How to turn down work without burning bridges

[rogue_designer]

I turn down work when I am too busy to guarantee that I can devote enough time to making the client happy, or when I cannot make a profit from the work, or am not interested in the genre/feel I'm not the best photographer for the job.

A difficult client, I charge more or I deal with it.

 

[back alley]

i'd really like it if someone was willing to pay me to shoot...just sayin'...

 

[koven]

koven, you asked the question...please don't get bitter/nasty because you don't like some of the answers.
let's keep this friendly or i'll close the thread and just end it here.

joe

My bad 😉 I apologize.


Thanks for the answers guys.

 

[Nigel Meaby]

It's amazing that a kid with a couple of hundred snapshots of your mates and a bit of street on Flickr, with your X100, and supposedly "a couple of pictures that went viral on Tumblr (and?) starts throwing his weight around here and insulting knowledgeable, experienced photographers such as Chris.
Take a humility pill kiddo! You really are not all that yet and probably never will be.
You got a lucky break and some work with a singer and now you think you can turn down work! Take whatever you can because you never know when it's going to dry up. You also need all the experience you can get!

 

[Chris101]

I have a personallity and work ethic that makes it possible for me to work with just about anybody. I think this is important if you are trying to build a business - one thing you do not want to happen is for you to get the reputation of being difficult to work with. Normally, one should just suck it up - puke behind a tree if you need to - and keep the client happy.

That said, there is ONE client I will never work with again. Perhaps this is the case here, only you can say for sure.

 

[Boris Stupak]

'koven's" pictures are pretty good. When you're good you know it, and you don't have to take nonsense from difficult people for long.

I'm not making any comment on Crawford's pictures, but just saying 20 years of "experience" doesn't trump raw talent. A few good flickr photos are better than a dozen websites.

On the other hand, when you're new, take the money and swallow your pride.

In my experience in the creative world, I never did my best work with people I didn't like. As soon as I was in a position to avoid them, I did. Dumb people are psychic vampires. You'll make a lot more than $8 per hour.

It's amazing that a kid with a couple of hundred snapshots of your mates and a bit of street on Flickr, with your X100, and supposedly "a couple of pictures that went viral on Tumblr (and?) starts throwing his weight around here and insulting knowledgeable, experienced photographers such as Chris.
Take a humility pill kiddo! You really are not all that yet and probably never will be.
You got a lucky break and some work with a singer and now you think you can turn down work! Take whatever you can because you never know when it's going to dry up. You also need all the experience you can get!

 

[back alley]

let's stop comparing people and their work...it only makes you all look bad...in the end...it's the client who will decide anyway.

 

[astro8]

How do I let her down without burning bridges she has a lot of connections with people who I would want to shoot in the future.

You can't. She'll find another that puts out good work and you'll become last weeks leftovers in her eyes.

I'm in a completely different industry but one thing I have learned it's who you know (and keeping those contacts 'alive') and not so much what you know that will land you the big contracts.

 

[zvos1]

Well the thing was I gave her some amazing pictures but she was more nitpicky than anything. "oh i look too intense here" "my ass looks so big" ect.


I talked to another photographer with a lot of experience (done stuff for GQ, H and M, Mastercard) and he told me how difficult she was and that he wouldnt work for her again.

There's your answer, once you have a lot of experience then you'll be able to knock the jobs back. In the mean time suck it up. I have my own business (not photo related) and in the beginning I wasn't choosing clients, I took any work I could. Now, after 6 years I do choose my client's very carefully.

 

[peterm1]

I think like many others here - suck it up and be a mensch. Its called earning a living. At least you don't have to go into an office each day and kiss up some tosser you would not talk to if they did not have power over you. cheers :^)

 

[user237428934]

Well the thing was I gave her some amazing pictures but she was more nitpicky than anything. "oh i look too intense here" "my ass looks so big" ect.

Were they amazing? Not in her eyes. Think about your goals when you service clients.

