Hello all,
My girlfriend and her family recently booked a photographer for a shoot in a small studio closeby to them (Northern Ireland). They had seen her photography online and wanted to hire her for a shoot, shoot was booked online and a deposit paid. The photographer didn’t give a phonecall to discuss options, ideas, or anything about what she may have planned for the day of shooting, now this will come back later too.
So alls good and they get to the photoshoot today, get to the building, welcomed into the small studio, no contracts to sign, no discussion of ideas for what they wanted done today, just straight into shooting. Shoot goes ahead, they all take their photos and the family members dart off pretty quickly, photographer hands my girlfriends mum a booklet.
So they take it home and look at the booklet which then mentions the pricing, and that the photoshoots will not be given in any digital form and no loose copies, you can only buy framed prints with the cheapest of her range being a desk framed 7x5 image for £95. With some packages being as high as £2499. Also no mention of pricing on her website either.
Am I right in saying this all seems a bit bait and switch? Any clients I have ever worked with have had a consultation meeting or call before I take on what they want, aling with a discussion about payment and delivery.
Looks like you booked a sitting, not prints.
Many studio and professional environments have a cost for shooting and preparing the images, and then the client reviews them. Then they have a second pass where clients choose which images, if any, they want retouched, edited, and printed for large wall prints, or other formats like wallets.
The business model shrank with the transition to digital, and shrank again with photo printing that anyone can access. Even so, the business model is still around.
Nothing criminal about it, just that you were expecting a different type of transaction. Most studios are very clear up front about the model, that prices are for the sitting and not for prints.