<p>Hi! I am a newer photographer and don't have too much experience doing professional work, and I was looking for some help with a problem.</p> <p>I shot a boudoir session for a client who is a friend of mine, and she has been telling everyone about me and one of her friends called me wanting to book one and purchase an album afterwards. But she needed to do it right away. She called me on Thursday in order to book for Monday. In communicating with her that first day, we picked out a time and I booked studio time on her approval (which required me paying for the time slot at the studio up front). This was via text messages that I still have saved on my phone.</p> <p>I didn't have access to a computer at this time, and sent her the contract via email on Friday as she lives out of town. The contract includes all the stuff you need about retainers being nonrefundable, and if a cancellation occurs regardless of circumstances that any fees such as studio or equipment rental are owed to me by the client.</p> <p>I didn't hear back until just now. I got a text from her saying that she has to cancel due to a family emergency, and it's too little notice for me to cancel the studio time for a refund. My question is: do I charge her the rental fee that I lost if she reschedules? It's a family emergency, so I feel bad - but this is a lot of money that I can't afford to lose. I could absorb it in the session fee should she reschedule, but that would eat up a lot of my expected profit. I also understand that I dug my own grave on this one, what with not getting her to sign and pay me a retainer up front - my (pretty lame, I know) excuse was that it was so last minute that I was worried about being able to get studio space at all at the time she requested.</p> <p>Anyone dealt with something similar before? Any suggestions?</p>
