Photographers, Don’t Fall for These Client Pick-Up Lines

[britsy13]

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Thought I'd share this article with you guys... hope this would help you in the long run... and also please share with us your past experiences with such clients and how to deal with it.

Excerpts:

Here are some examples of client sweet talk:

• “It will be great exposure for you with the right people;”
• “If things go well, it will lead to paid opportunities with us down the road;”
• “It will add another dimension to your portfolio.”

Here are some examples of client bluffs:

• “If you don’t want to do it for us for free, I know several others who will;”
• “My uncle has a digital camera and can shoot it if you don’t want to;”
• “All our photographers give us unlimited usage rights;”
• “If you’re not interested, we can just find something on a stock site.”

Taken from Photographers, Don’t Fall for These Client Pick-Up Lines | Black Star Rising

[slycry]

bwahahaha... nice one sir britz... sa ma ilad lng nga photographer gud...

[dbgg1979]

“My uncle has a digital camera and can shoot it if you don’t want to;”
“If you don’t want to do it for us for free, I know several others who will;”

kanang duha, daghan nako na encounter ana. not the exact lines but the intended message is the same. not just in photography but also in web development.

[dbgg1979]

Add ko sir Britz ha

Situation: after you gave your quotation to the client
Client: Your price isn't so bad compared to the rest of the proposals I got here in my folder (shows you a folder with some papers but doesn't let you read any for ethical reasons ). But you see (your name here), you got to see this in a long term perspective. I'm not just going to hire you for a day or two. This will be an on going project. For every time we need (your service name), we will get you. If you can give me a better price than this, then we have deal. (pushes the folder of papers away to show you he's serious with you).

Bottom line his message is
1. I know other photographers who are cheaper than you but I like your offer and I find myself comfortable working with you.
2. Give me more discount because I'm not doing this for a single project, there will be "more projects" to come.

This is where low balling can kill you. Swerte to ang uban who already priced high because they have more room to adjust their quotes.

How you handle a situation like this will depend on your experience in doing business in this type of market. I'm not saying you should stay away from these people, because if you have planned ahead, then you can have the upper hand on the situation.

Just sharing my experience in my web development business and also in photography.

[Emzs]

how about for the newbie? Bahalag lowballs basta maka experience lang.

[harvz86]

if you want experience, i free nalang na sir kay ikaw ra mag problema ana if your marked as cheap

naa pod ko experience ani...

client1: kato lagi previous na photographer barato ra man lagi kaayo nya inyo mahal
client2: pang portfolio ni ninyo
client3: pwede xdeal?
client4: 1.5k for a debut photo coverage

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Harvey Enrile

[britsy13]

@sir slycry: thanks! kasagaran ma-affected ang newbie photogs or those starting out with photography as a career

@sir dbgg1979: thanks for sharing your inputs sir i think similar pud ang web development with photography since we're offering here our services and creativity

@sir harvs: sakto gyud na mga linyaha, daghan pud na mucompare without looking closely sa quality

[mokiloo]

but not all "experienced" photogs or karaan nga are good man pud
they just think they are good kay mahal ila equipment
and maayo mag photoshop ila consider as skills sa photography
no offense sa na igo

peace!!!

[dbgg1979]

good or not, high grade equipment or entry level, you still have to think business wise. price your services right.

anyway, enough OTs, let's respect the TS.

but not all "experienced" photogs or karaan nga are good man pud
they just think they are good kay mahal ila equipment
and maayo mag photoshop ila consider as skills sa photography
no offense sa na igo

peace!!!

[britsy13]

@mokiloo: true pud na dili tanan maayu pero business wise they invested a huge sum of money for their equipments. if you were in their situation, you'd probably state your price in a way maka-ROI ka at least...

and if you're the client and you don't find that photographer suits your taste, i don't think you'd still book him and haggle for the price... you'd probably save your time and effort on looking for the right photographer

as for the photoshop thing, i think it's a huge advantage and (most probably) required na... especially those involved in fashion, product, commercial, wedding... anything.. maybe except events... even having minimal skills on photoshop is an advantage

take Joey L for example, it's true that he mostly rely on his photoshop skills, and it's probably why managed to land on huge projects from WB, AP magazine, Forbes and such...cause he makes kick-ass photos...

but for those who already relied on hours of photoshop and still couldn't improve their photos, well time to change and step up to the game

whether we like it or not, photoshop or pp is a part of photography... but if you go for the "purist" way... i wonder how you can deal with a client who wants his/her images retouched... surely you can't say that you're a purist and don't believe in pp

but anyway, i just want to share this article to fellow photographers para ma-aware sila sa tactics sa uban clients, no more no less