This past week, I turned down three jobs. :-(
Two jobs were turned down because their dates, six weeks from now, conflict with days that I’m holding for tentative assignments from another client. Two definite jobs turned down in favour of two possible jobs. What was that saying about “a bird in hand…” ?
Many wedding photographers ask for a non-refundable deposit to hold or book a date. But I’m not aware of any corporate photographer, business photographer or commercial photographer here in Toronto who asks for a non-refundable deposit when booking a job.
Most professional photographers have postponement and cancellation policies in place. But these generally apply to last-minute booking changes and not changes that might happen weeks in advance.
Perhaps photographers shouldn’t accept tentative jobs too far in the future ? Maybe lost jobs are just part of doing business?
The third job was turned down because I didn’t think I could do high quality work given the circumstances:
Three days before the shoot date, all I knew was the where and when of the job and that five(?) models, some clothes, an ice rink and a gym were involved. There were no layouts or concepts of what was required. Oh yeah, it might’ve been necessary to light half of the ice rink. Also, there were 24 to 40(?) product shots to be done on other day(s) in an undetermined location and, again, no page layouts available. Plus, an unknown number of days of computer work.
The client wasn’t sure of any details (warning bell #1) and they were in a hurry (warning bell #2).
There was no way I could do a rush quote without knowing exactly what or how I was going to shoot. Without knowing any details, it’s also very tough to plan equipment and assistant(s).
A photographer will never lose by turning down the “wrong” job. Doing poor quality work, for whatever reason, is always the fault of the photographer not the client. A polite “no thanks” is always better than “it’s not my fault.”
Tags: estimates, negotiating
