Bride Unliked My FB Page

<p>On a recent wedding I shot, the couple was probably around 50 years old. They liked their wedding pictures and called them “fantastic”. The bride was the most avid follower of my FB page and had been making many favorable comments on the photos for the last 9 months or so.</p>

<p>A few days ago, the bride “unliked” my FB page. The reason for that is anyone’s guess but no doubt to me it was clearly for the fact that I didn’t blog her wedding. I do pick and chose to only blog weddings with somewhat attractive brides or beautiful settings.</p>

<p>I’ve raised this question here before and apparently from this incident, a client could really take offense of you not blogging her wedding. Of course nobody knows what really happens but if someone who has been posting good comments on my FB pages almost every week suddenly “unlike” you, there’s got to be a reason to it.</p>

 

<p>Perhaps she just didnt want lots of random brides appearing in her feed now that her wedding was over? Following you up to the date of the wedding could have been fun for the build up, but I too probably wouldn't have much interest afterwards.</p>

<p>Why don't you ask her? Then you'll know if there is a real problem.</p>

<p>As Richard says, she was looking forward to the wedding and tracking your work... Now that she's married she may have moved on- after all, we can only read so many FB posts in a day.</p>

<p>'Unlike' is an unfortunate opposite to 'Like'- it may not mean what it says.</p>

<p>I'm with Bob. I unlike things all the time just because I don't want to read them anymore. It's not that I don't like them, just that they have no presence to my current state of being.</p>

<p>I don't know that I'd ask her - That seems borderline high school / stalkerish to me. </p>

<p>I like and unlike people's pages as I need to or see fit. It doesn't mean that I don't like them anymore - it just means that I am tired of following what they are saying - or that I don't have time for their feeds or what ever - doesn't mean I wish them ill or seriously don't like them any more. Just that I don't want to follow their every facebook move. </p>

<p>It would be nice for the business pages if there was another way to do it - like sounds as if you like everything this person does - maybe a follow (I think they have that on some pages) or something. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>I like and unlike Facebook pages all the time -- I wouldn't worry about it.</p>

<p>Bridal clients are unique, in that, once the wedding and post-wedding up-selling is over, most folks move and are not heard from again. Unless they come back to you for family/baby photos, a continued relationship is unique. I've had a couple of client remain friends and continue to follow my Facebook wall and blog, but it's the exception to the rule.</p>

 

<p>I think Green is right on the money. Put yourself into the bride's shoes. You blog every wedding - at least that's what it appears to be to the outside world. Her wedding day comes and goes. No post. Of course she's wondering why her wedding didn't get blogged about. Was it because they weren't as young, pretty, didn't the photographer have as much fun .... I think you're throwing away a lot of goodwill by omitting certain clients' weddings. You either blog them all or make it perfectly clear from the word go that you only feature a certain type of wedding, strictly for advertising purposes.<br>

If I look at my clients' feedback - they ALL, without fail, thank me for the blog posts and the write-up of their day, how they've been following my blog and watched all the other weddings before them and how they couldn't wait for their own blog post.<br>

That being said, I feature any and all weddings without fail. Exception are the ones that have opted out because of privacy concerns (military personnel, DEA agents etc.) - I get and respect that. That others, yes, of course they get blogged. It keeps me on my toes so there's is no excuse because circumstances were less than ideal.</p>

<p>I'd bet even money that the B/G couldn't care less, the wedding is over and she has moved on, IMO you've made this personal when it doesn't need to be.......</p>

<p>Maybe she got divorced . . . communicate with her, you may have a future opportunity. :-)</p>

 

<p>As a woman (yes, my name is Alex and I'm a woman), I agree 100% with Katrin. If this person was an avid follower of your blog, she was obviously looking for her own 'moment in the sun'. By not featuring her, you took away her chance to be featured, and to comment on her post. I'm sure you've upset her.<br>

All of my brides are 'fans' of my FB page, brides from several years ago still comment on new posts, and give me great referrals.<br>

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I blog and FB each and every wedding. Yes, some clients are more aesthetically pleasing, but that doesn't mean I won't get a referral from them! Great photos can be made at virtually any wedding; take lots of details shots, happy people, crazy dancers, and cute kids, and you'll have enough decent pix for at least a short blog post.</p>

<p>Just another reason to detest Facebook. I <strong>unlike</strong> Facebook.</p>

<p>You also might want to think about what you say (or imply) about your clients in public. What would your client think if she read the following statement:</p>

<p>"I didn’t blog her wedding. I do pick and chose to only blog weddings with somewhat attractive brides or beautiful settings."</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Just another reason to detest Facebook. I <strong>unlike</strong> Facebook.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Amen.</p>

<p>Ah, the tangled internet we weave... although I'm a member of the facelessbook rest of the universe myself, I understand that people like/unlike pretty much the same way you decide to read email and paper mail or leave it unread, as time permits & one's personal interest or spam filtering priorities suggest.</p>

<p>It might just possibly have some significance but much more likely it's an entirely trivial decision on her part to stem life's daily clutter (for example because her FB time budget was eaten up in the wake of the wedding by responses from & to long distance FB friends).</p>

