People Over Contracts- Always.
I may get a little bit of backlash from this post (or hopefully not) but it has been on my heart for a while now to share it, so here goes! (disclaimer: we all run our businesses differently- this is solely my opinion, and how I choose to run my own business)
If you are in the season of growing your photography business (or really at any stage in your business) you are probably a member of countless Facebook groups and forums all about photography. There are groups for every type of business model, filled with photographers from all different walks of life, and filled with invaluable information- and unfortunately filled with enough horror stories to terrify even the most experienced of photographers!
As if the horror stories aren’t enough, the RESPONSES to these dilemmas by photographers looking for advice are usually what puts a knot in my stomach. Now before I go any further, I have to make something abundantly clear. Do I believe you should be treated with respect and valued by your clients? YES. Do I believe that you should be fed on a wedding day, and that you should be properly credited in your images that you have poured your heart into? Absolutely! Do I believe that a clause in your contract and threatening the bride/groom/family members/ vendors/ anyone else on a wedding day or shoot or after the fact is the way to get what you feel you deserve? NO. Just no.
I also want to make it clear, that with an husband who is an attorney and with the experiences I have had in my own business, of course I don’t do a single thing without a contract (that protects myself, my business, and my clients) however, I definitely do not run my business from the contract. I run my business to SERVE my clients (who I usually consider friends after about 5 minutes together), and I work to show them that they are loved, heard, appreciated, and respected. If you are prioritizing your clients, 99% of the time any issue that arises will be so much easier to deal with over the phone or in person, as opposed to the many screen shots we see daily in these forums of text messages back and forth between photographer and client.
I wanted to give my perspective on this issue for that photographer who is at home reading through all of these posts, scared to make a mistake or to leave any tiny clause guaranteeing every tiny thing out of their contracts. I want that photographer to know, it’s good to be smart, it’s great to be prepared, but its wonderful to remember that at the end of the day every single client you work with is a person who is ultimately relying on you to make or break their experience.
So how can you better avoid these massive issues that make you want to run for the hills, or that make you want to say “didn’t you read the contract, give me my hot meal or get these ‘iPhone photographers’ away from me”! The simplest way is to educate your clients! Don’t throw verbiage into your contract that you never discuss with your client, and expect that they read or understand every line before they sign! Talk to them about those items that are most important to you BEFORE there is an issue. When everyone is happy and excited to work together. In the case of a wedding, they have likely never hired a wedding photographer before and are looking to you for guidance! Don’t be shy about it, take every opportunity to educate them, take their questions, treat them with love and kindness and everyone’s experience will be the better for it!
My own personal examples- this time from my perspective as a client:
I also have to credit my own wedding photographer as well as my sister’s wedding photographer for my outlook on how to handle client education and handling difficult situations!
When I was hiring a photographer for my own wedding all those years ago, I had not yet started my photography business. She laid out every single thing that was important to her, not just in the contract but in the email she sent over with a contract attached for me to sign. I remember thinking “oh I have to feed her and her second shooter at a table that is away from the guests? That makes sense, I’ll make sure to tell my coordinator”… so often photographers assume that their needs will already have been predicted, but at the time how would I have known?! I had never been married before, never hired someone to follow me around and document my life for an entire day! Of course she needed a break, and I assumed she would eat when we all ate, but it was her job to educate me that I needed to actually order her and her second shooter a plated meal and that she personally preferred being seated away from the guests to take a beat and refresh!
A great example of handling the dreaded “Uncle Bob”
During my sister’s wedding, one of my family members who I adore was the quintessential “Uncle Bob”. He had an expensive DSLR, loves photography, loves his family, and proceeded to take a million photos of everyone and everything- including standing behind the photographer my sister hired during family portraits. This would phase a lot of photographers, but not her! I watched with so much respect for this woman as she literally ignored that he was shooting behind her and continued to orchestrate family formals with authority and professionalism. Whose portraits do you think are framed in my parents house? In my sister’s house? Do you think it bothered her that he was going trigger happy and had become a self-assigned third shooter? I’m betting that it did irk her. Did we, her clients, the family of the bride notice one ounce of annoyance? Absolutely not. And when our friends were looking for a photographer, you better believe she was highly recommended and booked that friends wedding.
I have now been in that situation as a photographer, and of course I would rather family members and friends enjoy their day and trust me to capture the special moments for them! But I can’t fault them for their excitement and wanting to capture moments of their own along the way. Again, I am not claiming to know everything here, and my approach is very simple. If I were the client, how would I want to be treated- it’s an oldie but a goodie for a reason! I hope this inspires you to rethink your internal defenses when approaching issues that may arise, and that your fears are a little more settled in the future as you read through the posts in the forums you are a part of!
© Laylee Emadi Photography 2024 | Terms and Conditions + Privacy Policy | Brand + Website by Sarah Ann Design