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Cancellations
I have had THREE Saturday cancellations in a row! Two of which were for paid shoots. When this happens, especially if they cancel the day before, I am left with nothing to do the next day. Other photographers that want to work with me have already filled their day or are busy and not able to contact me back. I have heard of photographers requiring a deposit, but what about a model? A 25% deposit due 72 hours before a shoot sounds reasonable to me, because what if I have a $100 shoot and I have my hair styled professionally? I have thick, curly, and wavy hair that takes a long time to straighten, so if I pay to have a salon do it with their high quality flat iron, then I won't be out any money. Does this sound reasonable? Jun 28 06 08:37 pm Link Roxy Dehart wrote: i feel your pain. Jun 28 06 08:51 pm Link Roxy Dehart wrote: Yes...it does.....why would your time be less valuable than anyone else's......from my standpoint I used to breakdown the fee into three parts.....a deposit, non-refundable if they break the contract.....the minute I walk onto the site....another third or I go home.....the final third when I deliver the material...... Jun 29 06 12:06 am Link Good idea Jun 29 06 06:47 am Link I used to pay models a $50 kill fee anytime a photo shoot got cancelled or postponed, but once I learned how heartlessly unreliable most models are I stopped that nonsense. Jun 29 06 07:18 am Link The sad thing is, in this case the notorious model is the one who is being cancelled on! I haven't cancelled one yet, and wouldn't unless my husband or I was in the hospital. I don't understand why anyone would do something they don't take seriously. If you want to be a model...show up! It makes no sense not to. Jun 29 06 07:30 am Link ::sigh:: you can add another cancellation to the list. That's four out of five gigs cancelled. I haven't worked a Saturday for four weeks. How can someone just forget that they were supposed to do something else? Am I scaring people away? Jun 29 06 06:11 pm Link Roxy Dehart wrote: Well I will say that the second paragraph of your portfolio would scare me away from booking you. I feel that portfolio space is better utilized to tell people what you have done than telling them what you won't do. Jun 29 06 06:18 pm Link The two girl idea, good idea! I have to put out what I don't do in the open. It allows only the ones who are going to respect my limits to come through. If you need someone to do nude, don't waste your time on me. I have exchanged e-mails with photographers before, only to be told that they only want to do nude. I like to nip it in the bud and get it out there so we don't misunderstand. I do up to implied nudity, and as one photographer said, I shouldn't have to show my goods to get somewhere, and he's right. With all the genres there are, why can't I just do the ones I feel comfortable with? But let's not get off topic. The ones that cancel have various reasons. They all know my limits, and have already decided what kind of shoot to do. Most recently, it was lingerie. He said he forgot but he had to help someone move. This week, a photographer told me his wife was making him move out so he had to cancel. This was actually quite reasonable, because he cancelled on Monday for a Saturday shoot. Plenty of time. Last week, it was because he booked another model and either forgot or he thought she would cancel and she didn't. The week before, oh I forgot why but it was cancelled the day before. The week before that, it was due to poor prep (it rained in Houston and he didn't get the cars he needed in because it was raining the day before). All good reasons, most with little notice, all in a row. I think I need to get some good pictures in my port so I get photographers that won't cancel on me, the serious ones. Not to say anyone I've shot/scheduled is not serious, just I need more serious photogs. Any models experiencing a heavy spell of cancellations also? Jun 29 06 09:04 pm Link Roxy Dehart wrote: Totally reasonable. Jun 29 06 09:47 pm Link yes, the last three shoots, the photog. cancelled on me. Two were going to pay me and one was tfcd. It frustrates me because we spoke many times beforehand to plan it out. then thay cancelled last minute. -natalie Jun 29 06 09:58 pm Link many photographers book extra gals off the net - asking too many... in case of no shows...ie the others flaked I guess maybe you might have been unlucky that way, seems odd for photog to cancel at the last minute but not so much if they just cancelled you.... Beter luck next time and thanks for pointing out how long it can take to get shoot ready! Jun 30 06 02:02 am Link Joe Kozlowski wrote: If it's for tfp, I wouldn't charge a deposit. If the photographer is the one paying me, I would. I don't know if it's a good idea, but I know when the model is paying the photographer, sometimes she has to pay a deposit to book his time. Why not the other way around if the model is the one getting paid? Jun 30 06 08:59 pm Link Now that you've stated the reasons for the cancellations, my next question would be are they interested in rescheduling? I would say that if any of them are offering a reschedule, then its probably ok. Most of their reasons were reasonable to a degree. If they flake on you twice then you KNOW there is an issue. Its really a case by case basis. I had 2 photographers cancel on me two weeks in a row. The first one was entirely unreasonable in my book and I would have to think very hard about rescheduling. The second one was dealing with a divorce and was honest and said that his budget got out of wack. If he offered to reschedule at some point, I would probably go for it. If he flaked a second time, then I'd write him off and keep on moving. I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for a deposit. Its hard to get people to see the positive side of that though. I think they are afraid that if you require a desposit that you'll just take the money and run. That to me is a little silly, but hey... It was suggested to me by a friend that I use paypal for the deposit since if there is a dispute, paypal is pretty good about refunding money. I hope that you have better luck soon! I know how frustrating it is to have to reschedule and replan!! Jun 30 06 09:17 pm Link If photographers who are getting paid require a deposit, models who are getting paid should be able to as well. The party getting paid, no matter which party it is, should be able to request a deposit. Just because you're not a photographer doesn't mean you can't conduct your business like business. Jun 30 06 09:42 pm Link Roxy Dehart wrote: Instead, consider responding with: Jun 30 06 09:44 pm Link The photogs are flaky, and you have my sympathy. There's nothing wrong with you.. it's them. Flaky, flaky, flaky, and flaky. May their sensors be filled with dust bunnies, their lenses coated with dirt, and schedules be filled with no shows. phcorcoran wrote: Although it may scare some photographers, I don't think that's the case with the photogs who aren't shooting nudes. She went out of her way to say she's ok with implicit. Jun 30 06 10:31 pm Link dissolvegirl wrote: Every rational wedding photographer in the country gets a deposit for the shoot. Jun 30 06 10:33 pm Link I thought about a deposit fee for paying shoots. I think I'm going to do it. Photographers do, so why not. Jun 30 06 10:37 pm Link |
