the need to reshoot

[carrbowl]

Well i have a first...I'm going to have to reshoot a family. Mom, Dad, 4 year old, 14 month old, G-ma, G-pa, and another G-ma. I think everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong---except no one fell in the lake. I did get a few shots of the kids that were ok to keep, but the rest I don't even want to show anyone!! They were really really bad. So how do I approach this mother and tell her we need to reshoot. My concern is, she is going to see the few that did turn out, and wonder how the rest couldn't be worth showing her. Do I confess all the issues, or tell her she need to trust me and get the whole family together...I feel so bad about this. I do plan on giving her something for having to do this again.

[janetg]

well, you could fib..and say the files were corrupted - you got a few, but not what she wanted.

so what was the problem? what went wrong?

[SCone]

The files didn't transfer correctly.
Just leave out the part about it being the transfer from the lens. :)

[J Eddington]

Don't go into details but tell the truth. Don't start lying to your clients!

[dlcurrey]

For what its worth, I agree with Janice. She probably won't be interested in the full extent of whatever the problem was, but don't start lying to your clients. Your client will remember that for far longer than she will ever remember having to get the family together for a 2nd shooting. And, she will be very willing to share that with anyone else who might be looking for a photographer.

At the core of it all, your reputation matters most. Don't treat it lightly.

[hairston]

I also agree. You need to always think of your client if you want to have a long successful business. If there is a problem, you need to take care of it right away and not let your client initiate the first call checking on their photos.

[ndsimm]

You might want to offer her something for the inconvenience....maybe a free 8x10 in addition to the package she was aleady getting...

[carrbowl]

Originally Posted by ndsimm

You might want to offer her something for the inconvenience....maybe a free 8x10 in addition to the package she was aleady getting...

I am...in fact I'm concerned I will feel so bad, I'll give her too much!! Let me list the things that went wrong...

flash didn't work, 5D shutter quit all of a sudden, and despite doing all the usual it wouldn't work ....until I got home!!, the 10D was set on 1600 ISO (that was the deal breaker), the posing was absolutely horrible, (how do you pose 2 overweight grandparents holding 2 kids?), the spot we had picked out to do the big family photo was not a good site due to muck in the water, in all 75 photos, there was not ONE when both kids were looking at the camera at the same time, blah blah blah...I can continue to make excuses...fact is they stunk and I hope she will allow me to redo them. As a mother, I feel unbelievably horrible about asking her to do this...but I don't have any other options. Dang I wish I was a lying kind of person...it sure would come in handy!!!

[JohnT]

Just tell them that you believe you can offer something better than what you got the first time. I had to do this once, and the family appreciated it. Especially since the re-shoot didn't cost them anything.

Whatever you tell them, just be honest.

[mangosli]

Can you switch heads from one photo to another to have both kids looking at the camera?

[Roadrnr]

Originally Posted by JohnT

Just tell them that you believe you can offer something better than what you got the first time. I had to do this once, and the family appreciated it. Especially since the re-shoot didn't cost them anything.

Whatever you tell them, just be honest.

I agree with John. That would be the best approach. Be honest and they will appreciate you for it in the long run.

[centtex1]

Originally Posted by carrbowl

I am...in fact I'm concerned I will feel so bad, I'll give her too much!! Let me list the things that went wrong...

flash didn't work, 5D shutter quit all of a sudden, and despite doing all the usual it wouldn't work ....until I got home!!, the 10D was set on 1600 ISO (that was the deal breaker), the posing was absolutely horrible, (how do you pose 2 overweight grandparents holding 2 kids?), the spot we had picked out to do the big family photo was not a good site due to muck in the water, in all 75 photos, there was not ONE when both kids were looking at the camera at the same time, blah blah blah...I can continue to make excuses...fact is they stunk and I hope she will allow me to redo them. As a mother, I feel unbelievably horrible about asking her to do this...but I don't have any other options. Dang I wish I was a lying kind of person...it sure would come in handy!!!

this is easy- technical problems (some was gear related and techically, you thought they looked like cr#$! really i would blow it off to gear problems and try to kiss butt and reshoot, i have had this happen and i did not show any pics untill after the reshoot. most people would rather wait for good work rather than have someone try to pawn off substandard product. don't beat yourself up over it!!

[CobyPhoto]

Originally Posted by carrbowl

I am...in fact I'm concerned I will feel so bad, I'll give her too much!! Let me list the things that went wrong...

flash didn't work, 5D shutter quit all of a sudden, and despite doing all the usual it wouldn't work ....until I got home!!, the 10D was set on 1600 ISO (that was the deal breaker), the posing was absolutely horrible, (how do you pose 2 overweight grandparents holding 2 kids?), the spot we had picked out to do the big family photo was not a good site due to muck in the water, in all 75 photos, there was not ONE when both kids were looking at the camera at the same time, blah blah blah...I can continue to make excuses...fact is they stunk and I hope she will allow me to redo them. As a mother, I feel unbelievably horrible about asking her to do this...but I don't have any other options. Dang I wish I was a lying kind of person...it sure would come in handy!!!

Ok, since you are promoting yourself as in business, taking money to do work as a professional, I am going to point a few things out for ALL to read and see.

These are things you CANNOT allow to happen as a Professional. No excuses, no fibs, etc. You are being paid to have the foresight and knowledge of your equipment, posing, flashes etc. in order to pull off the session like you were PAID to do. Many time family members are hard to get together and it is impossible to re-shoot.

If these things plague you, you do not need to be accepting money, nor promoting yourself as in business or professional.

I am sorry, but learning on someone else's dime is NOT the correct way to run a business if you expect to gain and build a database of repeat customers. Nor is it very ethical.

Think of it like this...would you want your firefighters learning how to rescue you at your house fire? I think not...I think you want them to be totally prepared and capable before they get there. There is no opportunity for a re-do.

Please don't take this personal. It is the way business is conducted. Too many people have these problems and are learning on the customer's "dime."

CJ

[rkayw]

be honest, & offer the re-shoot or a refund. give them a choice of how to preceed.

however also, from my experiences in the past...images that I saw as unfit...the client loved.

[toverman]

Coby probably said it best and the most directly. We've all made mistakes, but thankfully many (I hope most) learned while shooting our own families or pets, etc. Even seasoned pros continue to learn but have a solid knowledge and technique before going into business. Sadly, a lot of people aren't quite ready for prime time before launching a business.

The things you could have prevented include have the wrong ISO set on one camera and the posing. It is up to the photographer to set the poses, and it often takes a refined technique to stage a scene and make it look "natural." You can't make overweight people look skinny, but there are ways to make their body lines and the shadows fall so that they look their best. These are things you should know by heart before having paying clients and there aren't any good excuses to dodge that fact.

In handling the reshoot, I agree with those who said to be honest and giving them something for the added time it takes to get photos. You might also consider taking some more classes.