<p>If it does seriously bug you however, then like Nadine wrote it's best to ask the bride before asking the online collective. Not least since you're guaranteed to get differing opinions from the collective/us and yet none of those may have anything to do with the real reasons for and/or implications of the mouseclick in question.</p>

<p>Unlike has an unfortunate connotation, but there is really no other option to filter or limit traffic generated by the "like." I would not take it personally. I'd contact her if your bruised ego needs it. If not, I'd just keep on truckin'.</p>

<p>A bride 'unlikes' your Facebook page. So what? </p>

<p>I'm with John, it sounds like you've got a very delicate ego!! I also agree with Jeremy, regarding the statement you made about attractive people and nice settings. Quite unnecessary. Either blog your weddings or don't blog them, but be careful of cherry-picking. I think asking the bride why she 'unliked' you is taking things a little too far. </p>

<p>Having read the recent discussion about 'angry, bitter photographers' and the general demise of this forum, I have to say that the increase in trivia like this is partly why I am now an infrequent contributor. </p>

<p>I unlike things all the time on facebook. I dont take it seriously.</p>

<p>Of all the things to worry about. You must have heaps of spare time to waste on FB. I check out FB once every few months and always regret doing so. I unlike FB.</p>

<p>Chester, I'm with you.</p>

<p>If you're a full-time professional wedding photographer and your business is not on Facebook you're missing heaps of free, cheap, easy, and simple advertising opportunities. You may not like it personally, but brides do, and they spend a lot of time on Facebook. <br>

I pay for no advertising whatsoever, and don't be bridal shows or the like, and I'm just two weddings shy of being fully booked for next year. By looking at my website's analytics I can see plainly how much traffic it drives to my site. I guess if you're in my geographic area I should hope you're not on FB, more business for me!</p>

<p>Thank you for all your responses. Reason I was concered was because I was afraid that I might be hurting the bride's feeling by not blogging her wedding. Last night I blogged her wedding and sent her an email saying that. Her wedding was not even a month ago so it's not like it was late doing that.</p>

<p>She thanked me again for everything in her email, "liked" some of the photos but not my page. I never got any bookings from my FB fans but I guess it can't hurt having fans for business reasons.</p>

<p>I still don't lilke the idea of having to blog everything because first impression is everything and I want people to see my best stuff first. And a chronological blog doesn't allow that.</p>

Green, you don't have to post 50 shots for each wedding. Since you remain anonymous we can't see your blog to say

anything on the presentation. But you can focus on something different each time. I would find it hard to believe that you

couldnt find one single shot of the bride that wouldn't be blog worthy. Then maybe focus the rest of the post on small

details or something like that. While I think it s probably in your best interest to show photos of more typically beautiful

brides and venues first in your portfolio, or on business cards, on a blog you expect it to be more real. If you read bride

magazines they tell brides to look at our blogs for a deeper breadth of our work than just those shots we determine to be

portfolio worthy.

 

Much of the world is made up of people who aren't stick thin or model beautiful. So I think people would expect your

brides to look like real people but on the prettiest day of their life. So for my blog posts I smooth out skin if the shot shows

acne or wrinkles, I use the liquify filter to fix any hint of double chin, etc, ifix any wrinkles in the dress thy I didn't correct

there on site that day if I can. Basically, the same treatment celebrities get for spreads in magazines, etc. All the while

though I don't make so many changes that it doesn't look real.

 

If I was a bride who was a bit heavy and saw nothing but shots in your portfolio of skinny girls, I would then worry that you

might not be able to make me look pretty in my wedding photos. But if i saw pictures of heavier set brides looking pretty i

would be more likely to book you. I tried to go back to the imageshack link you gave us before to find good sample

images, but that doesn't seem to be working any more. And while I don't think you should worry about this, if you are

worried a particular blog post would be a bad first impression and you don't want it showing up first on your page for a

while, promptly post some other blog post of one you do like right after it so that the post you aren't as proud of doesn't

get top billing for longer than a minute or two.

<p>Vail, thanks for the suggestion. I usually post 20-30 pics for each blog. I think it's a good idea to trim it down. Yes, it's not hard to find 5-10 pics worth blogging from even the most low key wedding. Also, moving the blog order around is an excellent suggestion too. Thanks.</p>

<p>1. I wouldn't worry too much about somebody 'unliking' your page. My fans fluctuate day to day sometimes up, sometimes down, and as long as the overall trend is headed up, that's fine by me. I don't typically even pay too much attention to who is liking my page.<br>

2. I post a small album from every wedding and portrait shoot on Facebook, usually a day or two after the shoot. It is a great way to build buzz, get your clients excited, they will share the photos with friends, it is an incredible marketing tool. As an example, from one wedding I shot this summer, I have already booked 2 other brides that saw their friend's photos on Facebook. <br>

Not every wedding I shoot ends up in my portfolio, although I do try to create portfolio worthy image regardless of where or who I'm photographing, but I do have a wide range of couples, from early twenties to mid forties, size 0 brides to more Rubenesque women. I would challenge the wisdom of only posting attractive couples. Brides need to be able to picture themselves in your images, and if every bride on your site is stick thin, you could be missing out on some potentially great clients that happen to be a little bit larger. <br>

I'm not suggesting that if you have a wedding with a 400 pound couple at the VFW that you need to put that in your portfolio, but a little variety is good.</p>