Quite unhappy w. b-pics... (long-winded vent, sorry!)

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 10/25/2009 11:43:12 AM
Author: PilsnPinkysMom

Once everything is over and done with I will let the photographer know my thoughts on the image selection practice (ie: That the customer should choose what photos are edited) and explain that I think it''s pretty crazy to not include a whole OUTFIT or a shot that was explicitly requested and say it''s because of poor smiles or poses (A digital camera was used, so photos were available for review immediately after being taken). I know she''ll be defensive and angry- who wouldn''t be when their work is criticized?

While I am incredibly annoyed with what happened (and I think you have a right to be), I''d like to make a couple points to maybe lessen the edge of this experience.

As a photographer, you get paid to show your clients in their best light. For things that are not print material (such as magazine shoots or model sets), you generally do not do much editing - you keep the image as true-to-life as possible. That''s why she was worried about rolls and pinching, because she doesn''t want to have to edit how you REALLY look. And the fact of the matter is, unless you are a supermodel, EVERYONE has rolls and some clothes create folds and pinching. So she tried to avoid this when she posed you.

After the shoot, she probably got home and looked at them, and thought, "Oh crap...not a single one of these looks GOOD!" I have done this myself, and it''s SO depressing to know you spent a lot of time with a client only to get mediocre shots - and it happens, there isn''t much to be done for it. Shots can look good in the little screen on the camera that look crap on the computer, that''s just a fact. (I have wasted SO many shots that I thought looked good, only to find out they actually looked out of focus or the lighting was off when I got home.)

While she may not allow you actually HAVE the unedited shots (and no photographer worth his salt will give you the unedited shots - this is something I learned early on, because raw images make you look unprofessional if shown to other people than the client, and that''s inevitable), she should be willing to let you see proofs. This means a 2x3 image with a watermark over it (so you won''t be tempted to save and print it yourself) of each shot so you can pick the ones you want. I usually don''t do this myself, but I am very willing to do it for clients - what I think looks great doesn''t always look good to them. She should cut out the ones of you blinking or fuzzy, but everything else you should be allowed to see.

If you signed a contract, dig it out. Now is the time to throw your weight around if you want to get anything good out of this paid session.

 

[wannaBMrsH]

PPP, I am so sorry that you had such a craptacular experience.

I loved my b-pics and while I was at first disappointed too when there was just ONE image of a couple of outfits...I got just over 100 images to choose my 30 for the album. I picked a more expensive package and also booked during the week which meant that she gave me the CD with all the proofs on it in high resolution. I was stunned to discover that she edited every single image of the 100+ photos on my proof CD. It definitely softened the blow of missing photos (I also took some pics that I was sure I nailed during the shoot and they weren''t in the proofs).

You are absolutely not being too demanding or disrespectful and I am not trying to demean any other photographers out there, but photos of your face can be captured by anyone.
As for photographers being used to models and such, b-photographers aren''t really, I don''t think. My photographer (who is fabulous and awesome) showed me a catalog of both unedited and edited photos side by side of her work and she works with some seriously imperfect people who manage to look smashing through her lens!

My b-pics were the best money I have ever spent on photos of me, and it should have been that way for you, too! I treasure my pics and I can''t wait to show them to the younger rascals in the future and say, "I looked THIS good in my not so younger days!" You have been robbed of that feeling and that possibility.

You have every right to ask for the photos you paid for.