"Friend" photography dispute

[William Michael]

<p>Taking only one side of the story, as fact: I would just walk away. That is my suggestion to you. <br>

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The main element which seeps through your original post is anger, and that is multifaceted, not the least of which anger at yourself, because you would likely NOT have accepted all the preliminary stuffing around from any other client, you gave latitudes because she was your friend <br>

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If I wanted the images taken down from Face Book, I would craft a formal letter apropos copyright and indicate that you are the Photographer, register the document and address it to the Face Book Publisher: if you want the images removed that will be the easiest & cheapest course of action with likely an effective and permanent outcome.<br>

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I am not intimately familiar with your (USA) Small Claims Court system, but reading many of these threads, it seems very similar to our system of recovering small debts. Here the system usually is not worth the hassle and the time in preparation for amounts under about $500 to $800 . . . but, it depend upon what one values one’s time at . . . <br>

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But if you go that route, be assured that you are doing it to recoup monies owed and not to “get even” – you will no “get even” because the Bride will likely have a bigger mouth if she is forced to pay up – and that has to be calculated also. <br>

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On the face of it the “friendship” is gone, anyway. </p>

<p > <br>

WW</p>

[w_t1]

<p>Kate, sorry for your troubles, and hope you take all the others' good advice to heart.</p>

<p>I think the only one I feel more bad for in all this is the future husband, living in another state, hope he knows the bride, she sounds like a piece of work.</p>

[katelynch]

<p>Thanks William W. and W.T. This has been very helpful. Ah, yes...I try to keep a distance from premarital counseling. That would have an even more disastrous effect, I'm thinking. :-)<br>

Veronica, thanks for the advice about "add-ons" for my rate sheet. I did give this client my rate sheet (three times). I can see in hindsight (always 20/20 that) that I should have been more direct about asking what her expectations were. I recommended a couple of wedding expos to her, and then asked her questions about what she learned from other photographers. She told one photographer that she wouldn't be swayed by his price because she really wanted me to photograph the wedding. I see now that she assumed that I would give her a low "friend" price regardless of how many hours or how many images I gave her. I revamped my rate sheet recently because a portrait client assumed that they would be paying for just the shoot and somehow they would magically view the images to order prints from. I generally offer package pricing and "a la carte" pricing, like many photographers. But I can see that I need to revisit the list again. I doubt that I will shoot another wedding for a friend, unless they are a really good friend, and I intend to gift them with photography.</p>

[Marc453]

<p>My great-grandmother could barely read, but owned a small hotel, a boarding house and a couple of apartment buildings. She told me that the family and friends discount is 10 percent and to get the money first, before you do anything. And if you have any doubts about them paying, don't do business with them. <br>

I have lost many family and friends weddings because of this policy, but I haven't lost any money.<br>

If you still want to be her friend, tell her that $260.00 is not worth the loss of her friendship and never mention it again.</p>

 

[wedding-photography-denver]

<p>I'm sorry for your loss. Friendship means more than $$$, so I am inclined to do what Marcus said.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>"I get what I get to shoot the job and for time and materials, but I'll work around a 15% discounted price for you on after prints, that will definitely save you some money and get you some nice extras". I still have most of my friends, and nobody was ever unhappy with what they got for their money. In other words, the job is what it is, some discounted aftersales is what they get from me. Merry Holidays, Dave</p>

[cardens]

<p>"I doubt that I will shoot another wedding for a friend, unless they are a really good friend, and I intend to gift them with photography."<br>

I totally agree with this. I gifted photography to a very good friend last year. They got married on xmas and it was in their home. I did the ceremony and then went outside with them and got some really nice shots of the 2 of them together on their wedding day. After that we had good food and drinks and I was able to have fun, she was able to get some nice images.<br>

She loved the images and why wouldnt she, they were free! lol But she was a very good friend and didnt even expect me to so she was happy.<br>

So-so friends looking for a deal like the one you spoke about just leave a bad taste and I would avoid them in the future.</p>

[katelynch]

<p>Ah Marcus, good counsel. However the client wrote me off as friend, customer, or client. Unfortunately, she didn't leave the door open for any kind of negotiating. Interim update: she used one of her child's photos from the same engagement shoot for her wedding announcement. It's posted on Facebook. The young person is in high school and a budding photographer who job-shadowed me for a school assignment last year. The youngster tagged along on our shoot and I let them use my back-up camera. I'll let you all know what happens next week ...unless she blocks me as a facebook friend. Stay tuned. And thanks to you all. You have been a huge help.</p>

 

[alohadave]

<p><em>Lesson 3: Agree on barter up front. Get the barter / exchange into the contract.</em></p>

<p>Even with this stipulated, you may still end up losing out on the deal. I did some commercial photography for a friend, with a contract for service in trade. In lieu of payment, we would receive a birthday reception on his company's yacht. Everything was stipulated, and we even had a cash payout clause if the ship didn't sail for the season.<br>

Well, the company went bankrupt, and didn't sail. The value of the payout was $3500. When we tried to settle the payment, they offered $1850. After talking to a lawyer, and finding out that the maximum reward in small claims in Massachusetts is $2000, and to pursue a suit would cost us about $6000, we took the $1850.<br>

The point is to know how much it will cost to pursue in small claims or regular court for your area, and what the maximum reward is for which courts if you do need to sue someone. This isn't to say that you should expect to be rooked, but even with a contract, it may cost more than it's worth to enforce that contract.</p>