Mom not pleased with basketball photos

Just got a call from a Mom of a 6th grade girl that I did T&I photos for. She said she loved last year's but this years were...in her word "awful". I asked her to explain...she said there's tape on the photo, the corner is bent and there's a small hole at the top of the photo.

I said that was all intentional. Check them out!

Once I explained about using creative license to design each year's photos differently, she said she understood. But still wasn't thrilled with the idea of putting an 8x10 in a frame and only seeing the edges of the "tape"....which I told her I could her point on that note.

She said a friend actually tried to peel the tape from the photo!

Would you reprint photos for anyone using a different design just to appease her? Given she said she actually worked in a portrait studio before I thought she'd be more savvy to what I did.

Too funny. Great shots by the way.

DD974 wrote in post #13485321
Would you reprint photos for anyone using a different design just to appease her? Given she said she actually worked in a portrait studio before I thought she'd be more savvy to what I did.

Um, I absolutely agree with the mom, to be honest. I've never gotten a school portrait or team portrait where the photographer did anything "creative" *over top of the photo itself*. Plus, why would you want to make your portraits, which are quite nice by the way, looks like they've been stepped on and pieced back together? The mom paid for a portrait of her daughter and unless you showed her what the final product would look like and she agreed to that, I would absolutely replace it with a normal-looking print that she can frame. That sort of "creativity" is best saved for Facebook profile images for the kids themselves, but I still wouldn't do something like that unless specifically requested.

lol... peel the tape from the photo, that's awesome. XD

Er.. well. Tell her for "x" amount of money, you can change the design for her?

DD974 wrote in post #13485321
Just got a call from a Mom of a 6th grade girl that I did T&I photos for. She said she loved last year's but this years were...in her word "awful". I asked her to explain...she said there's tape on the photo, the corner is bent and there's a small hole at the top of the photo.

I said that was all intentional. Check them out!

Once I explained about using creative license to design each year's photos differently, she said she understood. But still wasn't thrilled with the idea of putting an 8x10 in a frame and only seeing the edges of the "tape"....which I told her I could her point on that note.

She said a friend actually tried to peel the tape from the photo!

Would you reprint photos for anyone using a different design just to appease her? Given she said she actually worked in a portrait studio before I thought she'd be more savvy to what I did.

I do T&I and each parent's taste is fairly subjective. I would have to say that was a very bad idea on your part. If they did not see a sample of the style before they paid then they have every right to demand a refund.

I put the team's name on the team picture and I had one parent who questioned the font I used saying that some of the type looked weird. This was after I had used the same type for 5 years with no complaints ever. She demanded a refund and then recruited three or four other parents to join in with her. I gave them their money back and moved on.

BTW - the actual pictures are great!!!

jdouglas003 wrote in post #13485371
I do T&I and each parent's taste is fairly subjective. I would have to say that was a very bad idea on your part. If they did not see a sample of the style before they paid then they have every right to demand a refund.

I put the team's name on the team picture and I had one parent who questioned the font I used saying that some of the type looked weird. This was after I had used the same type for 5 years with no complaints ever. She demanded a refund and then recruited three or four other parents to join in with her. I gave them their money back and moved on.

BTW - the actual pictures are great!!!

I think "stupid" is a bit harsh, but see your point....you're right, this is subjective to taste and have never ever in 8 years had anyone say they didn't like my designs. The very reason I do stuff like this is because I don't want to be like all the others in my area...I do stand out and people love it. BTW...thanks for the compliment!

jdouglas003 wrote in post #13485371
I do T&I and each parent's taste is fairly subjective. I would have to say that was a very bad idea on your part. If they did not see a sample of the style before they paid then they have every right to demand a refund.

I put the team's name on the team picture and I had one parent who questioned the font I used saying that some of the type looked weird. This was after I had used the same type for 5 years with no complaints ever. She demanded a refund and then recruited three or four other parents to join in with her. I gave them their money back and moved on.

BTW - the actual pictures are great!!!

Had you delivered the photos to the parents yet?
I hope not since they could have scanned them prior to getting upset about them.

Wow...okay what I would do is provide the basic photos, then as add-ons do your "creative" styled ones. Include samples of what the end result would look like with your order forms so that the client knows exactly what they are getting.

I would absolutely think you would be responsible for providing photos without all the extra fluff.

DD974 wrote in post #13485441
I think "stupid" is a bit harsh, but see your point....you're right, this is subjective to taste and have never ever in 8 years had anyone say they didn't like my designs. The very reason I do stuff like this is because I don't want to be like all the others in my area...I do stand out and people love it. BTW...thanks for the compliment!

Obviously not all the people love it. Seems that everything done was done post processing and it should be a fairly simple matter to provide the photo's plain vanilla also or refund. If this parent is unhappy - not with the photographs per se but with your handling of them then she (and others) are likely to NOT use your services in the future. Money talks.

If your contract gives you indisputable artistic license for the photographs then the parent is getting what she paid for. But on the other hand if you did not show her the overlay you intended to use BEFORE you finalized the contract and took her money then she has a legitimate gripe. People hire a photographer for photographs and if they want artsy stuff they generally go to a graphic designer. I think the Mom is right.

Hillbille

Everything is good now...I called her back and offered to get her another 8x10 without the layout and she was OK with it (and OK with her photo)after it was explained. I do state on the order form I have creative license to create the end product plus my website URL is posted...this is a small town and most everybody's seen my work. People book me for the fact I'm both a pro photographer and a graphic designer...parents are tired of plain photos w/o creativity. Thanks everyone for your insight.

BlurredImage wrote in post #13485939
Had you delivered the photos to the parents yet?
I hope not since they could have scanned them prior to getting upset about them.

They were posted to my site before they received the actual prints.

DD974 wrote in post #13486247
Everything is good now...I called her back and offered to get her another 8x10 without the layout and she was OK with it (and OK with her photo)after it was explained. I do state on the order form I have creative license to create the end product plus my website URL is posted...this is a small town and most everybody's seen my work. People book me for the fact I'm both a pro photographer and a graphic designer...parents are tired of plain photos w/o creativity. Thanks everyone for your insight.

It's true and is why my business grows each year with more teams. I have 3 packages, one is a digital memorymate. I have not not had one parent over the years ask to see "this years style" and the parents who order it, do so the following year also. If I shoot a kid for 4 years, I want him to have 4 different photos. It was tough in my first year to get parents away form the traditional memory mate.

I like what you did.

It's a neat trick for the web but I wouldn't send prints out that way.

cdifoto wrote in post #13487925
It's a neat trick for the web but I wouldn't send prints out that way.

I do respect your opinion...I really do!...But I disagree....People want change, I hear it all the time. It's evident I'm doing something right because after I started my business I began to see my competition attempt to imitate my work...and it was quite obvious when compared to what they put out prior.

DD974 wrote in post #13488546
People want change...

Well, apparently not this person.

If I was a parent, and I wasn't expecting to see that, I would've done the same thing.

While it's true that, perhaps, "people want change", it's rather presumptuous for you to simply assume that they'll happily accept the "change" you're offering...