Clients and album changes - Advice needed

[jon_krasner]

Hi Fellow Photographers,

 

I am getting frustrated with some of my clients as they order their albums. Whether it's a matted or a

coffee table album, I send them a pdf of the layout to review. Some clients take 3-6 months to get back

to me on changes they want to make. Other clients want to make 20 changes in an album, and some of

these changes are so minor (cropping an image 1/8 of an inch), that it is making me insane! It could be

the region I work in (NYC), but I am tired and loosing my mind with these controlling brides. I now realize

that I need to make restrictions on albums. What sort of change fees and restrictions do you give to

clients?

 

Thanks in advance.

[john at storybook pages]

Included in our design fee is the 'right' to change 20% of the spreads for no additional charge. More than that...$XX per spread changed. In our case, the XX is $15.

[l_e]

Give the clients a time line of the album process. Let them know if they take more than x months to get back with you about changes their album will go to the back of the queue.

 

Limit the number of changes they get free of charge. You can do what John suggest (using percentage of change) or make it 3 free changes for free. In the later a change could be anything from a complete redesign to cropping 1/8" off a photo. After that charge a fee - $15 is too cheap. You know how much you are worth per hour so figure out how much to you spend per album change. Obviously a full redesign takes more time than a minor change, but you will probably get more minor changes. So be willing to make more money on minor changes and possibly lose a bit on major changes.

[tdj]

Jon,<br>I give my clients 5 page changes at no charge, and they pay $25 per page after that. Most clients love my original design, and the "change policy" cuts down on the number of picky requests I get. If you don't have a policy, or give them unlimited changes, you're just asking for trouble, IMO. Best of luck.

[jodi_schlosser]

I let my clients have 2 complete rounds of changes. Any change after that is $3 per. I also make them pay for 1/2 of the album up front. This helps keep them on track with their albums.