Talking in Loud Whispers: Difficult Clients
As we advance through our careers as photographers, we will encounter any number of difficult client situations. Sometimes it's a child who we simply cannot manage. Sometimes it's a person who has their own vision and gives creative direction that is completely foreign to your style or what you set out to accomplish. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances such as a recent or pending death that make the session bear a weight unlike others. And, sometimes you just don't mesh well with the client and it's nearly impossible to connect and make the images you envision happen.
How does one gracefully handle the child (and the parents of the child) who cannot be peeled from the ceiling? When and how do you steer a client back to your creative vision when you've gone off in some other direction? How do you lessen the personal emotional burden that comes either before or after a session? Is it possible to make a creative comeback mid-session and forge ahead or is it sometimes better to just let things play themselves out and take what you get at the end of it?
It's impossible for me to emotionally separate myself from my sessions, before, during or after. I have too much invested in what I'm doing both as an artist as well as with the service I am providing, so it follows that there are certain conflicts that will only ever arise for a photographer. Let's explore some of our personal experiences, share how we fared before, during and after, and maybe come up with some strategies for handling both clients and ourselves under the sometimes stressful conditions unique to being a people shooter.
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