Question about pet photography etiquette

[rachelle14]

Hi Everyone,

I did a pet portrait shoot last night for a lady with a yellow lab and a beagle. She wanted photos of each of the dogs alone, the dogs together and one shot with her and the dogs for a gift for her spouse. The beagle was older and the yellow lab was young and very energetic. I got some GREAT shots of the dogs alone but they would NOT sit close together for a shot of both of them nor would they sit together with her. I got 2 "ok" shots of the dogs together and one "ok" shot of her with the dogs. I ended up staying 10min over trying to get the dogs to cooperate so we could get a successful shot but it never happened.

My question is, how responsible for this should i feel. She paid a fee and will receive a disk with all of the best images from the shoot. She also will order prints from me opposed to utilizing the disk to make prints herself. I was thinking that because we were not able to get exactly what she was looking for i would give her a 25% discount on prints. Is this something I should do?

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Should I take full responsibility for not being able to get all of the shots that she wanted?

Thanks!

[AdamLewis]

I dont know the answer but Im curious as to what it is. I bet this probably applies to people taking pictures of small children sometimes as well.

[dooks88]

I would offer her a discounted sitting fee for your next visit. Sometimes there is nothing you can do when you are working with animals. Most dog owners realize this. Posed shots of dogs are very hard.

[Marnault]

First of the biggest question, is she happy with the pictures you got?

Second, the way I see it if you did everything you could to make the shots work and something beyond your control effects the final outcome there is little reason to provide a discount. Dealing with animals, small children is a situation where you take what you can get. Its nearly impossible to make them do the exact thing you want.

Now if you customer is seriously upset about the outcome you can provide a (small) discount for damage control and to encourage her to order prints, and to hopefully provide positive word of mouth. But its important to remember there are somethings you just can't control, so no point taking responsibility.

[stathunter]

I have shot dogs before and always tell the clients ahead of time that this may or may not work out but they understand that I am paid for the time I put in etc--- none have had a problem. I simply try to give them a little extra time next time around.

[cdifoto]

Only discount for your own behavior, not that of others - including animals.

[sigmonster]

Hi,If the owner of the pets can't get them to co-operate what chance do you have.
Sometimes things just don't go you way and you have a limited amount of control,kids are probably worse, but haven't gone down that road yet.

[rachelle14]

Thanks for the input! She has not seen the pics yet (the shoot was last night so i dont have her web gallery up yet) so i do not know how satisfied she is with them yet. I assume that she will be pretty happy with them, there are some really great shots of the dogs alone. Also, she did seem pretty understanding that she was not going to get everything she was looking for because the dogs were acting up. I just needed an outside opinion on how these situations are normally handled. I know that some people take the view that if you are a professional you should find a way to get the job done. Its nice to hear that maybe i should not be pointing the finger at myself for things that are beyond my control. And as many have pointed out i do assume that many people go through this with young children and its good to know that most clients are understanding.

[valentinephoto]

When I owned my gourmet dog treat bakery, I was good friends with a pet photographer (that's the only type of photography she does) and she told me that it doesn't always work out. You can't keep a dog in control like you can humans. Some dogs just don't act calm in front of new people. She offers her clients a re-shoot if the outcome is really that bad, or will stop the shoot early and tell them "let's reschedule for another day".

She said one tip she does give her clients is to try and tire the dog out ahead of time to get their energy out. Play with them for an hour (like fetch) then take them for an hour walk and if you have more time, play with them more. The longer they are active, moving and not resting/sleeping, the more likely they will mellow out during the shoot when they're told to sit or lay down.

She did mention that in her contract she states that there is no guarantee of any outcome from the photography session. She stats that she is not responsible for the behavior of the pets and the owner is responsible for controlling the pets behavior during the session, but will make her professional attempt to get the desired outcome.

If I were you, I would see what your client thinks of the photos. Some people love any photos of their pets and others will only want the best. If she doesn't like it, maybe try a re-shoot or offer a discounted re-shoot (if you didn't want to re-shoot for free) and then make up a pet specific photography contract.

[AdrianeCale]

Is there any way to Photoshop the two dogs together? Or maybe just do a collage of your favorite pic of each dog if you can't super-impose the two pics together.

[Aszental]

Maybe you could use two photos and edit them in together?, if you used the same backdrop for both, it shouldn't be to difficult.

[amfoto1]

I agree... You shouldn't feel guilty that her dogs were to antsy to sit for their photo session. It's just one of those things.

Photoshopping two images together is a great idea!

I do know folks who specialize in this who will re-shoot at reduced charge or for free.

In cases like this, sometimes you just have to try again at a better time of day or after the more excitable dog has had some exercise and is a bit tired. But, even that doesn't always work!

[OdiN1701]

As far as I'm concerned, if the owners can't control the pets, then that's not your fault.

[AdrianeCale]

You just have to keep in mind that no portrait sitting is guaranteed to produce excellent images that everyone is happy with. Some people have self-confidence issues and it wouldn't matter how great the picture is or how well you touched it up, nothing will make them happy.

