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07/20/2008 12:36:38 AM · #1 |
grrrr...
I need to vent a little, then write a client about some images taken from my website.
See, a nice person paid me to photograph their child, and chose a package. Because of the way I worded the package, it COULD have been misinterpreted & I ended up giving her 40 wallets of 40 different poses (bad enough, BUT it was my decision to take the high road & let her have them).
Rather than me pay a printer, I had a TON of 4x6 paper here @ home & printed those instead (it was cheaper to just do it myself). She takes these images home, scans them & uploads them to her MySpace page BUT gives me credit links me and brags to people about how great we are. I mean, at her child's session, she was honestly making me stop working & give my biz cards to OTHER people. She really has been helpful & nice...
But tonight I see that she has used a cell phone or P&S to take pictures of her computer screen - of pics she did NOT buy from me - and posted them to her MS page too. This has gone WAY over the line of what I can tolerate; nice or not, this is outright stealing my work (AND making it look like crap!)
::whew::
Ok, would anyone care to help me compose a polite but firm message? I'm great @ being a 'smartass'... not so good on tactful & understanding. Any thoughts?
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07/20/2008 12:44:18 AM · #2 |
Dear _____________,
I hope the pictures you recently purchased met your satisfaction. It was privilege to work with you, and I appreciate your helpfulness in spreading the word about my studio.
However, it has come to my attention that blah blah blah.
My nice mood just ran out. :)
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07/20/2008 12:49:28 AM · #3 |
She might refer others to you and you said she was nice. So when you are ready, and the anger has subsided lol, why not send her a note starting with what  karmat wrote and tell her that her cell phone capture might make it look like you do low quality pictures because that's how they look online. So maybe she could take them down and just keep the better looking ones and just refer people to your site instead?
I guess I am saying that if you keep the focus of your letter solely about being concerned as being seen as a low quality photog, she "might" see a point of view that she did not consider. Good luck! |
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07/20/2008 09:45:53 AM · #4 |
And... offer to give her a CD full of small screen resolution pictures that she can post. (or charge her, if you must, but at least give her a way to post the images that she is obviously proud of)
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07/20/2008 09:50:55 AM · #5 |
| How did they get copies of images that they did not purchase from you? |
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07/20/2008 10:19:30 AM · #6 |
In so much as word of mouth is the best form of advertising, (and free), the same word of mouth can kill you. Karmat,  colorcarnival, and  dwterry have it right. Be kind, mention your concerns, then give her something to help her advertise for you. The payback will be a thousand times more then any cost.
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07/20/2008 10:34:04 AM · #7 |
| I appreciate you wanting to help me advertise, but..... |
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07/20/2008 10:38:43 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by jeger:
How did they get copies of images that they did not purchase from you? |
it looks like she went to our website (where clients can purchase prints of our work) and used a cell phone or P&S, and photographed her monitor. That's gotta be one of the most low-tech ways I've heard of doing a 'screen capture' LOL. anyway, the end result is even worse because now the work looks like crap.
The second I saw them, it occurred to me to just be nice (more flies with honey, and all that stuff). Guess I just needed time to vent / cool off. I'll probably just ask her to brag MORE about us (AND promise to say we offer great value for the prices, even though we just raised our rates). I'm sure she'll go for it, because she KNOWS we've been incredibly gracious & giving with product / time / prices.
Maybe I'll put a signature on the images this time ;)
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07/20/2008 10:51:18 AM · #9 |
You might want to also consider that the images she captured with the cell phone will look poor enough in comparison that even the average viewer will understand that there is something different going on.
Were I to come across such a collection, the clear crisp images would be enough to get me to click over to your site. The quality there would sell me.
Breathe deep... |
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07/20/2008 10:59:39 AM · #10 |
Billy, my best suggestion is to protect yourself in the future.
On another website there was recently a person who stole images from the professional websites of about 25 or more photographers, laid her logo over their logos and made herself a website claiming all of those images were hers.
Because of this, and other stolen images issues, I changed my copyright logo to be a bit more invasive:
Nothing will go on my blog now without an invasive logo (blog is not right-click protected), and none of my client gallery images display larger than 800pix.
Also, I started doing live preveiw sessions only (no previewing via web-gallery). I create a video slideshow of every client's session for them to see during their Preview. They can buy a DVD quality version of the video, or they can view the version I load to youtube anytime they want. Allowing them to see & share the youtube version seems to help stop stealing. My seniors have their video linked to their MySpace pages instead of stolen images from my website.
.... goes back to creating the next senior video. :)
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07/20/2008 11:26:50 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by idnic:
Billy, my best suggestion is to protect yourself in the future.
On another website there was recently a person who stole images from the professional websites of about 25 or more photographers, laid her logo over their logos and made herself a website claiming all of those images were hers.
Because of this, and other stolen images issues, I changed my copyright logo to be a bit more invasive:
Nothing will go on my blog now without an invasive logo (blog is not right-click protected), and none of my client gallery images display larger than 800pix.
Also, I started doing live preveiw sessions only (no previewing via web-gallery). I create a video slideshow of every client's session for them to see during their Preview. They can buy a DVD quality version of the video, or they can view the version I load to youtube anytime they want. Allowing them to see & share the youtube version seems to help stop stealing. My seniors have their video linked to their MySpace pages instead of stolen images from my website.
.... goes back to creating the next senior video. :) |
idnic I noticed your new copyright logo yesterday when viewing some of your photos. I am very impressed with the logo, it looks good and does not take away from the viewable image. Nice placement and while being more invasive one can still view the joy of the photo. One of the best copyright logos I have came across.
