Mom's Unreasonable album requests

<p>I have a bride who had ordered her final albums, one 10x10 and one 8x8 parent album. I had to reorder the initial delivered album due to MY error on an image. No problem.<br>

Upon delivery of the second albums, the bride loved them, approved of them and signed off on the<br>

delivery sheet and left happy.<br>

Two days later she calls and says the her mom had some photos that she "didn't like". <br>

1. Mom wanted the "flowers" on the altar removed as they were "sticking out of the back of our heads" in<br>

a photo of her and her hubby exiting the ceremony. <br>

2. Mom wanted certain background items removed also in certain images. (nothing particular was given<br>

by the bride over the phone)<br>

I explained to the bride that i had re ordered the albums already in regards to MY initial error. And<br>

now "mom" wants other items edited out ? I stated that the bride was my client, not mom. The bride then stated " well my mother paid for the photos and signed the contract and she has the final say".<br>

I was silent for a while surprised at her comment. I then asked the bride to have her mother call me since she<br>

is the legal client and I would have to work with her from here on out. Also that if she wanted those changes made that they would have to pay for them.</p>

<p>Now, prior to any albums being produced, MOM had requested that certain proofs be re edited for various reasons.<br>

Remove her "double chin" even though she is 5-5 105 pounds.<br>

Edit out certain background items.<br>

Adjust the color on some images.</p>

<p>The bride NEVER requested that done. The mom did. I did it as a favor because mom was so NICE.<br>

So now, she is expecting the same thing be done to the albums.</p>

<p>The bride asked " Well why didn't you include those changes in the album ?"<br>

Me :"Those changes were made for MOM, not you." YOU never requested them. Mom did when she picked up<br>

the proofs."<br>

Bride :"Well anyone would assume that they would be included in the albums with the changes. "<br>

Me : " Well no, those changes were for mom, not YOU." The albums were designed for YOU". <br>

Bride : " Well my mom paid for the photos and she has the last say".</p>

<p>So this is where we stand as I am waiting for mom to call me.<br>

Basically MOM is the shot caller. She is very nice. But the bride cannot make any decision without mom's<br>

approval. Yet mom has not called about the albums. She prefers to make the bride do the dirty work.</p>

<p>Should I relent and re do the entire albums or stick to my policy where they have to pay to have those changes made ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Talk to the mother before you do anything</p>

<p>Sure, you can edit any photo she likes...</p>

<p>....for $100 per image.</p>

<p>I would gracefully do what the legal client wants done. As she asked for some post on the proofs, I think that she is probably justified in expecting at least the same in the finished work. <br>

You have a chance here to make a happy customer and enhance your reputation......and it does seem to me that Mom has some reason on her side....regards, Bob</p>

<p>It's a good lesson for us all to learn--have the client sign off that 1)the album is done and 2) any further changes will cost money. I'd do it, for a nominal fee (compromise) and make sure she acknowledges, in writing, that no further changes can be made without full retail price compensation. You want her happy, or it will cost you (however unfair) probably more than this will in referrals.</p>

<p>One suggestion for further orders - I print out every single page - color copy and have the bride initial the pages to approve them and they stay in a file in my studio.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>yep, mom is having bride do dirty work. I guess it would be better to do what the bride wants. You do not need someone trashing your name. This is what the "digital age" has done for us pros. I do not offer editing unless someone asks of it. Maybe I am cutting myself short, but sometimes the "Keep It Simple" principle applies in wedding photography also. </p>

<p>Looks like you had some communication issues. You assumed that she didn't want the edits her mom requested, she assumed that mom's edits would appear in the album.<br>

I'm all about making couples happy but I do draw the line at time consuming edits (unpaid) such as the ones you are describing. Your mistake was that you threw them in for free because Mom is so nice. Lesson here: don't do stuff for free. Double chins are not like fixing white-balance or adjusting levels. Professionals get paid good money to fix things like that.<br>

In order to make them happy, just get them the new albums with the edits (get it in writing from Mom), use the "rejects" for your portfolio/studio (would not give them to the clients since they only paid for one version) and move on.</p>

<p>I offer to do basic blemish/skin stuff for about $25.00 per image.</p>

<p>Maybe Richard Simmons has a PS action to get rid of her double chin ;)</p>

<p>The changes the mom wants were not stipulated EVER, only until she looked at the album. The bride HAS signed off on the albums as acceptable. <br>

I totally understand making clients happy, but having to reprint entire albums for a couple of small inconsequential changes is ridiculous.<br>

The flowers that mom wants edited out are the flowers that they purchased and had place on the altar for the ceremony. That was THEIR decision to have those flowers there. Now she wants them edited out ?<br>

Is the fact that the bride signed the pick up sheet accepting the albums LEGALLY enforceable being that she did not sign the contract ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Who contracted you? Mother or Bride?</p>

 

<p>Well if you re-order all those albums don't you have to pay for it? And you've already re-ordered once. If you can come to an agreement somehow, I'd try not to re-order.</p>

<p>Trying to determine who is the legal client is moot, IMHO. That determination will not help you get out of the current situation gracefully. If you dig your heels in about being paid for the changes, you will make an enemy out of the mom <strong>and</strong> bride. So while you make money you will lose good will, something which is more valuable (to me). I would make the changes--this time--and eat the costs. Chalk it up to experience, and in all future dealings, have sign off sheets for album designs, and pay careful attention to whether the legal client is signing off on those sheets. I would also make it crystal clear what that signature on the sign off sheet means, and put a limit on the number of changes the client can make before they are charged for the work.</p>

