Client unhappy with me posting a few images of there wedding day on my Facebook page

Agreed - poor form before the client has seen them but.....What's in the contract you have with the clients? Is there a part about posting the images?

Also poor wording from the client.
 
I think the tone of the message clearly demonstrates his annoyance, and tbh I'm not surprised by it!

"You rude *******! You were asked not to post ANY more photos on line before we had seen them. What part of that did you not understand? It's a special day for us not your ****ing business. Wise up."
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He has a valid point tbh, what part of being asked not to post any online prior to them viewing didn't you grasp?

He was wrong to call you a rude ******* he should have called you a stupid *******

The tone of his message is harsh and I'm frankly surprised that you feel the need to post about it here, its pretty clear cut you've been a complete tool and he's rightly very narked.

Your asking if you have the right to post them yet he specifically asked you not to prior to them viewing them first, that should - out of prosessional courtesy if nothing else - be your answer.

My wedding photographer is a friend yet he still made a point of asking my permission to use a few photos on his website,and long after we'd viewed them.

He'd have had a far stronger message from me had he done what you did.

Wise up indeed!
 
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Sounds like your attitude to the pre-set stipulation from the client was along the lines of "I own the photos, I can post them where I want".

While in some respect this may be deemed true (posting them on social networks as opposed to posting them up on national press), they said not to post anything until they've seen them so you should have respected their wishes really.

Your contractual agreement would have stated the process of shoot > production > delivery, if you don't have this then I'd recommend you certainly add it from here on. Whether the contract is bound by email, a signed paper or even SMS or verbal doesn't matter. An agreement is an agreement and is binding, they seem to have stated a term,, and you both came to an agreement.

A mistake was made, offer an apology and some kind of compensation for their "distress" - Sure their message was terrible but you won't win against them on this one I'm afraid if you choose to fight it.
 
jasonsony735 said:
I totally understand its someone's special day so on this occasion and in future I will make it clear to couples that I like to post 1% of the images before releasing them the final album.
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To prevent the kind of problem you're currently facing, taking into account that customers can be quite fickle, I'd just play it safe and let them always have the album first with contracted acknowledgement that some photos will be publicised after x number of days/weeks of them receiving your work.

The client's response is definitely uncalled for but for all we know he might now have a wife going on about this to him like a woodpecker to the head temple.

You're obviously upset and sorry about what's happened but rather than beat yourself up over it, recognise that this is an experience that can help to improve your skills in customer relationships and, thus, strengthen your business and generate more happy customers. Mistakes are often a required ingredient for obtaining wisdom.
 
To give an example. My sister got married at the end of last year. She had a small ceremony out of town and then a month later did a party for all the other people that couldn't get to the wedding. She gave explicit instructions to everyone not to post pictures so the others that hadn't gone to the wedding didn't see her dress before the wedding party. She would have been rightly ****** if the photographer had decided to post a sneak peak on Facebook!

I think the least you can do is ask for permission before posting anything. It's something you could easily bring up prior to the wedding. If they say no or aren't too sure then don't do it..
 
You could frame future posts like this:

Email the client with the photos attached to the email and say "Here's a sneak peak of the photos from your special day! <some fluff about you hope they're enjoying their honeymoon>. I think they are looking great. Would you be happy for me to post this small sample/sneak peak on my facebook page? It makes it easy for you to share with your friends and allows me to showcase my work. No worries if you would prefer to keep them secret until they are all done.
 
My contract states I am able to use the photos on my site (there is no time line restriction) but at the end of every wedding when I say my goodbyes, congratulations and wish them all the best on their honeymoon I say that I normally post a handful on Facebook and will tag them in it, if they tell me at that point don't then I won't. But 99% look forward to seeing them. I actually post a lot less on Facebook these days, even though I shoot a lot more...it's weird. The workflow should really be

Shoot, process, deliver, blog.

I've only had one request from client not to post any photos, we manage to come to an agreement that I would select 5 that they approve. These kind of things are quite common if you photograph high profile clients and they are call NDA if you put it on a piece of paper. Some have time restrictions like 6 months.

The absolute key here though is you need to keep the couple happy with your services. It is more than just the pictures. You need to show consideration also.
 
Our Photographers had a box to tick on the contract if we didn't want them to use the images on social media or in competitions etc which we ticked and nothing further was said. The very occasional wedding not being on your blog/facebook is not going to cost you anything in terms of business and the positive word of mouth is always likely to get you more bookings. At least three of our friends enquired about our photographers, they'd put there prices up after we booked them so none of them could afford them and to be honest we wouldn't have been able to at there new prices!

I've always found it odd when friends wedding photographers have posted shots of facebook in the days straight after the wedding when I know full well they haven't seen them yet as they are already on honeymoon! I would never thing it is right that the client gets the first 'sneak preview' at the same time as the whole of facebook!

Oh and the guy is clearly an idiot he could have worded his message a little better!
 
Have to agree with the consensus here - he was very rude and aggressive but his point is totally valid and I suspect he was just typing in the heat of the moment.

I realise we all have different contracts and stipulations etc. Personally I state that I retain the right to use the images for my own promotional purposes unless specifically asked not to, which I'd respect.

Regardless of this, I'd never put the pictures up anywhere or show them to anyone before the bride & groom have them. That's just common sense and courtesy tbh.
 
Don't post pictures of anyone online without their permission. End of. If it's not a family member or friend, get written/signed permission and inform them first. Playing the contract says XYZ won't endear you to anyone. Even with permission, if someone asked to have their pictures removed from wherever, do it asap regardless of if you have consent or not. Isn't this obvious?
 
I may be completely wrong here, but I think we aren't quite getting the whole story.

I agree with the consensus that you should have shared the image with the clients first before putting it on social media.

The tone of his message is rude - but having read it I think it sounds as though it is in response to a message you sent him? I am guessing you put the images up, he sent you a message to ask why you had done it and you responded saying it was your prerogative as its in the contract, your IP etc. and then he responded with the message you are showing us? I may be off the mark though.
 
Ekim said:
I may be completely wrong here, but I think we aren't quite getting the whole story.

I agree with the consensus that you should have shared the image with the clients first before putting it on social media.

The tone of his message is rude - but having read it I think it sounds as though it is in response to a message you sent him? I am guessing you put the images up, he sent you a message to ask why you had done it and you responded saying it was your prerogative as its in the contract, your IP etc. and then he responded with the message you are showing us? I may be off the mark though.
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It's the "any more photos" that's interesting - as if some were posted, then the client asked for no more to be, and they were.
 
Just to say I agree with the consensus. What you did was clearly not professional, and as EKim says, sound like his response was a second warning.



First rule of Business, customer is always right.
 
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