- you lose when you satisfy your expectations but not the expectations of clients
- you win (money) when you satisfy your clients expectations but not your expectations
- you win win when you satisfy your clients and your own expectations.

No matter which job you do. When you work for clients, the win win situation is not the everyday standard.

 

[thegman]

I would just charge what makes it worth your while. If adding 50% to the price would make you want to grin and bear it, then do that. If you're in a position to turn down work, then feel free to do so, but I'd heed the advice above to make it about pricing or some other reason which does not involve the client taking a dislike to you.

 

[RObert Budding]

Perhaps the OP could learn something from this 'difficult' client. Compare the photos that she liked to those that she didn't like. It could be that she's sensitive to an anatomical characteristic, such as a broad face, that can be dealt with by applying proper technique, such as short lighting.

 

[MikeAUS]

Koven, some very good advice here - some not so good. Just keep taking pictures - your portraits are some of the best I have seen and I'm sure more clients will come your way ...

 

[froyd]

koven, you asked the question...please don't get bitter/nasty because you don't like some of the answers.
let's keep this friendly or i'll close the thread and just end it here.

joe

It would also help if Chris did not refer to the OP as "this guy". I

 

[taskoni]

To the OP:

I work in a bit different business but I have to deal with similar issues on daily bases. My advise to you is don't give up. Accept the situation as a challenge and make it work. There's always a way you know 🙂
If I were in your shoes I would talk to here, see what she likes and imagine and think how to use this as an advantage. Your great creativity and vision sometimes are not enough, see what she really need/like and do it in a way no one else can do it. Think of this as a part of her character you want to capture (if you want to take it that way) Don't forget to have fun as this I find very important of any kind of portraiture work. May sure she has fun too! And here you go, you'll be cooking with her in no time, I promise you 🙂

Regards,

Boris

 

[f16sunshine]

My advice is sort of Mr Miyagi in a way.

"Run the Trenches!"
When you are first coming up you HAVE to go for the worst, most ball busting jobs you can get your hands on.
Build some chops, thicken your teflon, learn how to mix things up to show many sides of the subject and situation.
Get a big voracious appetite for tough assignments now while you are young and have the energy for it.
It will make everything that follows seem much easier because you built the skill set
"Artist" clients like your Diva are great for building your skills in photography as well as being a good handler. If you want to shoot portraits both are equally important.
Go get it.

 

[ray*j*gun]

If the money is good, and she has connections that you can benefit from, why not just do the work? Making a living as a photographer is not easy, why turn down good paying work?

Having worked with clients all my life I will opine that the only reason I would turn down an assignment is if they didn't pay the bill.

I agree with Chris, work is work....if a client is too much of a PIA I charge more to compensate.

 

[OurManInTangier]

The choice is, clearly, yours to make but one point I would make as a (my term) jobbing freelancer is that 'difficult' clients are a potential goldmine. If it's possible to build a relationship with a client that is difficult and picky it can be a very good thing. Other photographers may not wish to work for them so you get more work.

Also, it certainly doesn't sound like she hated your work and that's the important thing; she wants to work with you again. That's good. Tough but good.

As to her 'difficult' nature, from what you've said it seems like a very natural level of vanity that pretty much everyone has but I guess more so when these images are going to be an album cover and other promo images.

All in all it sounds to me like you did well. Perhaps a discussion around what she wants, what you need to provide that, a realistic and fair charge for the work and you're set to go again.

Pro photography is the same as any profession - you've got to be professional and suck it all up. Some of my clients were a nightmare to work with initially yet now we have an excellent and trust based relationship. However, having said all that. If you really don't want to do it you may cause more damage to your reputation taking the job and doing a half arsed job or getting ratty half way through it 🙂

Hope your happy with your decision and get plenty of future work, it is tough out there.

 

[newsgrunt]

Thanks for the responses guys, gave me something to think about. Are some of you guys saying its normal to have difficult customers?

hell yeah 😉

these clients can teach us much, in their own way. but regardless, if they hire you, they see everything if they want.