<p>There have been other issues that I have bent over backwards on for this client. The album issue is just one of several. The wedding was a smal intimate wedding. Not some large affair. Yet they questioned why their photos didn't look like the "ones from the Ritz." Literally. Well they got married at a small wedding chapel with a small reception at a local restaurant. <br>

I'll make the changes MOM wants. But it sucks.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>In regards to who is the "legal client", my contention is that WHO do I listen to ? The brides requests or the mom's requests. <br>

The bride was satisfied with the albums. Mom apparently was not according to the bride.</p>

<p>These days, many wedding photographers have it in their contract that they 'take orders' only from the bride and groom, regardless of who is actually paying. If you had such a provision in your contract, you would have been on better ground to tell the mom that she would have to pay for changes and/or a new album. It still would not have made everyone happy, however. The bride would still eventually side with the mom. So you would have ended up in the same place on the 'goodwill' end.</p>

<p>The only thing you could have done differently (in either case) was to ask both the bride and mother, before having the album committed to print, whether the 'mom's changes' should be included in the album. This is why I would say that the best course of action is to redo the album, chalk it up to experience and know better the next time.</p>

<p>I guess it all depends on whether how much i'm willing to spend to make them happy. I'll have to think about that one. I'm not hard up for clients.</p>

<p>Depending on the customer, if I know they might be complicated customers, I show the album pages to them on the computer before I send it in for printing. Usually all my customers know how I work and they even request, to the owner of the studio, that they want me to work on their album.<br>

I have the studio secretary and the owner of the studio later check all the album pages before they are sent to print making any changes . The owner of the studio where I work <strong>most</strong> always check and approve the work, after the album has been approved I do not make changes unless I get paid.<br>

First: On your case do not mention again that you changed the album once because it was your fault!<br>

Second: check the changes they want made, if they are unreasonable charge them for the changes, at least a small amount to compensate your pocket, on the other hand if they are right you should pay to make the changes!<br>

Good luck!</p>

 

<p>Geo:</p>

<p>I'm not sure I understand.</p>

<p>Did the mom request certain edits, which you made on prints, but when you used these same pictures in the album, you used the non-edited images?</p>

<p>I can see where if they requested changes to be made on a print, they would assume the same changes would make it into the album unless you explicitly told them otherwise.</p>

<p>Eric</p>

<p>Yes. The MOM wanted some changes made, NOT the bride. When the <strong>BRIDE </strong> ordered HER albums, I used the proof files that the BRIDE had in her proof album files. Not the changed files that mom requested. NORMALLY, I would not do any changes for the MOM. It would have to be made through the BRIDE.<br>

It was never stated that I should use MOMS re edited files. I used the BRIDES files. At no time did the BRIDE request any changes to any files. She was happy with everything as it was. So when I designed the album I designed it for the bride NOT mom.<br>

You know what happens when people assume.<br>

The changed requested by mom are so insignificant that any normal person viewing the photos would not even have an inkling as to what needed to be changed. <br>

I feel that MOM wants things changed simply because I did it initially and NOW feels that it is as easy as one two three. If I did it at the beginning, why can't I do it now ? <br>

"All you have to do is push a button and it's done".<br>

I rarely run into this problem. Can't remember the last time if ever it has happened.<br>

I will ask her for a specific list of the changes she wants, make them, have her sign off on them and that's it.</p>

 

<p>So be polite and do nothing. The take the husband out for a beer and wish him luck...he'll need it.</p>

<p>Geo, firstly its not there fault you have already done the album twice, I think you should of put the improved images in the album you had done the work, I don't really understand why you did not use them. In my opinion I think you need to get the album re-done for them maybe you can come to some compromise over the cost, the album they have must have some value to them maybe you could split the difference over the cost of the new album.</p>

<p>"I'm not hard up for clients."</p>

<p>You tread on thin ice, my friend. Whether or not that is the case, do you want your clients to know that you have that "take it or leave it" attitude. In the end, are you ready to let these people go and complain about you to their friends for the rest of their natural lives?</p>

<p>It is very strange that you have made corrections to certain photos, but then did not use them in the albums. You have to realize that a girl and her mother are inseparable. The Groom is going to spend his whole life trying to get more intimate with the Bride, but he will never be able to drive a wedge between her and her mother. She will always side with her mother. This is human (or feminine) nature. I don't know much about women, but I know you can't separate one from her mom.</p>

<p>Your fallacy was to assume that the Bride's opinion and the mother's were different, just because they had expressed themselves differently. If there was ever a question, you should have cleared it up before committing your own money to have an album printed. Now you're stuck with an album you can't sell to Mom, because she's already seen that you can do better work.</p>

<p>The bride and her mother are going to sit down with their respective albums and compare pictures. You must have realized this.</p>

<p>"The changes requested by mom are so insignificant that any normal person viewing the photos..."</p>

<p>When you insult your client's mother, you insult your client. There's no question that at this point, you owe Mom a new album at least as good as the proofs you showed her.</p>

<p>"...take the husband out for a beer and wish him luck...he'll need it...".....Amen! And although there is some truth that you can't seperate a woman from her mom....this woman (bride) is actually subservient to her mother. She appears to have no opinion of her own....just moms. I know many women that would tell their moms to go pound sand if they though they were right.</p>

<p>It's unfortunate Geo that you got stuck in the middle of it.....but, a new album for Mom is about the only way out of this. And not for any altruistic reasons or future client reasons....just because, simply, by law Mom was the signing client.</p>