Me? I was a Valencia girl myself.
If you read that sentence and knew exactly what I was talking about, chances are you were an instagram OG too. Back when the original filters—Hudson, Rise, Brannan, Nashville, to name a few more—were all the rage.
Those filters have thankfully been retired from the good ‘ol gram, but filtering and manipulating photos in general is pretty much here to stay.
Which is why this is a question I see and get from professional photographers all the time:
“Help! A client put a filter on my photo and it doesn’t represent the work I want to be known for. And THEY TAGGED ME!”
Now before I go any further let me start by saying it STINKS when a client filters your photo. Especially one that you probably spent a good amount of time editing and making perfect. Even worse, it totally doesn’t match the body of work you’ve spent HUNDREDS of hours and maybe even THOUSANDS of dollars perfecting.
However, they’re not a professional. You are. And they might not even know that it’s a) disrespecting you and b) making the image worse. It’s like looking back at a 7th grade yearbook photo. You thought you looked CUTE then, but the horror of your curled bangs just doesn’t hold up. Except you didn’t know any better then. And neither do they. So give them the benefit of the doubt!
And as much as it stinks, here’s what I do when a client filters my photos.
I comment. And I make it nice. Something like, “Absolutely LOVED getting to create these memories for the two of you, but love the two of you even more.”
Because as much as it stinks the filter was used…this is NOT ABOUT ME.
My business is a people centered one. Always has been, always will be. And my clients ALWAYS come first. Even more so, the Client Experience I’ve created is the heart and soul of my business.
That being said, if I were to go to a client and threaten them with my contract—because my contract DOES implicitly ask clients not to put filters on or alter my work in any way—or even just simply ask them to remove the filter, it would most likely leave a bad taste in their mouth.
But by remarking how much I loved working with them, it adds to the goodwill they already feel toward my brand.
“But Kate…. What about the fact that this photo is now representing my brand?”
Guess what?! IT DOESN’T MATTER.
And why does it not matter? Well let’s be honest. We’re bombarded with SO MUCH CONTENT. From the time we wake up to the time we go to bed we’re constantly seeing and engaging with content. It’s content OVERLOAD.
Which is why pretty pictures aren’t enough these days. They’re a dime a freaking dozen. Hate to break it to you, but it’s true.
Pretty pictures will no longer set you apart, but client experience will.
So if someone’s friend is looking for a photographer, the fact that your client RAVES about your experience with them? Well that, that is gold. And it will mean SO much more than a filtered photo ever will.
Not to mention, you have an entire instagram portfolio and website set up with beautiful photos. And it takes consumers an average of 7 interactions with your brand before they buy from you. Which means potential clients are defintily maaking their decision based on more than one photo!! And they’re 99% likely to be checking out your instagram and facebook and website and whatever else before they do so.
So fret not, friend, The next time you see a filtered photo of yours out there on the ‘gram, feel free to scream into your pillow. Feel free to vent into my DMs. BUT then get your typing thumbs ready and leave a ridiculously nice comment under that thing.
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