I remember the first time I sold portraits of someone with their dogs. I wasn't the photographer, just the salesperson. I thought the shot was cute with their little tongues hanging out, the owner said they looked stressed! And in another shot with the same expression, she LOVED it because they were smiling!

So you really won't know until she sees them. If she seems unhappy, offer to redo it again or give her some free prints or something. Just do whatever you can to keep the customer happy, as a happy customer is the best advertising in the world.

[AdrianeCale]

Also, where did you take the pictures? If you have to redo them, try doing it at a more familiar place for the animals or at least make sure their favorite toys and treats are around as well. I have a sitting next weekend with 9 pit bulls (thank God not all in the same shot), so I'll be going to the kennel to play with them a few days before and scoping out what kind of treats they are given

[Analog6]

Is there any way to Photoshop the two dogs together? Or maybe just do a collage of your favorite pic of each dog if you can't super-impose the two pics together.

This was my thought too, do one and ask the client what she thinks. She may be delighted, you don't know if you don't try.

I've done this with my cats as 2 of them don't get on, you'd never pose them together. So I just take the shots in the same place (a favourite couch) and pay paste up afterwards.

My last Xmas card had our 5 cats on it - but one had died through the year - it was a 21 layer montage.

[rachelle14]

Thanks for the input - i have been working with the photos in photoshop and i did alter one image to make them sit closer together and it worked really really well!!! The shoot was done in her home, inside and in the back yard. I have a feeling that she will be pleased with them - i will know tonight when i send her the web gallery. Thanks for your thoughts and in the future i will plan on a disclaimer with pet shoots - that’s a great idea.

[Sabarika]

Thanks for this thread - I just offered a pet portrait session for this weekend and now I feel I'll be a wee bit more prepared if I have any takers. :3
Does anyone know what sort of release is needed? Pets are personal property as far as I know, so is something like a "model" release needed, or am I missing something? Say I wanted to use a client's photo to promote my photography on a website or an ad for my services, should I get one? (I'm under the impression that if you don't know, do it anyway)

[vkalia]

You can choose to simply say "it was not my fault, no discount." You'll be within your rights and the pet owner will not complain.

Or you can go a little bit extra - offer her something nice in exchange which may not have a high cost for you but which has a high perceived value. First make it clear (politely) that you did your bit and reinforce the bit about no guarantees that she'd get all the shots she wanted, etc. etc. Then after she has agreed to it, add "still, I'd like to offer you <xxx>.."

It is a nice gesture, it may not cost you a lot and it will create LOTS of goodwill (people really appreciate receiving something extra that they had not asked for).

Trick is to offer it AFTER she is ok with not getting the shot of the 2 together - if you offer it before, she may start thinking you've goofed up or are accepting the blame.

You'll get a lot of positive word-of-mouth from stuff like this. We routinely offer clients more than what they've contracted to, and not only does it result in very pleased clients, it is the best marketing we could do.

I know that some people take the view that if you are a professional you should find a way to get the job done. Its nice to hear that maybe i should not be pointing the finger at myself for things that are beyond my control.

While you are correct with the above statement, it is too easy to get complacent with this line of thinking.

As a working pro, you should anticipate other possible failure points (even if it involves other people) and try to head them off. Playing the blame game or passing the buck to someone else is not recommended, regardless of how valid your position may be. If the shoot goes south and client doesnt get what they want, it usually reflects poorly on the photographer regardless of who was to blame. And flip it around - if someone else contributes to a failure point and you are prepared for it, you get a lot of credit for professionalism... which translates into a lot more repeat business and referrals.

The devil is in the details and these are the sort of things that set successful professionals apart from the merely gifted photographers. Obviously this means extra work, and only you can decide how much extra is worth it for you - but my sincere recommendation would be to not settle for "I did my bit, I cannot help if so-and-so didnt do his." Note that I am not saying that this is what you are doing or that you should have done more in this specific example - I am simply making a point that you need to be prepared to cover for as many eventualities as possible.

Vandit

[auroraskye]

I think that any reasonable person will understand if it just doesn't happen. If you really tried (which it sounds like you did) than I don't think you have any reason to feel bad. I haven't photographed anybody's pets but my own but I did try and shoot a little boy and in an hour and 15 mins I got like 5 usable shots! It was disaster.

[ryant35]

I agree with offering a discount next time since it's not your fault that the dogs didn't cooperate.

Or maybe you should have told her, "I don't think I got the shot of the dogs together since they won't sit still. Do you want me to stay longer or an additional charge, or skip the shot of them together?"

[ryant35]

I think that any reasonable person will understand if it just doesn't happen. If you really tried (which it sounds like you did) than I don't think you have any reason to feel bad. I haven't photographed anybody's pets but my own but I did try and shoot a little boy and in an hour and 15 mins I got like 5 usable shots! It was disaster.

I have a great sequence of my 2 kids with my mom's lab. The dog walked through the shot and knocked both kids over. It was hilarious, and it too a few hundred shots to get the one with both kids smiling. And that was back in the slow advanced P&S days.