So, the other week we were coming out of Sainsbury's (happens to be the closest supermarket) and were accosted by a sales rep from a photographic studio in Lancashire (who will remain nameless as I don't want to slag off another professional - well, not directly at least), and agreed to enter a prize draw to win a portrait shoot. "Why not?" we thought. It was booked and, yesterday morning, we went.
Now, I must admit, (rather ironically) that I wasn't particularly looking to going, as I envisioned something akin to jobsworths from a double-glazing company battering you down until you agree to buy something you don't want. Now, in reality, I really enjoyed it, though not as much as Eden, who absolutely loved it. He screamed with delight every time the studio lights fired (to the displeasure of my left ear). The photographer himself was a great guy, really chilled out and not at all pushy. In fact, he was just like I would like to be myself in that situation. So where's the problem?
The problem lies not in their images (which are great, if a little gimmicky/cliche'd for my tastes), but in their whole way of running their business. Though we weren't pressured at all, we were given a copy of the price list and given a time to come back to the studio to view the images. Great, hey? Unfortunately not, no.
What will sadly happen on the viewing night is akin to extreme emotional manipulation and a real sense of sadness that all of these wonderful images of my beloved family will have to be doomed to being deleted, because of the sheer scale of the prices involved. Every image we view will have to be answered with a 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe'. Eventually, even the 'maybe's' will have to become 'no's'. We will leave the studio with nothing more than one or two framed 7x5" prints, whilst we try to make mental photos of all the ones that got away. Images on DVD are available, but only at a cost of £553 for 10 (first viewing only), or £700 ish if bought after that.
The journey home was a sombre one, and made me even more determined not to make my clients feel how we were feeling right then. Where they pressure you into buying things you can't afford, I'll leave the door open for you to buy your photographs for up to five years, with no threat of losing valuable memories to my Mac's trash bin. My DVDs come as part of every package, and contain 15 of your favourite images (high resolution, of course). Extra images aren't cheap, but they are affordable, as opposed to crippling. While they offer a studio viewing, I currently offer a private online viewing gallery, away from the pressure of a sales-hungry photographer/wolf breathing down your neck.
Yes, it's going to be sad seeing all those images dying before their time, but it's made me more determined than ever not to do the same thing to my clients.
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