What a bride

[cgallo]

Hello everyone. I would like to vent out a story with you and see how you would have dealt with it.

Yesterday I had a couple come in to see proofs of their wedding book. The bride ended up micro managing me on every little detail. We spent about two hours re-arranging photos in the book. At first I told them I would take notes of what had to be changed and do it on my own but she said, "go ahead and do it now, we have time".

I understand this is important to them and appreciate their interest in my work, but I think this went overboard.

Has anyone had something similar happen to them?

[Pony]

What is your policy on this? Was it clearly explained to them?
The customer should know that an appointment time has been set up for viewing and album arrangement and that X amount of time is set aside for that purpose.This will keep them from
imposing on you and other potential customers.It puts control back in your hands.

[Mark McCall]

Dude...welcome to the club.

A bride will take you to the bank unless you lay down some ground rules.

Very early in my career, I added a $15 per change fee if the bride wanted to make changes to the album.
It's a token amount, but works like magic by keeping the bride from making wholesale changes to the album.

Check out these two links.
The first is a flash animation of the album.
The second is a non-printable PDF placed online alongside the flash version.
(Note the first slide on the PDF).


http://www.markmccallphotography.com...Web/index.html
http://www.markmccallphotography.com...ingWeb/PDF.pdf

[Ed Shapiro]

My own policy regarding album design is that I am the ultimate designer. I have the clients choose their favorite images and the crux of that meeting is to put a rough sequence together and see if the right images have been chosen to adequately tell the story and to fill in gaps and transitions.

The rest is left up to me as to the size, sequence, story line and ultimate look of the album. All of this is discussed and approved well in advance and is incorporated in my contracts. I would guess that 99% of my clients like it that way- the are not interested in doing things that is not within their expertise. There is collaboration on some issues but I make it a point to instill trust in the client to the point where they leave most of this sort of thing to me. I explain that if the just let me "do my thing" they will maximize the value of their final product. I usually throw in a few additional images to create a better story- all to their benefit.

My favorite comment that I get from clients goes something like
"hey- I'm an engineer (or whatever) and you are a photographer- do what you think is best"! I LOVE THAT!

I edit my albums as if I am editing a motion picture. I intermix "formal and casual" images with the grab shots for visual impact. Customers tend to place things strictly in chronological order which makes for boring albums.

Anything you do is fine as long as the clients are apprised of all of all your policies. The main and most important aspect of a contract is "meeting of the minds". Once this exists and everyone knows what to expect, you are home free. Ambiguity breeds aggravation.

Ed

[ESP]

Mark, It's great to see that some of us still use off camera flash.

[cgallo]

Originally Posted by ESP

Mark, It's great to see that some of us still use off camera flash.

What are you talking about? I don't understand your comment.

[ESP]

My reply was to Mark who responded earlier to you. I was looking at his wedding album that he posted and was making comment about the lighting. Sorry for any confusion.

Eli

[cgallo]

Originally Posted by ESP

My reply was to Mark who responded earlier to you. I was looking at his wedding album that he posted and was making comment about the lighting. Sorry for any confusion.

Eli

Ok, gotcha! I did not put two and two together.

[kgphoto]

Back in the day, I used to have brides come in and I would layout the album design in the order I thought it should go right on the floor. There wasn't a big enough table to lay it all out in my house. It pretty much filled the living room.

Then I would ask their input and I would explain my choices. Invariably, there would be little to no change, as I did a very good job and they saw the reason for the design.

Then I would tell them that this design cost $XXXX.XX. They would try to reduce the order, butthey could see how the changes affected the rest of the design. Most usually opted to find a way to take it as is.

This caused me to triple my average order from the old days, where I let them choose the images. I allowed three hours for these meetings. We would order in some food and it as a party. It would take me about the same time if I did it by myself, but this way I combine the designing and selling/approval appointments into 1 meeting.


They felt confident in the design and the value and I have very little problem with buyers remorse later. When the Albums came in, they loved them and referred their freinds in droves as it was a very non theatening, fun experience with little to no stress.

[Ed Shapiro]

Quote""Then I would tell them that this design cost $XXXX.XX. They would try to reduce the order, butthey could see how the changes affected the rest of the design. Most usually opted to find a way to take it as is.

This caused me to triple my average order from the old days, where I let them choose the images. I allowed three hours for these meetings. We would order in some food and it as a party. It would take me about the same time if I did it by myself, but this way I combine the designing and selling/approval appointments into 1 meeting".
__________________________________________________ _____
I agree with KG and the good news is that this method still works for me. Once I create a sequence it is seldom broken up. I advise the clients in advance (at the booking time) that is very likely that they will buy beyond their minimum of 50 images. If you expect to make better sales you need to start preparing the client form the get go. I don't like financial surprises or bait and switch kinds of promotions. I don't like those things when someones tries to pull them on me and I certainly won't to do those things to my customers. I also quote, in advance, the rate of discount that I offer on the additional prints when they purchase the entire set. Theses kind of policies work well as long as there is logic and I can't overly stress the importance of establishing all the guide lines and advantages to the client even before they sign the contract.

If you tell a customer something that the may consider "bad news" you have to balance it out with "good news".

I hope this helps Ed