joosay wrote:
...
Slightly off-topic, I went to a wedding expo with a friend who is getting married (they don't want me working the wedding so I can enjoy it), and saw so many selective coloring work on albums Cringefest.
Was it the quality of the process, or the fact that some photographers don't care for the look?
RJKphoto wrote:
Selective color has been around since hand colored B&W portraits, and it will continue to go in and out of fashion. Just because you don't like it now, doesn't mean your PAYING CLIENT should be denied what SHE wants.
Look at it this way, there's a better than 50/50 chance the couple will end up divorced anyway, and the photos will be discarded...
MarcAnthony wrote:
Oh God. You are all full of sh*t. Seriously. This is the only request I've gotten but if I can get it you all can or have and won't admit it for some stupid reason.
Can't wait to meet you. I bet you're lots of fun to be around.
I think we need to get over ourselves. Look what I found that a client did to a photo of mine after I told them I don't do any sorts of effects on my work and recommended that they stay true to the image....
Did they pay my regular fee? For sure! Was I the wrong photographer for the job? Maybe. Do I care? NO! Were they happy in the end? YES!
bthatton wrote:
I think we need to get over ourselves. Look what I found that a client did to a photo of mine after I told them I don't do any sorts of effects on my work and recommended that they stay true to the image....
Did they pay my regular fee? For sure! Was I the wrong photographer for the job? Maybe. Do I care? NO! Were they happy in the end? YES!
as I was asked as well. I just said it's not my thing. We moved on in that regard. Most aren't die hard wanting it, so if you just tell them your reasoning, whatever it is, they will mostly move on.
At 60 weddings a year at your price point in the northeast U.S., they may not all be booking you for your eye. But all she's doing is expressing her wishes to ask for something she fancies she likes. And you, you're the expert, so advise her as to the pros and cons. She may like what you advise better.
exactly. The fact that the client can do whatever they like to the photos after they take possession doesn't change the fact that you should deliver the product as you see fit.
MarcAnthony wrote:
C'mon man. This isn't an everyday request. Nor would this type of request ever have anything to do with your "brand". You have no idea what goes through your clients head or what type of request you'll be asked to do. Who knows? I did this wedding a year ago. Maybe she saw this effect on someones photo and liked it. This topic will be asked of you at some point. I guarantee it. I have no samples of this effect on my website or in any albums yet it was still asked. My clients know what I do and how I process my images. My brand is strong and so is my reputation. I don't communicate the fact that this effect isn't classy because I am never asked to do it. Except this one time. So I wasn't sure if I should just do it because she's paying for me to or let her know that my work is WAY to great to perform such a cheese effect. Typically, my clients know me personally and I know them. Yet it was still asked if it would be something I would do for her. I responded along the lines of Tony's suggestion. Let's see where that goes. ...Show more →
No worries man, I was just saying that about my own personal feelings. I didn't mean to imply that I felt that way for everyone. I'm just really hard on myself and that's how I'd feel.
Sorry Tony. That wasn't directed to you. I was responding to Rich and Inku. I should have put that in quotes. Your suggestion on how to respond was appreciated.
MarcAnthony wrote:
Sorry Tony. That wasn't directed to you. I was responding to Rich and Inku. I should have put that in quotes. Your suggestion on how to respond was appreciated.
I think its rather comical that you're apologizing to Tony, yet mad at me when Tony and I said the same thing.
Nic Cleave wrote:
Arguing about this is useless. Drawing analogies with other industries is not much more use either. Our professional industry as we know it is dying...fact. We can see on a weekely basis here in the UK, pro photographers going out of business because they haven't been able to adapt quickly enough to the rapidly changing market.
We have to adapt (and quickly,) or we will all (and I mean top guys and gals too, not just the low-ballers,) die out.
If this client is asking you for a product which you can sell to her at a profit for your business, I can't see the problem?
I'd rather sell album only wedding packages and not include the high res files in the basic package, but here in the UK in 2010 and 11 this almost finished our wedding photography business off for good.
We changed (reluctantly,) and now give the market what it wants (demands,) and things for us have turned around completely. Note that we are not 'giving the digital files away for nothing.' We have restructured our wedding photography business to ensure that in supplying only digital files to our couples, we can still make enough of a profit to stay in business as full time photographers.
We still try to 'educate' our couples that an album is still by far the best way to look back on the story of their day, and more than 85% still add one to their basic photography package. The key here is that if they don't add an album, we still make a profit that will sustain our business.Do we like it? No way, but do we do it to remain in business...you bet.
Obviously it's your business and you should do what you feel comfortable with, but as you posted this question on a public forum, I'm just giving you my own personal opinion.
MarcAnthony wrote:
Oh God. You are all full of sh*t. Seriously. This is the only request I've gotten but if I can get it you all can or have and won't admit it for some stupid reason.
Let me clarify... I have never been asked that question by a client. I have been asked that question by potential clients during an initial consultation meeting and I've always answered it just as Tony suggested in his response. I don't have exact stats on it because I've never kept track... but I'm sure that some of those couples booked and some didn't. If my unwillingness to do selective coloring was what decided the issue... that's fine. I'm fine with that. I believe that finding the right clients is just as much about finding the right ones as it is not finding the wrong ones. If that type of product is something they really want, I want them to find someone that provides that product.
I would imagine that people are choosing us for the product and service we provide. I know that when my wife was searching for our wedding photographer, she purposely avoided anyone whose thumbnail image on the wedding sites was selective color... She felt that if that was what they had chosen as their representation of their brand, then what they represented didn't line up with what we wanted.
Cringefest.
