Mom wants re-takes

[amber1]

A couple of weekends ago I did a shooting for a group of

cheerleaders that have "hired" me for the past few years. Today I

was faced with a situation that threw me off guard. One of the

mom's emailed me and asked if I could do retakes of her daughter's

individual shots because she was not feeling well the day of the

shoot and "did not smile big enough"??? I haven't responded yet but

was curious of how some of you more experienced photogs would handle

this. Unlike most of the local studios I give each of my group

members 3 different individual poses to choose from (sitting,

standing, and closeup) and 3-4 groups to choose from (kinda fun

watching the moms fight over which one to put in the yearbook!)

Anyway, I don't charge a sitting fee when I do team/school group

picts so I don't feel that I owe her the retakes. Should I tell her

that I will be happy to do them if she pays my regular sitting fee

or should I offer to do it for less than my normal charges? Thanks

for your help.

[john_h.1]

Your post suggests that the mother expects you to work for free. Assuming this is so, I don't see why there should be a special deal. It would just be someone coming seeking a portrait session. The fact that they were in some other session seems irrelevent even if there was a previous sitting fee.

 

Its amazing how many people believe services and material should be provided to them for free.

[Jerry_]

Figure out what the 'materials' will cost you, and add $5.00 for your time: go ahead and 're-shoot' the youngster. But be prepared to never have a happy Mom and cheerleader at the same spec of time in the universe.... [A couple of years back I had one that was 'not happy' with a strand or two of hair out of place...she did not order any photos. A windy day outdoors makes the hair 'sporty' at best, and cheerleading is a action sport.)

 

 

 

It is like pageant photography, you may please some of the folks some of the time but it is never possible to please 100 percent of the folks 100 percent of the time.

[walter_degroot]

" well if you can reshoot "HER"

why cannot you reshoot her friend, also?

are you prepared to reshoot just about everybody.

you are opening a can of worms.

you had better charge enough to make it worth your while.

that mother is apt to brag about HER daughter had "special photos"

and the rest not.

[amber1]

Thanks for your answers. Walter you brought up a really good point. I am going to let her know that it is not in my schedule to return to the location where I did the previous shots and that if she wishes to have re-takes she can schedule a time to come to my studio and I will do a half price sitting fee for a one background 3 pose sitting. That way she is getting a "deal" and if they all follow then it is worth my while. Thanks again!

[john_h.1]

"I will do a half price sitting fee... ...if they all follow then it is worth my while.

 

Will they get half price too? What if they too cite some flaw to be fixed?

[spanky]

This is why I refuse to take on any shooting for money. Not that I do it free mind you but I center on street photography. Still, I get a lot of people asking me to do a portrait session for them. I always say "Thanks but no thanks". I just cringe at the thought of somebody wanting me to redo a sitting because of some stupid reason like this one. I would charge this lady the same rate as any another job. Just because her daughter didn't smile is no reason to charge 1/2 price. That was no fault of your own. When daughter comes around for the second shooting will her mother like the forced smile she may put on? Probably not. So charge her full price.

[amber1]

The only reason I am offering half price is because I am only offering a fraction of my normal service. What I am offering them is a 15 minute sitting when I normally spend about an hour with each of my clients. So if the whole team wants to come and pay me to retake their pictures then I figure that is just more $$ on top of their orders and I won't have to be put out much for it. Besides, I'm sure that she was looking for a free-bee so half price probably won't be good enough for her anyway! Thanks for all of your help guys!