Client doesn't like the images

[@micronet67]

Thanks Daniel for your advice. Although we have never met, your advice is very valuable to me. I've learned a lot from you already, and I'm very grateful. Thank-you Daniel.

[@dab7963]

You are such an inspiration and so very experienced. I work in a very large global trial law firm with people that went to the very best schools in the world. I also need to often explain in a very nice way highly technical issues to people that are schooled in a completely different discipline which is the law. You are absolutely right it is not what you say but how you say it that matters.

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

very cool way of dealing with the awkward. thanks for the effort and the sharing. thumbs up.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@jackdeth5009]

Hi Daniel, love your Friday chats, thanks!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks Jack

[@youpamp]

I went looking for this exact subject for some insight and came across this vid, presented with your usual flair and unique perspective. Very helpful, again. Thanx, Daniel!

[@gabrielgs8105]

Usually during portraits, clients will complaint about the photo but the thing they actually don't like is the way they look ... and the photo is just a reminder of that... (very often regarding weight issues) I agree that is very important to ask clarifying questions to determine if the reason why the "don't like it" is within our control... usually after a couple of questions they go "no, no the photo is fine... I just don't like (fill the blank with x self image issue)"

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Right, and we can use that input from the client to change the lighting or the pose etc. to make the image as good as it possibly can be for them

[@richardweathers6194]

This was a great example of what might happen with a client and how to approach it. I could see myself being caught in that 'What?' moment you laid out. Outstanding work! I'm so accustomed to seeing you on the Adorama channel.

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Nice, Daniel. Your approach makes sense, and is, of course, better than being either argumentative or defensive.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Right, in the end the client still needs to feel comfortable working with you especially if this is happening during the shoot

[@barrekelley9268]

Always great contact Daniel, you are one of a handful of KZbin photographers that I truly value your input and opinion. Thank you so much for taking the time to do what you do.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks 😊

[@rics7631]

I contribute it to the way some clients perceives themselves. Like the shots they put on Instagram, Norton you are absolutely correct you have to educate your client.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@brad_in_yyc]

Communication. Super important in all facets of life. Great video Dan

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Indeed

[@250GTOAJ]

Thanks for your valuable insights Daniel and have a good weekend.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@pergunnareriksson]

Communication. And knowing your craft. There you have it! Thanks.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Indeed

[@JimResnikoff]

Great words Daniel.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@sascotttx5145]

Back in the film days(anybody remember those?), I had just finished reviewing proofs with a portrait customer, and she gave me the usual, "The photos look great. I just don't like the way I look. I always look strange in pictures." She decided that she would "weight" six months and schedule another session. As the door closed behind her, a makeup artist that was there for a later shoot said, "Next time you shoot her have the proofs printed backwards. You should do that anytime you shoot a woman." I'm thinking that this is coming from a gay male, so I asked, "What good would that do?" He said, "That's how they're used to seeing themselves. In the mirror." It made perfect sense, and although I didn't do it every time I shot a woman, the times that I did do it I never heard, "I just don't like the way I look."

[@richski8061]

Great advice as always, Daniel. Thank you for addressing these issues for the benefit of your viewers. :)

[@pavelkostyuk1316]

Thanks for sharing!

[@BTcycle]

Great advice as always, Daniel.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thank You!

[@kevinw7995]

Great explanations and solid, real life example. Always helps to use an actual experience.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@alexanderpons9246]

Happy Friday to you too Daniel Norton! Great topic for discussion, communication and 5 second delay response are a must sometimes when dealing with people in general. Funny how even very good looking people like models and actors they look at themselves through the filter of insecurities they carry around, while all outsiders(like Photographers and Makeup Artist)we look at them from the outside without the insecurity filter. I once had a situation(during film days)we took few polaroids and when we were ready to shoot the partner of the client did not like the polaroid at all so we did not shoot any like it. When the time came to look at film the client who kept all polaroids expressed how she was looking forward to X shot as the more she looked at it the more she liked it, so it was very hard for me to tell her "well, your partner stopped that shot and we did something else". Unfortunately during the time of film one could not afford to shoot unlimited rolls of film, today with digital one can shoot away. All that said, there will be times when clients have a bad day and we just happen to be in front of them so we must not take it too personal because the is a high chance that the issue does not lie on us in the end.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Yes, clients can be their own worst enemy

[@shaunflemingphotography]

Agree. It also depends on the client, i.e. The one who wants family pictures that has no idea what they want vs say a corporate client that says "I need the images to look like this". Family that has no idea lets you be more creative. Corporate clients are no time to be creative, use your knowledge to make images they need.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Indeed

[@BIMLounge]

Wow, this can really be applied to any creative or even consulting job. Thanks!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@davidabarak]

Excellent advice. Keep it up!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@marlonemelo123]

Great video. Thanks for share.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks for watching

[@fabipuello]

Wise advise. Pretty practical. Thank you

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@mattorrz759]

Thanks for more helpful tips Dan. 🤙

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks for watching

[@bobwilliams557]

Great advice!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@Fabzsoundmedia]

great stuff Daniel!!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@TerryGreen-ye5ry]

I never liked to he a customer say, "I thought you said". This is why I document on paper. Documentation beats Conversation. Some people you just can't satisfy no matter what.

[@JohanSchmidt]

Solid advice 👍🏻

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@bardoteachings]

Thank you!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@deltadave44]

the couple times I had to explain why I was using the modifier/method of shooting a client ...I always ended with "...and if I do it this way (the way the client wanted) it will make you look heavier (or older)..."...and that ended the debate...

