📸 15 Ways Photographers Sabotage Client Relationships

You thought the shoot went well, so why isn’t the client hiring you again? Let’s explore 15 reasons why and ways to fix the issues.

1. You ignored client preferences and went off in your own direction.

Issue: This is a big one, and it’s the quickest way to lose a client. This also happens more than you would think. I’ve had to do reshoots with photographers who went rogue and didn’t give me what I wanted the first time.  

Fix: Even if you think your way is better, give the client what they want. Give them options, but make sure their ideas are represented.

Often, many people have agreed to that creative direction beforehand, and even if your client approves of a deviation from the plan, you might anger their boss by surprising them with something they are not expecting, which was not approved. I’ve had this conversation. This is not a fun conversation.

2. Your website/ Instagram has not changed since they last hired you.

Issue: If your style or work seems stagnant, they might have moved on to someone whose portfolio reflects growth and new work. When I was a photo editor considering hiring someone a second time, I wanted to see new work on their website. If it was the same as before, I had second thoughts about hiring them even if the experience had been good. 

Fix: You should show that you’re in demand and getting other work. If you’re not, that’s ok, but you should shoot personal work and show that you’ve been committed to that project. No one wants to see a stale website.

3. You offended the client.

Issue: There are many ways of doing this, but this used to happen to me all the time when I was a photo editor. I’d hire a big-name photographer to shoot for me, and they would fail to add my magazine to their client list because they did not deem it high-profile enough. So many photographers have a list of only the best clients. They’ll have only the top-tier companies on their list and omit the others. 

Fix: If you take the job, they are your client and should be on your list. If a client goes to hire you again and they are missing from your list, you will not get hired, and it will create bad feelings. If they are sitting there alongside Google, Apple, The New York Times, etc., that will make them feel good and like you appreciated the work they assigned you to do. When Google and The New York Times move on to other photographers, you’ll still have said client.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.