How would you answer this email- wedding photography

I know how I'll answer it, but thought it was worth a discussion...

This is the second email, basically asking for the same thing, of which I explained our policy of payment prior to shooting & images being viewed..


"No it doesn't really because it is effectively the same thing. We pay 100% of the fee before we see any of the photos. Once again we carry all the risk and you carry none.

For example the caterer is not asking for 100% of their fee before they serve us the meal. We are paying a portion of it and then if everything goes as planned the balance is paid. If for whatever reason the food was off, cold, not enough, etc then discussion is entered into to come to an agreement.

To my way of thinking we can pay you 65% upfront. You show us the low resolution photos, if we are happy with them we pay the balance and get the high resolution photos."

I guess that the answer really depends on how much you want / need the work.

I would double my price... and then tell her she can pay half up front.

but thats me.

Well it won't do you any good to get into a pissing match with her. You can either change your terms to get the job or you can stick to your terms and decline the job.

I think she is being reasonable. Not much she can do with low res.

cdifoto wrote in post #13824879
Well it won't do you any good to get into a pissing match with her. You can either change your terms to get the job or you can stick to your terms and decline the job.

I agree. Basically, not everyone is going to like all of your policies. If you feel it is in your best interest, you can change the policy for this instance (or for all), otherwise, apologize and tell them this is the way you do business.

"Unlike food, we have evidence of past performance with references. I will spend as much time as you like explaining why our payment policy cannot be changed."

Or


"Since we will be unable to agree on this point, I have accepted another engagement for that date. Thank you for your interest and time. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I hope it goes well."

Or

"I will consider it, but you need to do something for me first. You mentioned that you might want the xxx package upgrade. Wiill you commit to that now?"

I post that after seeing your website. That is strong work. I assume you could get another engagement for that date. I also assume the bride chose you after looking around for a while, so my guess is she'll back down.

Not that it means much, since this is not my line of business, but I'd go with the required increase in scope of work in return for the terms. It forces her to put more skin in the game.

Nightstalker wrote in post #13824850
I guess that the answer really depends on how much you want / need the work.

does it, or does it depend on how we want to run our business, if we break our policies then whats the use of them?

cdifoto wrote in post #13824879
Well it won't do you any good to get into a pissing match with her. You can either change your terms to get the job or you can stick to your terms and decline the job.

oh definitely not! should we change our terms for one client? that could open us up to all sorts of problems, thats why we have them.

Flores wrote in post #13824863
I would double my price... and then tell her she can pay half up front.

but thats me.

lol

Mark2Mark wrote in post #13824922
I think she is being reasonable. Not much she can do with low res.

you think it's reasonable that a client can dictate to you the way you should run your business?

GadgetRick wrote in post #13824992
I agree. Basically, not everyone is going to like all of your policies. If you feel it is in your best interest, you can change the policy for this instance (or for all), otherwise, apologize and tell them this is the way you do business.

I don't feel it's in my best interest at all, I can a see it turning into a nightmare further down the track.

As always there's a story that goes with it, the bride to be likes our images, want's us to shoot it, the husband hasn't meet with us, is a business person, and has been pushing for lower rates etc etc. we've bent a bit on the initial price, then the first email came through with his proposal and the mention of risk. It's caused some thought, the 'risk' thing, but I think that is part of it, that's the reason why you meet and go over the photographers website/portfolio/albu​ms etc prior to booking your wedding, to remove the risk.


definitely it is the 2 options of change the t&c's or not and decline, it's interesting that a lot of you would change your t&c's so quickly though...

harroz wrote in post #13825175
you think it's reasonable that a client can dictate to you the way you should run your business?

What some people would call "dictating", others would call "negotiating". If you don't want to negotiate, decline and move on. They're not holding a gun to your head.

harroz wrote in post #13825175
I don't feel it's in my best interest at all, I can a see it turning into a nightmare further down the track.

That's fine. So don't make a change to your policy. I was merely saying there are (essentially) 2 choices. If it is the best interest, then make the change, otherwise, just say no. Not a big deal.

I think the main thing is not to take any of this personally. Business is not personal, it's business. That's all.

of course they aren't, that would certainly change things a bit!

ok, lets call it negotiating, it's still the same, I know my choices... this isn't an answer to my question though...

moose10101 wrote in post #13825267
What some people would call "dictating", others would call "negotiating". If you don't want to negotiate, decline and move on. They're not holding a gun to your head.

Asking for an increase in scope in return for a change of terms is negotiating.

After your back story, I think silence for about a week might trigger a cave in on her side. She might be screaming at her husband to be about blowing the phtography deal up by interfering with terms.

I think he is trying to be a behind the scenes negotiator after the fact in an attempt to impress someone. Or, maybe, to simply refuse payment later to reduce costs.

The line about the caterer is particularly alarming, because it sets up that vendor for a litany of invented complaints after the fact to reduce payment.

It is a small world. It doesn't take long for someone like that to get a pretty bad reputation.

BOOM!

Here we go, nice! Thanks for taking the time to look and come back with some answers for me. You're on it.. I've been doing it a while, been through the hoops etc and have solid work and it's everywhere, so it's not like I'm just starting out and have nothing to show. Also this is for this summer, we're solidly booked with 2 weekends off, she wants one of them, summer is extremely busy for me so that weekend off means a lot to me, I'm happy to give it up to the right couple who absolutely LOVE my work, respect it, and are more than happy with my policies, so I'll be declining, or maybe your last idea- but I think that needs some thought before I put it to them, because I need to make the choice of do I want to actually shoot this now.

Thanks for the input!

S.Horton wrote in post #13825058
"Unlike food, we have evidence of past performance with references. I will spend as much time as you like explaining why our payment policy cannot be changed."

Or


"Since we will be unable to agree on this point, I have accepted another engagement for that date. Thank you for your interest and time. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I hope it goes well."

Or

"I will consider it, but you need to do something for me first. You mentioned that you might want the xxx package upgrade. Wiill you commit to that now?"

I post that after seeing your website. That is strong work. I assume you could get another engagement for that date. I also assume the bride chose you after looking around for a while, so my guess is she'll back down.

Not that it means much, since this is not my line of business, but I'd go with the required increase in scope of work in return for the terms. It forces her to put more skin in the game.

You're welcome. Those are the same tactics used in consulting. And software sales.

Just the terminology flips around.

Oh yeah, sorry, wasn't knocking, appreciate your comment. Appreciating everyones comments.

Don't you think there is a bit of 'personal' in there, it's for shooting someones wedding, I need them to be awesome, like mates, not like a business exchange. I do business exchanges in commercial photography, but weddings have to be more on a personal level with the client to get the right images.

GadgetRick wrote in post #13825278
That's fine. So don't make a change to your policy. I was merely saying there are (essentially) 2 choices. If it is the best interest, then make the change, otherwise, just say no. Not a big deal.

I think the main thing is not to take any of this personally. Business is not personal, it's business. That's all.