Allowing client to alter/edit your files

[kikiluv]

I'm dealing with a client who is making me a bit crazy. She had mentioned at one point that she would like to be able to edit the files she receives from me. I told her that I didn't allow that b/c the images are a representation of my work - besides owning the copyright - who knows what she'll do to them. Thought she was clear about that rule. I added a clause to her contract saying this exact thing just in case. The part in the contract reads - that she can not physically alter the image w/ exception to resizing.

Well, of course she has a "problem" if she in unable to "crop" or "edit" the photos. She also wants to know "what if she doesn't like how I edit them"...

I really don't know what to say to her anymore. Any experience with something similar to this? Any advice? Should I not care if she edits the image?

[janetg]

i do not consider a customer cropping an edit - they can take them just about anywhere and get a different crop made - user choice on that one - but no go on the edit anything else thing... it's in the contract, she signed it - period. i would need more details than what you have here, like have you already done the photography? if not, and you feel she is being a pain, just refund her retainer and tell her to take a hike...

for what that's worth..

[kikiluv]

The session has already been done. Photos in the can. I have not begun the heavy lifting (processing images) b/c we've gone back and forth so much about what she expects even though it was spelled out to her before we took one photo.

She is fine with everything else in the contract - which has NOT been signed yet... I know my bad for not getting it in the first place.... I wouldn't care so much if she cropped an image or resized it for printing (which is what I put in the contract) but yeah...I don't want her to take a file and put a weird action on it - or change it to b&w..or whatever she might do.

She is getting all her images on a disc color corrected and 40 images specifically edited in color and b&w. So - I think she is mainly talking about those 40. What happens if she doesn't like them. I feel like she has zero faith in me...not quite sure why she hired me with all her doubts. Just need some advice on how to respond. Do you often go back and re-edit images if a client balks? I have a feeling - you know i let her do that with one then i'll never get done.

[dracula02]

You're the artist. She hired you for your work. Plain and simple. If she wanted to PP her own pics, that was her option. It's easy for me to say to you, but harder for me to put it to clients, and even harder for friends/family who I work with. (Although, I'm very close to putting a "No friends or family" rule in place for this very reason)

[kikiluv]

Originally Posted by dracula02

If she wanted to PP her own pics, that was her option.

sorry?
Not following. But it's late..and I'm tired..
her option?

[dracula02]

I only meant that if she wanted to take her own pictures and photoshop them, then that was an option for her. Instead she chose to use you.

[kikiluv]

ok..sorry missed the bit of sarcasm in your orig post.

Since you are kind enough to reply to all this...just out of curiousity...how do you handle when a client has rec'd images and is not happy with how you edited or pp'd them? Do you do them over till they are happy? Ever gotten this concern before you even started?

[jonnydonut]

I think the worst case scenario would be to have your name associated with some butchered photoshop image and have anyone who sees it think that you're a hack. I'd make avoiding that first priority.

If she's getting them on a disk, there's pretty much no way to police her editing them.

If she's being such a pain about what she can do, she might be doing so out of respect. Just trying to follow the rules. Most people would just edit them without asking.

I'm not crazy about the idea of having anyone else touch my photos. But if they did, and they were my client, I'd ask to see her pp. If it's crap, just ask, "please remove my name as the photographer", if it's good, why complain?. And if you make a clause like that, she'll probably follow that rule. You've protected yourself and made her happy. win. win.

It guess your move here really depends on your end goal: self exposure, happy clients, money, etc.

You have to factor in opportunity cost as well. For the time and energy you spend on this one client sticking to rules, you could potentially be booking more shoots, working on a portfolio, practicing lighting techniques, etc.

hope that helps.

[dracula02]

I haven't really had anyone that's been that unhappy with my edits. I've only had a few people ask me if I could "take this out" or "make this color pop more" on one picture & I've kindly complied, but let them know that it's going to take xxx amount of extra time. Being early in my career, I'm trying to keep everyone as happy as possible for now, especially since I'm in a small town and everyone knows everyone.

[texkam]

I'd stick to my principles. No editing. She needs to respect your work.
She may have zero faith in you, but she must at least have respect for you. Be polite confident and firm. ...and next time have a signed contract.

[Ahh!]

You can draw a line at anytime if you had a signed contract. You dont? Now you have a customer service problem and you have very little handle (leverage) on.
Do you refund any money paid on the "no blood, no foul" philosophy, or do you "go the extra mile" in order not to have her word of mouth burying you in the marketplace?

Legal is one thing. Market is another. What say you?

[kikiluv]

Good points, jonnydonut. Lord knows I've spent hours (HOURS) with this girl because every time we get somewhere she comes back with more demands or altering our agreement. She has seen the proofs which are mostly SOOC and she says she LOVES them...so I'm not really even sure where she is coming from with this "what if I don't like what you do to them" business. She's a control freak. End of story.

I like your idea of asking her to send me the final image before she throws it out to the world. Tho I've seen what she can do in PS and it's not pretty.

kikiluv added 2 Minutes and 53 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

We did not have an official contract. My fault/my bad. We did have a series of emails before the shoot detailing what she was paying for & receiving. Of course...that went out the window.

She has proved over and over again that she will push the boundaries with me to see what she can get no matter how many times I say ' this is what you get '

She's got an official contract in her hands which states no further work will be performed until she signs the contract. She wanted to just "figure it all out later" and I politely said hell no.

[texkam]

Good news is it sounds like you're not going to make this mistake again. :)

Peter's advice +1.

[kikiluv]

Texkam:
Nope.

[bobcool]

If you were a painter and you painted a portrait of her and then she wanted to alter it in some way, would you let her do it? Photography is an art, and your PP is part of your style and is how you apply your art to a photo SOOC. Before she hired you, didn't you share some of your work with her so she would know what type of PP you normally do? It's the same thing as a painter who paints in a certain style - it's your unique perspective on the image; it's your "eye" that she has hired to capture. I hope this works out for you!