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Not sure I would have phrased it like that personally, but if it worked 😊

[@marcvloeberghs881]

Thanks Daniel great subject you can consider a photoshoot with the client present and giving negative comments on the pictures as an objection in a sales pitch . As usual for in such situation you approach your client with open questions among others those starting with "w.." . If possible you ask for an example of the desired look but at the same time you educate your client he could be presenting an edited /photoshopped result which completely falsifies the comparison.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Communicating is key for sure

[@witcheater]

"What don't you like about... blah, blah, blah?" I have to ask even in my day job. I expect others not to communicate their ideas well, but I still will get stumped from time-to-time for interjections while in the process of the creation of a product. I admit that I have trashed a whole project for misunderstandings of what the "other" actually wanted, I starting anew. In as much as I would have preferred to just punch the client/person/supervisor in the face, my job is to give the person what they want whether I like it or not. But like you said, Daniel, there are often times behind the scenes issues that just have to be dealt with, but do so in a positive down the road way... 👍

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Yes, sometimes it’s hard to be positive, but I do try LOL

[@alan.macrae]

Throwing them off the roof isn’t an option? jk, great video Daniel, thank you. Have a great weekend.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Not until they paid

[@dominicwroblewski5832]

You could be the best in the world at what you do, but if you can't communicate with the client, you're toast. Good communication is the key to getting you and the client to where they want to go. Communication is an essential business skill and If some one wants to succeed in photograph, or any venture, they have to be able to communicate.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

For sure

[@jairoplagio5100]

Good work Daniel. What make me thing: how include drama in the softness light)) with flags? We♡AdoramaTV

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Shadows equal drama

[@darkroom8317]

Daniel Norton to client “what you want is more drama, not a 5’ octa” Me contemplating some of my past jobs “don’t all clients either want drama or create drama?” My Wife “let’s watch something on TNT tonight, they know DRAMA!” Loved the video, though the audio seemed a touch off (esp at the beginning) this tyme for some reason.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks, not sure why the audio drifted

[@samchuks9299]

Thanks for this masterclass, it's informative. Am an aspiring photographer, please I'd like to know, who decides how the final images should appear before rendering, the photographer or clients?

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

In the case of a commercial client it will always be the client. In the case of some thing for a person and particularly, would I call retail photography that would have to be decided ahead of time between yourself and the client but typically I would handle any of the final presentation based on what we discussed

[@RaymondParkerPhoto]

That's how it's done. But, boy, it sometimes takes a whole lotta diplomacy. 😀

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

True, very true

[@garrycore]

A guy called the Black Eagle has a saying “Put it where the goats can get it!.” You bring it home and make it easy to digest. Thanks

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@tw9535]

I don't even know how many nice pictures I have lost to burial on Never Neverland because of objections that, to me, came out of deep, deep left field... or maybe all the way from planet Mars. Beautiful pictures, even. But, it's their pictures in the end. I'm pretty sure that is what drives photographers to switch to wildlife photography.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Ha ha maybe

[@JohnSmith-eu3ql]

I have had a situation where poetic lisence was a concern, given an open opportunity to be creative.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Well if you were given an open license to be creative and they don’t like what you produce I hope there was a back up plan LOL

[@jpdj2715]

Psychology. I guess, the deeper nature of the question that people asked you "what do you do when the client doesn't like the images?" is, how did you settle that financially, or how did you cater for it in your business model? Not too long ago, a certain Miss Annie L., photographer at large, advertising her education videos, started that advertisement with saying something like, "I'm not responsible for the people in my photographs looking good!" That's an approach she can afford, apparently, even after a couple (almost) bankruptcies. Maybe her business model is that you can hire her time, inclusive of equipment and staff, irrespective of you buying her photos or not. Maybe a couple shots are included in that, electronically or printed. In the case, Daniel, of your story, you did the second series of shots, when, implied by how you tell the story, you felt you were done with the sitter and she had your best work. That second series had no or little use (value?) in retrospect. But, did you get compensated for it?

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

It was not a second setting, I always review the photos multiple times during a sitting and it happened early on. I would never do an entire sitting with somebody and then show them the images hoping that they like them. I always shoot in small batches and go over the images with the with the clients as we go. So, we only had one sitting and yes of course I was compensated and she got amazing images that she used for a long time and became a regular client of mine.

[@speliotis]

You have excellent people skills... but these kinds of issues are why some photographers shoot product !!! just saying !!!

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Indeed, I always say to be a people photographer you have to be a people person

[@nicholsceramiccoating8284]

🤔 humm great advice 👍

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Thanks

[@ArgunTekant]

Client: [in literal tears] these are horrible. They make me look like I’m 50 Me: how old are you? Client: 50 Me: 🤦‍♂️

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

I hope in the end they got what they wanted from the session

[@ArgunTekant]

@@DanielNortonPhotographer They didn’t. But they got drunk, and got silly, and instead we got some fun shots they really liked. Never asked me again to do their professional shots though. (and since, I’ve invested in some Black Pro Mist filters)

[@ragedunicycle1157]

Hey

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

👋🏻

[@anthonyparsons4560]

OJ my veryv1st shoot m model kept telling mevthatvsheclooked lievher mother in every shot chemist have shot her fro m everycphysically capable Angle i could get into eventually the only shotvshevliked was of her laying facedown with me laying about4 yards away (my poor back wasin bits afterwards but inhad a very happy model/client at the end

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

Good for you, that you stuck with it

[@b991228]

I would like a free lesson. I will hire you then tell you I hate all your work.

[@DanielNortonPhotographer]

🤔