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How long to give photographers?
I did a few costuming shoots over the weekend and was wondering how long to give photographers without bugging or nagging them to see photos. I'm confused as to how long to wait as one of them sent me a bunch of finished photos yesterday, only a few days after our shoot and they look great. Another just sent me a collection of raw proofs to go through and select for them to process digitally and said once I do that I'll have final copies in a week or so. I haven't heard anything from two others since we parted ways after shooting, not even a follow up email or phone call. I'm a little paranoid because I haven't always had the best luck with photographers. I did one all day shoot back in April with half a dozen costume changes and he must've taken at least a thousand photos. When all was said and done I got 5 of them (and only two outfits). And when I asked about the rest he said "I'm still working on them/there's other people ahead of you". Needless to say it's been months and I still got nothing else. How long should I wait to be approached before I ask them about it? Or because they have yet to follow up I should just settle with it being a loss and waste of time and move on? Sep 05 13 10:12 pm Link Wait as long as you agreed to wait. Wait, it sounds like you never discussed how long to wait. That was your mistake, and theirs. That should have been discussed at the shoot. The photographer knows their schedule and whether one week, two weeks, or a month is appropriate. Some photographers provide proofs to be selected for final edits, and other photographers solely pick the images to edit. All of this is usually discussed either before the shoot or talked about at the shoot. Sep 05 13 10:39 pm Link Since you hadn't talked about the schedule at or before the shoot, that puts you lower of their priority lists. They have no firm due date to deliver images. I suspect of the six costumes, he liked the images from two, but not the rest. You may never see the rest. Thousands of clicks does not result in thousands of good images, not even hundreds at times. He is probably being more picky than you might be. that is his work you'll be showing, and he may not want his name on something he does not like. Send an email and check his portfolio once a month; see if he is using any of the other shots. Have another photographer take the shoots, but negotiate the timetable before the shoot. Negotiate to review the proofs. If you like something they do not, negotiate using the image without them being credited as an option. Sep 05 13 10:48 pm Link Why aren't you asking the photographer at the shoot what your expectations should be? - assuming he's not volunteering - which he really should be. Sep 05 13 11:01 pm Link If you've not discussed it yet contact them and politely ask how the pictures are coming along. Don't let your paranoia of past shoots effect your future shoots. All you really need is the best of each shoot not "thousands". And remember, any examples of time frame given here is irrelevant because none of us here is the photographer you're dealing with. Sep 06 13 02:19 am Link ckatz wrote: I hope you're not expecting a thousand finished images. You got five images -- fully finished? -- and that's pretty normal. Sep 06 13 02:27 am Link The five I got weren't fully finished. They were RAWs he put his watermark on. I was promised at least 2 finished from each costume change. I don't expect thousands but at least one of each outfit. It was supposed to be for my sewing portfolio. This was also a paid shoot - I paid him. I asked the other photographers at the shoot about timing and they said they weren't sure themselves which is why I'm confused and want to know how long is too long. Sep 06 13 01:59 pm Link i've had models start texting me an hour after the shoot! be enthusiastic but don't nag too much. and the sad truth is some photographers never provide any images. and reward the good ones with repeat shoots (if they are interested in that). for our part we dropbox a session gallery to the model and ask for her favorites. then we retouch as many of those as we can (but at least two per hour of shoot time). a few times i've gotten way behind (like a month) and had to hire a retoucher to finish up. Sep 06 13 02:01 pm Link I have had images back in a few days to a month to never. Nagging doesn't help and can backfire. Remember that a lot of photographers have day jobs. Sep 06 13 02:05 pm Link ckatz wrote: There's too many variables that you aren't providing. Sep 06 13 02:22 pm Link I have gotten images back in either a day to a week to a few weeks to months to never. one shoot i did i never got the images back which really disappointed me. even if you discuss it at the shoot and the photographer tells you approximately when you will get them back that doesn't guarantee you will get it back at that time. I am not sure why everyone is responding kinda negatively saying you should have discussed that at the shoot. Like I said no matter what they say it doesn't mean they will. It just depends. As a model our time is valuable. We do deserve the images back. We realize photographers have jobs too but so do we and our time is not free.  hope that helps Sep 06 13 02:34 pm Link btw i'd wait about a week or 2 to start asking and then maybe ask like every week or 2 or 3 without stalking. lol you can ask in a nice way like, "hi, just wondering the status of the pics. not trying to rush you or anything. thanks so much." that's what i do. Sep 06 13 02:38 pm Link it's one thing to stand [or kneel] there and click a button. it's another to take those pixel piles and start moving them around and stuff. sometimes it's laziness, sometimes it's disappointment, sometimes it's too much going on. that means you may get some images between now and never. Sep 06 13 02:43 pm Link ckatz wrote: You paid, but didn't negotiate a time frame? Okay, learn from that mistake. Sep 06 13 08:20 pm Link ckatz wrote: You paid who? There were several photographers there, did you just pay this one or all of them? Sep 08 13 05:26 am Link photo212grapher wrote: +1. Sep 08 13 10:05 am Link 2 days to a month now. Before when I was new it was 3 months to 5 months. Sep 08 13 10:35 am Link I'd probably say something like, "Hey, just checking in. I thought our session went really well and I'm excited to see the shots. I was really hoping to have them available for my portfolio, do you have any idea when they might be done?" If you really want to push, you could say you were hoping to have them by date XX/XX/XXXX, if that was possible? For a photographer, it can be easy to put editing on a TF shoot aside if you think the model doesn't mind waiting and another shoot seems more pressing or if paid work is around, so just make sure the photographer is aware that you are keen. Sep 08 13 06:59 pm Link Don't know if it's just me, or the fact that I don't get very busy like other photographers since I'm more of a hobbyist, but I hate the feeling of having unedited photos sitting in my computer, no matter if it was TF or paid. All the TF I've done I've gotten the images to them from 2 days to 1 week depending on how many. My first TF I got the photos to the model the next day, meaning I didn't sleep that night lol. But I can totally understand the stress other photographers go through having so many shoots to edit. I think a photographer should be the first to offer the model a time estimate, and if he/she doesn't then the model should ask, and if the photographer "can't" come up with a time frame like stated in this thread then I believe the model should insist maybe lightly saying "well is there a rough estimate you could give me, are we talking days, weeks, or months?" Without sounding rude. And maybe at the end of the shoot let them know how excited you are to see the finished results. Sep 21 13 11:08 pm Link I provide a time frame that the model/MUA/Hair/Wardrobe can expect images. Usually the first drop is low res proofs for the people involved to choose what they want edited along with 2-3 that I liked and already edited for myself. After that, it depends upon how long it takes folks to get back to me. If someone is paying me, they automatically go to the front of the line. Sep 21 13 11:38 pm Link |
