Heartshape said:
Make sure your contract says the client is liable for payment whether he likes the end product or not. There are risks involved in business, even in using outside contractors like photographers. He has to like your work or style to engage you to do his work in the 1st place. Whether he likes the end result is a risk he has to take. Of course we as photographers also must automatic a bit lah. If you feel he genuinely dislikes the shoot and even we ourselves find it only so so, the right thing to do is to do a re-shoot. But if it is the a$$h*Le trying to play punk, as long as you have the legitimate paperwork, bring him to the small claims tribunal and settle things for like $20.
If I were you, I'd go to him and say it's new year in a few days, so if he doesn't want bad luck for his business he better settle all the monies he owes everyone, including you.
Actually jsbn gave me a very good idea. Give the client the shots in very low res to view. Satisfied? Pay and get the high res versions. No money no talk. Mmmm....good trick jsbn. Will do this from now.
Theres a clause from which I cited that the photographer is not liable for any amendments or reclaims should the client find the final product not of satisfactory presentation after the transaction have taken place. Just that, he has yet to sign the agreement.
Now he is trying to bring out the fact that I was not entirely aware or fore-noticed, that he have spent alot of $ trying to get me to photograph his products, food by the way. Oh come on, I even went into the extend to rush from my workplace twice to his store, both by taxi with total amounts up to $30, and have to rent lightings since the lighting was utterly bad there. No harm I supposed but he was only paying me $10 per hour, and the pricing of each photograph is yet to be finalised. I reckon from his words that since "the photos are of poor quality", maybe he is hinting that he would probably just purchase the license for ten or less. I did conclude in the Photo Release Agreement that I hold the entire right to own the pictures though.
Any general idea, or suggestion how should I deal with him? Frankly, I have no intention AT ALL to puff up the entire incident, like many of you suggested, I should probably take this as a lesson. The only problem is, the money issue was discussed days beforehand, and I told him specifically that payment must be made before I pass the photo, which of course, the day I pass him the photos, he ask if he could send a cheque instead, and I on one hand, is really tired of travelling back and fro, so I was sort of obliged to agree.
By the way, the 400 odds photos I passed to him are all at 300dpi, 600x490, since hes paying me at that kind of sum. The only woe I share now is that, I personally custom-edited each of the 400 odds photos, which took me the entire 2 nights worth of sleep!
Argh! :angry: