p.1 #1 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
I recently received an email from a girl from a recent engagement session stating that she was displeased with how she looked in the photos. Before the session, she had stressed the importance of having her hair and make-up done before the shoot with a professional hair/make-up artist. At the last minute, the artist canceled due to sickness. We tried to reschedule, but she wanted the photos done ASAP and I couldn't accommodate another weekend date anytime soon. So, we went ahead and did the session.
Two weeks later, she sends me an e-mail asking if the photos on the proofing site have been "edited" and if I'll be posting anymore. I responded saying they have and that's it. She sends a long e-mail in response saying how unhappy she is with her appearance and all she can focus on are her acne issues (which I don't see, personally) and that it's nothing against me. She said she felt very confident the day of the session and it's not coming through in her photos.
Honestly, this girl has better skin than I do and her make-up was minimal, but good. I don't do hardcore skin edits on all images turned over to the client because it's not my style. I do minimal edits (teeth whitening, brighten the eyes a bit, maybe delete a nasty zit, etc...) and I believe my portfolio reflects that. We even discussed this at the meeting; that I do global edits, not in-depth portrait editing. If clients get a print of something, I'll edit more if needed so issues aren't glaring in large prints.
So, I'm at a loss. I'm contemplating offering to reschedule the session so she can work with a hair and make-up artist, but I'm not sure it would help things. Do I offer her deposit back? Her wedding isn't until next year, so she could very easily book someone else. I'm also going back through and trying to edit some other things out, but she has pretty good skin. Other than slimming her down (she is pretty curvy), I'm not sure what else to change.
p.1 #3 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
This has red flags written all over it. If you don't want to return the deposit and back out of the wedding entirely, then you'd best get used to explaining to her that you think she looks great and you don't do major edits, because you might end up saying that a lot after the wedding, too.
p.1 #7 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
Her skin is fine. Her self-perception is not. She might work through this and be just fine by the wedding, but she might not. Only you can tell if it'll be worth the headache.
p.1 #9 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
Thanks for posting the image. I certainly can't see any acne issues. I wonder if it's a monitor problem. The only thing I can think of is to either print a few off and visit her so she can pinpoint where she thinks the problem is or invite he to view the images on your monitor and ask her to point them out there on there. Actually definitely print off one say 8x10 so she can see it better.
I do think you need to sit with her with a coffee to find out exactly what is going on before you cut her loose entirely.
p.1 #10 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
Hmm, I cant see a problem with her skin. You have two options:
Find out if there are any other concerns she has - people can be very indirect about a problem sometimes,
or
Consider wether or not you can make her a happy client because if its not possible for you to give her a product she is happy with then.......
p.1 #11 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
If it was me, I would tell her I'm having trouble seeing the issue she's referring to and could she tell me which picture really shows the issue. Then I'd zoom in and see if I could see it. Is it perhaps old acne scars?
p.1 #12 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
I hope your contract states the scope of any post work. Restate what you do for the money and give her the details of a retoucher. Then decide if you want to shoot this wedding.
p.1 #15 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
I certainly wouldn't abandon ship because of this 'red flag'. How about getting to the root of the problem, understanding it, addressing it and earning her trust? Easier said than done, of course.
Her skin looks good to me, I'm not 100% convinced it's the problem she has.
Mark_L wrote:
I hope your contract states the scope of any post work. Restate what you do for the money and give her the details of a retoucher. Then decide if you want to shoot this wedding.
p.1 #17 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
I just did a senior shoot where the mom also asked "are these edited?" And had a lot of the same comments about her son's acne and "allergy eyes" that really weren't very apparent to me. In reality he did have a lot of acne but the amount of post was in line with my portfolio. Actually I had done more on his face than I typically do but she wanted all traces of acne gone. She said she wanted to talk more in detail but then it got put off because she was sick and then next thing I know she's ordering three gallery wraps with the caveat that she wants more blemish removal. That's fine.. I'm not going to be like, "I am an AR-TISTE!!" She's been very polite the whole time and it's all about her being happy so I'll do it but I am going to start bringing attention to editing and expectations in my future preconsultations.
p.1 #18 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
I had this issue with a bride that was a sixer's dancer. I thought she looked beautiful in the photos and she didn't. She felt that her makeup didn't look the way that it really was on the wedding day. So, I asked her to send me some photos where she felt she really looked good (Facebook photos, photos from friends, etc.). What I noticed from the photos she sent was that mine were a little too warm and it made her skin a bit orange. I ended up cooling down the photos and she loved them.
As photographers we look at photos differently than our clients. Have her send some photos to you that she likes of herself and maybe you can pin point the issue and fix it. The photos that my bride sent me weren't quality photography, but the common denominator was cool skins tones.
p.1 #19 · Attack of the girls with low self-esteem...
Yeah, from what I can see her skin looks great.
morby wrote:
As photographers we look at photos differently than our clients. Have her send some photos to you that she likes of herself and maybe you can pin point the issue and fix it. The photos that my bride sent me weren't quality photography, but the common denominator was cool skins tones.
