she doesn't like her photos?

She either has the photos OR her money back. NO way does she get her money back and the 300 photos! Anyhow she said she didn't like them!

She is trying to scam you. Give her money back and walk away. Put it down to experience - some people are just plain s**ts and she is one of them!

Just looked again - how did you supply the photos for review? Lo res on a CD? Give her half her money back and let her keep the proofs. You've saved because you haven't spent hours in the "darkroom" processing them and she gets a load of lo-res pics that she "hates"

You're going to have some real problem customers. Best learn to deal with them.

For example, every year I donate a portrait package to our local high school's annual sports auction. It's a silent auction, and I donate a $300 package; people bid on it, and whatever they pay goes to the school, and I do the shoot for free. What they do and don't get is clearly spelled out.

A couple of years ago, somebody bought the package for $40 (it usually sells for $150-$200, I found out later that this woman took the coupon board and the silent auction sheet and hid them so she could get it without any other bids). The coupon was for a *studio* shoot, up to 8 people, and a nice print package that included 6 prints.

She contacted me, said she had won the auction, and wanted an outdoor photo shoot at a location 60 miles away. I informed her that the coupon was for a shoot at my studio, and that I normally charged $200 more for a location shoot. She got angry immediately, yelled and cursed at me, but I stood by the coupon. She finally agreed to the studio shoot, and scheduled a date. On the day of the shoot, she showed up with 18 people -- saying she wanted to do 10-12 "setups" with various family groups. Once again I referred her to the coupon, and said it was for a maximum of 10 people. Again she got angry and yelled and cursed, once again I told her the coupon was for what it was, and that I would accommodate her larger group for an additional $100. She refused, half of her family yelled at me, then they all left in a huff, saying things like, "You'll never work in this town again."

Three weeks later, I heard from the local BBB (better business bureau), that she had filed a complaint against me -- when I read it, it was full of lies and distortions. I replied through the BBB, providing a copy of the original coupon, describing how she had tried to get all sorts of extras for free, and how she had been verbally abusive, and said I would still be perfectly happy to do the original work as promised, or the additional location/larger group for the specified additional fees. The BBB dismissed the complaint, and I kept my good rating.

She then proceeded to tell anyone in my fairly small town who would listen that I had cheated her, and that the coupon was a "bait and switch," and how awful I had been to her. Fortunately, I have a large customer base in town that's very happy with my work, and since most people in town know her to be a demanding, dishonest idiot, it didn't do me any harm business-wise. But it was all still a major pain in the neck.

Know how some people tell you that "the customer is always right?" They're not. And when they're egregiously wrong, there's nothing wrong with sticking to a written contract or coupon -- in fact it will do you a lot of good in the long run, as people learn that you do what you say and say what you do.

In your case, she gets the photos or her money back -- not both.

I'm not impressed so far by any of the advice offered so far...

I'm struggling straight away why any experienced photographer would need to seek help from the Yahoo! Answers community...'experienced photographer'..? experienced enough to charge a colleague £150 for a couple of hours work.

You haven't given an example of the standard of quality you can produce...not one of the contributors giving advice on this would hire you without seeing a sample of your work...very quick to assume that you are being scammed though...yes it sounds a bit off because your colleague wants a refund and the shots that's the only comment I'm willing to make on the information you've given.

The answer is NO.

She either gets the money or the photos... not both. The only reason you will do this is because she works with you.

You are going to have to draw the line.

She's scamming you and this is the latest in a long line of scams she's perpetrated.

Call her on this bullcorn and let her fuss. If anyone bothers you about it, you tell the story as you have above.

You can show them some of the best shots if you feel the need to prove your expertise... and maybe get some business.

You took 300 photos of a family shoot? Let me clue you in: quantity is not quality. In reality, it's just the opposite. If I were doing a family shoot, they might get at most ten of the very best shots. And I would not have fired off 300 shots. The psychology of giving your client hundreds of shots when she is looking for one very nice shot of her family to put up on a wall is this: As she wades through the first 50 or so, she starts to get bored. Then she gets annoyed at how much work it is. Then she starts to focus on the technically flawed and mediocre shots, which you should not have given her. Then she gets angry and blames you for mediocre work, totally missing the fact there there were a few well-done shots that were exactly what she wanted. Take this as a lesson learned. One outstanding shot would leave her awed and thankful.

It sounds to me like she is trying to scam you... She hates the photos, yet she wants them all back?? Oh, and not forgetting wanting all of her money back too!!

Tell her 'I'm sorry you didn't like the photos, I will refund you the money and destroy the images' She can't have both, and why would she want them? After all, she hates them apparently! She is a cheapskate customer, this is why you don't charge cheap prices for your work because you get cheap customers who want everything for nothing - in this case literally!!

Hopefully you had her sign a contract. But if not then it's a valuable lesson to learn!

Good Luck!

Don't let her have the photos. Just say you're sorry, give her back the money and say that you are destroying/wiping the photos. See how she reacts.

Refunding is the professional thing to do. She gets her money but NO photos. That is what a shop would do with something you took back. They wouldn't give you your money back and let you keep the goods!

Apart from the fact that you sound like a rank amateur, (in controlled lighting conditions, why on earth do you need to take 300 shots??) do NOT give her a refund AND the photos.

She has one or the other - not both.

It sounds like you need to grow a stronger backbone.

The clients get whatever was specified and agreed to in the original contract.

Because you drew up a written contract when you engaged in business with your client, as you always do when engaging in business.

The contract is your legal document which clearly describes what is expected from both parties, and who is responsible for what.

You are responsible for what you promised in your contract. Nothing more.

What's that? You didn't draw up a contract? You may have much larger issues than needing a stronger backbone if you expect to succeed in business (or life, for that matter).

So she doesn't like the shot but she wants all of them ???

Tell her to take a hike.

Give her the money back but DO NOT give her any pictures.