A Design For Life: Stories From Behind The Lens

2019 Chronicles Part 10: Vultures

"Good work ain't cheap, and cheap work ain't good."

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One of the biggest frustrations a photographer (or any freelancer for that matter) faces is the one topic that is often discussed in hush tones - The Client On A Budget.

When I think of such clients, the first thoughts that will come to my mind are either boiling rage, deep breaths of guided patience, or sighs of surrender.

The reason I say this is because while most of us freelancers try not to turn away any form of potential business that would bring us some income, there are cases where we would say no to a client after much hesitation. It's not like we can afford to do so, but there are just some cases where we just can't bring ourselves to say yes to.

Now before you start giving the silent judgement, let me share an experience with you.

About a year ago, I got a call from a photographer friend of mine who asked if I was able to take on a wedding shoot at the last minute. Sensing something was amiss, I asked my friend for more details, to which he said the only details he had was that the photographer for the wedding had bailed out at the last minute. Bear in mind that when I got this call, it was Monday morning. So imagine my shock when I was told that the wedding was happening on FRIDAY EVENING, which was 4 days away!

I was curious and wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, so I told my friend to give the groom my number and get him to call me. Half an hour later, I was on the phone with a rather nervous-sounding groom who explained to me what had led to this call.

Apparently, a month before the wedding the photographer (whom the couple had hired a year before) had an urgent personal matter to attend, and did his due diligence by getting another photographer as a replacement. However, with just a few days to go before the wedding the replacement photographer pulled a shocker by bailing out at the last minute.

I don't want to bore you with the details, but when I asked how much was the budget for the photography, the groom hesitated for a bit before he told me the amount.

Out of respect, I don't want to reveal exactly how much it was, but all I can say is that I had a rude shock that bordered on near anger.

Long story short, I could see why the replacement photographer had bailed out. It was a case of a client that wanted a service for a ridiculously low amount. While I felt sorry for the groom at the other end of the line, at the same time I felt really annoyed.

Politely, I told the groom my thoughts on the situation and because the wedding was just days away, I offered to shoot the wedding at a fixed price - foregoing all my usual charges - as this was an exceptional case. I gave him a couple of hours to consider and get back to me as soon as possible. Eventually, he would text back an hour later to thank me for offering my services as he had found somebody to shoot the wedding for the budget he had.

To be honest, I wasn't surprised at all, but I did understand how that replacement photographer must have felt. That photographer was all of us who, at some point, have been rejected by a client who wanted good work for a low price.

Not that I'm complaining, but I'm pretty sure that some of us (or rather, most of us) freelancers would relate to such cases.

So to the layman, please understand that when we quote you a price for our services, we don't just come up with an amount out of thin air. A lot of things go into consideration behind the price we quoted, and at the end of the day we want to have a win-win situation that works out for both client and service provider.

You may not know this, but every time we get rejected we feel a sense of discouragement. The only thing we can do is shrug it off and move on. Because while one door may have closed, another door will open. There's a saying among us freelancers that sometimes saying yes to a job that you feel uneasy with may not be the best thing to do, and I believe that.

It's sad but it's true, but that's just the way it is with this business.