Today I received an email from someone who runs a small clothing store. The email subject title was, “I was mislead by a photographer”.
This person had hired a photographer to shoot some advertising pictures for their children’s clothing store.
It appears that the photographer didn’t deliver any usable images or even the promised number of pictures. The photographer promised model-released pictures of children wearing the store’s clothing. The business has nothing it can use.
The business owner said they prepaid the photographer with both product and cash. The photographer is a child portrait photographer and had asked for product upfront as partial payment. The business later supplied even more product to be used in the pictures.
Apparently now the photographer is demanding more cash and more product. The business owner is feeling angry, frustrated and victimized.
Here are the warning signs that should have been loud and clear before hiring this particular photographer:
— The photographer has no web site, only a Facebook page.
— Photographer communicated only through Facebook messages.
— The photographer has been in business for only a year.
— Sample photos on the photographer’s Facebook page are very low quality. They look like they were shot in a living room and a local park. (The email writer said the photographer was working out of her sister’s living room.)
— Photographer refused to put anything in writing.
— The photographer (initially) offered a very low price.
Unfortunately professional photographers are neither licensed nor regulated. Anyone with a camera can call themselves a “professional photographer.” It truly is buyer beware.
There’s no such thing as a good photographer who’s cheap or a cheap photographer who’s good. You always get what you pay for. And if you’re not careful, you can also get what you didn’t bargain for.
