Taking years to hate their photos

[candice_greene]

<p>It's happened a couple times now. They get their photos right away, within 2-3 weeks both cases and hear nothing about them at all. (I give high quality digital photos on disc or thumb-drive, most touched up/edited with a photo release.) I may see them post to their Facebook, use as profile photos, everyone compliments and likes them, all is good, right? Nope. A year later, I get a call and suddenly out of no where they hate their photos or the photos of their kids and/or suddenly I ruined everything in their entire life. What is this about? A bad day? Unhappy with themselves? Too busy to look through them all? Want to try and get something for free? I truly don't understand this. I've had it happen with senior portraits and a wedding. Taking years to hate their photos. What are your thoughts on this? I've been in business since 2003 so this is very uncommon but it's a very out-of -nowhere thing that happens once every few years and I'd love to hear thoughts. Thanks!</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>"<strong>Future</strong>: That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is assured."<br />--<em>Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary</em></p>

<p>"<strong>Past</strong>: That period of time in which our photographs suck and it's all your fault."<br />--<em>Amended Devil's Dictionary</em></p>

[dave_redmann]

<p>Seems to me it is human nature to criticize more stringently things from a year (or a decade) ago than things from yesterday. Also, they may have hesitated to complain, either because they were too busy or because at first they were just glad to have <em>something</em>, even if it was not what they really wanted / envisioned.</p>

<p>Here's a thought: maybe a week or a month after delivering the pictures, e-mail them and ask specifically to what extent are they happy or unhappy with the overall results, and whether they think there are any problems you can try to fix. You may head off some problems this way, you may get some valuable feedback, and you may just get favorable documentation in the event of a later problem.</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>This is why a professional does not "send" a client anything. He/she delivers it. In person unless simply impossible, as in they moved to Algeria and are living at the bottom of a mine.</p>

<p>If you "present" the product to the client you have the opportunity to sell your work as well as front-run any issues. Impersonal transactions generate impersonal responses. </p>

[Karim Ghantous]

Candice, I actually think these kinds of

episodes are merely side effects of a

successful career.

 

Remember when people were picking

on Apple because of cracked iPhone

screens, or attenuation etc? Well, that

only happened because Apple was

immensely successful!

 

You have been in business for a long

time and have completed a multitude of

assignments. There is no way that a

busy photographer is going to have a

totally smooth run. :-)

[Wouter Willemse]

<blockquote>

<p>Remember when people were picking on Apple because of cracked iPhone screens, or attenuation etc? Well, that only happened because Apple was immensely successful!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Uhm, that's an awkward comparison: it's like saying: "at first sight, your photos seem high quality, well produced items, but after a while they fail, and people only complain because initially it was great". Well, sorry, but those broken Apple screens were physically broken. The attenuation problem meant some people kept loosing calls. Those complaints were real and not caused by the success of its manufacterer, but by flaws in its design which affected a limited number of customers.<br /> Which is not what happens to Candice. Photos do not really rot over time, or get used intensively making them perform better or worse.</p>

<p>There is a percentage of people that will always find something to complain about. Most I've seen are usually just not happy with themselves, and search somebody else to take the blame. A portrait - being a representation of themselves - is then an easy hookup point to project this unrest into. It depends a lot how big the percentage of complaints is; one or two a year for a succesful photographer - sounds like an unavoidable amount of complaints, so to speak.<br /> Regardless of that, I think what the others said is a good idea. Follow up with customers after a period of time; probably their feedback is useful, and you can avoid escalations timely.</p>

[candice_greene]

