this weekend again to do the photos, by doing one child at a time!
 
boyfalldown said:
Politely offer a full refund for return of all copies of the images....then leave it. Tempting as it is telling them to do one won't actually help
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So what when there's no payment involved?
 
kellyanne1703 said:
Obviously I won't tell her to F off that me not the sort of person i am but there's no reason I can't tell her in my head :)

It doesn't bother me what she wanted the photos for I just wanted the experience, I'm gunna try this weekend again to do the photos, by doing one child at a time!
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We had a saying in one place.

Customers, can't live with them, can't knife them in the guts.
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