Am I a Fauxtog ?

[Nightrose]

The short of it is: you got burned! I’ve had this happen as well when I was first starting out. Got paid half in advance, then assurances the rest would come when the photos were received. Of course no money was forthcoming and I didn’t have a contract or invoice or anything to prove it. A hard lesson to learn!

Now for weddings or other paid events, I take advance payment in full. Clients are protected by a signed contract which states how much money is to be paid, along with invoices and receipts. So far people have been happy to pay before the event 🙂

Next lesson: never photograph weddings for your own family for money, it’s more trouble than it’s worth, especially with the potential of things like this happening, and falling out with people you see all the time.

Your photos are good, it isn’t your fault he didn’t pay.

[fstopper89]

I also agree, I take full payment before any photographing ever occurs. And a deposit down in advance for weddings. Both myself and the client have signed contracts/receipts so if I for some reason did not show up or deliver any images, they would be able to take legal action against me for the money paid, as well. Clients should also realize that no photographer who actually cared about their business would just fail to deliver anyway, but I’m sure it’s happened with fauxtogs.

[kbee]

I agree with everybody here. While there are some things about your composition or exposure in some shots to be worked on, you took some really nice photos for someone starting out and for only $100.

I paid 3 times as much as your agreed upon price for my wedding photographer, and I wish she had gotten the types of shots you had. She was good, don’t misunderstand me, but she wasn’t a wedding photog; rather, she was a commercial product photographer and a friend, so she did my husband and I a favor. It just didn’t have a lot of flair as a wedding photog would have for their chosen line of work. But I did pay her the agreed price – and even tipped her extra for her troubles. It’s just the right thing to do.

You did good. Keep working on it and chalk up your loss as an experience to learn from. And definitely: be wary of working for family or friends, because they’ll expect, nay demand, you give them your time for cheap.

In the meantime, you could soothe your pains by enjoying a site like Clients from Hell or the like. You’re not alone.

[Author]

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