<p>I'm a sole believer to not push the subject to respond in any fashion. This has been my belief from day one and not just in my photography career. I tend to see people not liking it if I do seek out a response. Sometimes I request weddingwire reviews, sure, but most of my clients enjoy their privacy and the laid-back environment I provide. If you go fetching for problems they'll find them, rest assured. Seeking feedback is what I did in my early years but I've built up confidence and a portfolio since then. I'm always learning, as we all are, and I don't mind critiques for improvement but I don't see the point in ruffling the feathers if you don't have to. I make myself available on all fronts so there is no problem in reaching me or keeping updated.<br /> I agree to a point and you are correct in that "Impersonal transactions generate impersonal responses." I just don't think everyone feels that but I can't baby the ones that do. I do so much for them on my website with spotlights and I do artist editing with personalized custom artwork/wording. There is continuous communication throughout the entire editing process on what they want and any updates. Plus on my website each session is viewable for 7 years or more. Most photographers take down each session within 6 months from digital libraries. <br /> As far as in person, I have people states away that do destination weddings in my touristy area so that is not realistic. Sometimes if they order an album and they are local I will hand it over in person. For small sessions, I simply do not have the time for my work style and in the end it is not cost efficient to make all those trips. I'd rather put that time and energy into editing and making extra artwork for them that they weren't expecting.<br /> One year I did 63 weddings. Zero time for such things; I was lucky if I could eat, sleep and get anything done at all. Needless to say I'm never doing that many weddings again in a year. I literally made myself sick between that and a sick house we bought, taking 4 years to recover. There is a balance but visiting is not feasible for me or for them. I also have some personal health restrictions which hold me back in that arena. <br /> Besides, in some ways I did follow up for one of them because they ordered a folio, which I gave the link to choose the color/style she wanted for her son. No response after two emails. Even a year later it's the same email address so I'm not sure. The other case was a daughter of a photographer "friend" of mine that I covered, it was a personal agreement at a discount and no editing. She came back a full year later as well, even after the videographer used my photos for the video project and cover. In this case I think she thought I would just do the editing for free and I did not.<br /> In other ways, I thought maybe they waited out so long because of fear of a confrontation but both people in this case are definitely not fearful of speaking their mind. The one for the senior session also said she hated the location of the photos, which she chose. <br /> In the end, it's true that you can't make everyone happy no matter how hard you try and no matter what you do or don't do. Even if I took all those extra steps, how would you know it still wouldn't happen, it could. <br /> haha, @<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=172915">Lex Jenkins</a> and @<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=5189561">Wouter Willemse</a>, you crack me up! :)</p>

[candice_greene]

<p>Or as I always say: "In a field of wildflowers there will always be a few bad seeds." --C. Holly Greene :)</p>

[candice_greene]

<p>Or maybe instead: "In a field of wildflowers there will always be some poison ivy." LOL ugh</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>Hi. Are you saying that you do the job, get paid OK, and after an age in which you have no intimation whatsoever that you have an unhappy customer, a small minority pick up the phone and out of nowhere say "I hate the pictures you did for me" or words to that effect? </p>

<p>If so I think that's close to weird. I could understand a call or email soon after they've had their basic pics along the lines of "we've decided against having an album/as many prints as we'd have liked/any more prints/ because to be frank we weren't that keen on the pictures." But out of the blue; a long time after? Do you have a competitor who might stir up people to give that sort of response?</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

People change their minds all the time, but that doesn't mean their new found unhappiness (or happiness) is anyone's

responsibility but their own.

 

Are they asking for some sort of compensation after a year of using and liking them? I wonder if they try that with the

automobiles, refrigerators, and music they purchase?

[marklcooper]

<p>Maybe someone else commented negatively on the photos a year later? Putting a bug up your clients' you-know-what, causing the clients to second-guess their happiness with your work??</p>

<p>Just a thought.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>It could be they met another photographer who made it a point to criticize your images...</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<blockquote>

<p>It could be they met another <em><strong>camera buff wannabe</strong> </em>photographer who made it a point to criticize your images...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>fixed it for ya...</p>

[danmarchant]

<blockquote>

<p><em>I may see them post to their Facebook, use as profile photos, everyone compliments and likes them, all is good, right? Nope. A year later, I get a call and suddenly out of no where they hate their photos or the photos of their kids and/or suddenly I ruined everything in their entire life. What is this about?</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sounds like people who have heard that if you make a fuss you can get a refund (and keep the images). The fact that they did not complain on receipt of the images (or within a reasonable time after receipt) and used them on Facebook etc would (if a serious dispute developed and ended up in court) be taken as proof that the images were of an acceptable standard. Ignore them.</p>