7 Photography Client Red Flags You Should Look Out For

With experience, you learn what are some of the Photography client red flags you should look out for when in conversation with a potential client.

But for the best-case scenario, I’m listing down the red flags I’ve spotted so that you don’t have to face the same issues.

In this post, I’ll be talking about the red flags for a Photography client.

Honestly, if someone told me these points when I started out, it would have been really helpful.

It is absolutely essential to know how to handle the business side of Photography. What are the usual norms of the industry? How much should you be charging for your services? How to spot a fake client?

Table Of Contents

Not agreeing for an advance payment

Getting an advance payment for a Photography project is a pretty basic thing. I would not recommend compromising on this.

You should ask for at least 50% of the amount to be paid in advance.

Why so?

You’ll need to procure different items for the shoot like a studio, props, setup, perishables, lighting on rent, etc.

Ideally, you should not be spending money on these things out of your own pocket. Also, don’t forget the traveling cost involved.

Additionally, you can ask for a booking fee as well before the advance comes through.

Because if the client backs out close to the shoot date, the date you had allotted for their shoot will be wasted.

You could’ve taken up another project on that day but because they canceled, you lost an opportunity.

That’s why having a booking fee makes sense. It also assures you that the client is looking forward to work with you.

As if they are in two minds about the project, they wouldn’t agree on paying the booking fees.

Trying to intimidate you by telling you they have cheaper options available

Every brand or agency that is looking to hire a Photographer talks to a number of Photographers before choosing one.

That’s a known fact.

But if the client reminds you of this point repeatedly over a telephonic conversation or via email, they’re most probably trying to intimidate you with the competition.

Expecting you to lower your charges thinking that there are many options available for the brand, so the chances of you getting hired will increase if you agree on a cheaper price.

Do not fall for this.

You are the judge of what your services are worth. What other Photographers are charging shouldn’t affect your own commercials.

Be confident in your pricing. These clients are most likey to begin the conversaton with a statement that says they’re tight on budget even before the specifics of the project have been discussed.

Also Read: Affordable Photography Courses you should check out

Asking for all of the RAW images at no additional cost

Giving out all of the RAW images (hundreds of them) from the shoot isn’t fair to the artist/Photographer.

Usually, the commercials shared for a project are dependent on the number of edited images needed from the shoot.

If you send all of the RAW images to the brand, they can get them edited by someone else and have unlimited pictures. Pictures that you weren’t paid for.

Plus, the person who shot the image is the best judge of how to edit them.

Mention this clause stating that you don’t provide RAW images at the beginning itself when you send the final proposal.

If they want the RAW images to select the best pictures out of them, you can send low-resolution jpgs with your watermark instead.

Not sure about what they want

Sometimes you will come across brands that aren’t exactly sure about what kind of pictures they are looking for.

They will share a mood board that has pictures from Pinterest, ranging from minimal shots to complex studio shots. Avoid questions about the details like the number of products to be shot, the timeline of the project, etc.

It is not possible to share a rate for a project that has such a wide range of expectations. Most of the time, this is because the brand doesn’t have the experience of working with a Photographer.

They might say something like, “We’ll see how it goes”, “We can change the idea later if it odesn’t work.” This is a clear sign that means you will be asked to re-take pictures if they land upon some new idea in the middle of the project.

Offer to help out and shortlist ideas that are more specific.

Have a look at the mood board they sent and create your own mood boards with their respective rates.

Also Read: Looking for good backdrops? Here’s what I recommend

Offering vouchers and products of their brand

When a brand has a low budget, they often offer their products and vouchers to make up for it.

I wouldn’t recommend accepting such offers.

Everyone works for money in return for their efforts. Products and vouchers aren’t of any use and they will degrade your worth a Photographer who can agree to utilize his/her/their skills in exchange for some ‘goodies’.

I’ve seen this happen with big brand names which sometimes even have a verified Instagram page.

They use the fact that they’re verified and their products are expensive to under-pay the artist.

Asking for a free test shoot

This is a big NO.

You’re not to be shooting for free a brand just so that they are assured of your skills. Test shoots are supposed to be paid too.

And why shouldn’t they be?

You’re driving down to their office or a studio to shoot, bringing your expensive gear, shooting their products, delivering the pictures – all the same things that you would do on a paid shoot.

Even if the brand says that they don’t need you to share the pictures, only want to see the output, don’t do it.

You will still be using your gear, skills and most importantly your precious time.

Sharing other Photographer’s work with you as a reference

Chances are they are doing so because that Photographer is out of their budget. And they just want you to replicate their work at a cheaper rate.

They might not even have looked at your portfolio and past projects before connecting with you.

Such clients aren’t particularly interested in working with you, but rather interested in creating a dupe of someone’s work that they can’t afford.

If you take on a project with them there will be difficulties every step of the way as they are looking for identical pictures and not original creative ideas.

Client Conversation Guide: Know what to say & when

Find all of the responses you should use when the client asks you a question that is listed above. The guide consists of these 14 situations and tells you how you should convey your message in a polite and professional manner.