Kweenk wrote:
Hello everyone. I was wondering if I could get some advice from some pros on how they collect payment from clients. I am newer in the business, been shooting professionally for a little less than a year. I need to get myself in to a set of rules that I can stick to for collecting payment on a session. I was waiting before to collect payment on delivery of the photographs but now have a few sessions sitting on my hard drive without any payment and don't know how long I should keep them either. I don't do prints with my clients and only offer up the discs included in their session price. I hate that I have spent all that time editing for people to decide they can't afford it now. When I ask for people to pay at time of the session, some seem really put off by it and don't like giving money until they see the finished product. Any suggestions or maybe the normal protocol that I'm not aware of ?
Hello everyone. I was wondering if I could get som... (
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CAVEATE -- money deposits up front **
Have confidence in yourself and your work is a must.
If you are running a business, treat it like a business.
Have people sign Contracts, photo releases, etc before the shoot ( always find out what they want before the shoot ).
Only edit the ones the client likes ( if you are paid to do such );
and, you only put on the disc the pictures you want unless the client likes others )
Do not fall into the trap where you "give" the client everything they want ( when they really do not know what they want ).
As a restaurant can prepare and cook many different dishes,
the restaurant and cook would not stay in business long if they offered everyone a sample of every dish when they came in, and so in photography -- you delete pictures you do not want your name on and then let them pick from the remaining for what they want and only edit the ones they really like enough that they are willing to pay you.
Good luck...
In regards to asking monies up front -- I do not do that, although I know many do -- I release NO pictures until ready and then payment in full or as agreed in contract is due.....
** Deposits or monies up front --
If a push would come to a shove,
I can tell you that if the client decided to sue you for some reason, the judge may say you anticipated that they would breach your contract; and, therefore give back all of the deposit monies etc.. and put both parties back where they were before the transaction happened. You do not want a ruling from the judge(s) that you are guilty of "Anticipatory breach of Contact".