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07/20/2008 11:49:15 AM · #12 |
BillyGoat, I would give her a disk of all the images sized to 500px on the longest side with my logo prominently stamped on the bottom. Saves face and adds advertising all at the same time.
Your letter:
Dear Jane,
I noticed that you took some screen shots and uploaded them to your myspace page. I must say, I am flattered that you liked my work enough to do this. However, I also noticed that the quality suffered a bit in transition. I would like to offer you a disk with the files on it for use on your myspace page. They will be resized and ready for web site upload.
Since I am offering the disk for free, they will have my logo on the bottom right corner.
If you would like to accept this, please contact me back. But please remove the shots that you have up right now because they really don't show great quality (which is something I strive for). I am sure you understand my position and I would like to help you display some great photos of your child. It was a pleasure to work with you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
You
Just a thought :) |
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07/20/2008 11:59:41 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by TCGuru:
BillyGoat, I would give her a disk of all the images sized to 500px on the longest side with my logo prominently stamped on the bottom. Saves face and adds advertising all at the same time.
Your letter:
Dear Jane,
I noticed that you took some screen shots and uploaded them to your myspace page. I must say, I am flattered that you liked my work enough to do this. However, I also noticed that the quality suffered a bit in transition. I would like to offer you a disk with the files on it for use on your myspace page. They will be resized and ready for web site upload.
Since I am offering the disk for free, they will have my logo on the bottom right corner.
If you would like to accept this, please contact me back. But please remove the shots that you have up right now because they really don't show great quality (which is something I strive for). I am sure you understand my position and I would like to help you display some great photos of your child. It was a pleasure to work with you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
You
Just a thought :) |
Billy, do the above.
Going the angry, i'll show her, route, will most definitely lose you some potential customers and it may make her feel like she did something wrong while not being brought out on it and cause more emotional discharge to your disadvantage.
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07/20/2008 12:33:33 PM · #14 |
For the future...
Don't do web proofs..I've broken this rule at times and usually regret it. I've upped my watermark a bit just becuase of that.
Don't put a pic up on a site as a sample that the client didn't buy- not an easy option at times, but if they bought a print they've no reason to steal the sample off your site or blog.
Give them lo-res files of every pose they buy - I do this with seniors and I tell them upfront. If others ask - babies, families, I'll do it for them too at no charge. I know the quality will be there and i'v taken away most of the incentive to steal.
Many people do this as a regular thing and it can be hard to overcome the "I paid you to shoot the pictures, so what's your problem?" mentality.
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07/20/2008 12:37:35 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by TCGuru:
BillyGoat, I would give her a disk of all the images sized to 500px on the longest side with my logo prominently stamped on the bottom. Saves face and adds advertising all at the same time.
Your letter:
Dear Jane,
I noticed that you took some screen shots and uploaded them to your myspace page. I must say, I am flattered that you liked my work enough to do this. However, I also noticed that the quality suffered a bit in transition. I would like to offer you a disk with the files on it for use on your myspace page. They will be resized and ready for web site upload.
Since I am offering the disk for free, they will have my logo on the bottom right corner.
If you would like to accept this, please contact me back. But please remove the shots that you have up right now because they really don't show great quality (which is something I strive for). I am sure you understand my position and I would like to help you display some great photos of your child. It was a pleasure to work with you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
You
Just a thought :) |
Good thought. Nice was to promote...pacify the customer...and make yourself at peace.
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07/20/2008 05:35:20 PM · #16 |
Terrific responses all around - thanks guys!
I'm glad to have used a 'cooling off period', and expect our client AND us will be much happier in the long run.
(BTW - I've already stopped using online previews, begun marking our files with a signature, and recently raised prices... funny, but we're getting MORE work for it all!)
:)
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07/20/2008 05:53:30 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
For the future...
Don't do web proofs.. |
Why not? I can anticipate your response for wedding proofs, perhaps, but why not for a portrait sitting? |
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07/20/2008 06:38:20 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by geoffb:
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
For the future...
Don't do web proofs.. |
Why not? I can anticipate your response for wedding proofs, perhaps, but why not for a portrait sitting? |
You sell on emotion. The first time they see the prints is when they are most emotional, most excited. I'm about to add a tier of pricing - buy at the V&C and pay the listed price. Buy later and pay 10% more (maybe higher even). Why? Sales drop dramatically if they don't buy immediately. They have time to 'discuss it', 'think it over' - basically weedle it down to the bare minimum.
They can't steal images if they're not on the web. Right click? Screen Capture? I'm sure someone out there has a program to snatch things off websites, or as you say, take a pic of the screen.
Color - what do their monitors look like? Could be quite crappy and you'll never know it, they'll just order little to nothing and tell their friends about the 'red' pictures or 'dark' pictures.
Who sell your work best, you or dad who wasn't even there for the shoot? Yeah, when mom looks at the pics at home dad will be there too - and women buy photos, not men. Men are practical and one wallet is fine with them. I've heard female clients say it "Don't tell my husband what I spent, he'd kill me!".
Did the client buy the image? Then it was a good picture. Remember, your objective is to move the money from their pocket to your pocket, where it rightfully belongs!
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07/20/2008 06:53:59 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by SDW:
idnic I am very impressed with the logo, it looks good and does not take away from the viewable image. Nice placement and while being more invasive one can still view the joy of the photo. One of the best copyright logos I have came across. |
Pretty easy to clone out though in about 1 minute. I'd think the whole point would be to protect from both instances. Like it or not, invasive in my mind means it has to be placed in a fashion that also discourages cloning.
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