About 18 months ago, maybe more, a couple booked me for their wedding. They were rearranging cos of you-know-what but their original photographer couldn’t do the new date so they came to me, via him.

They were borderline obsessed with my work. Possibly the most complimentary couple ever about what they saw in my portfolio. And I’m talking aesthetics and beyond. So nice.

They then had to postpone again by a year.

Then… around six months before their wedding I got a WhatsApp message, simply saying they wanted to book an additional, separate photographer to come to their wedding to take care of their portraits and detail photos. Why? Because they loved the editorial nature of this person’s work. They wanted to check I was ok with this before they booked this other photographer.

Erm. What?

Yes, I was offended temporarily. I should’ve instantly suggested a phone call or zoom, but I didn’t and I responded via WhatsApp. There was a bit of a back and forth – it wasn’t heated but it wasn’t nice either. It was professional.

Yes I have a clause in my contract that I should be the only stills photographer on the day. But I would never realistically enforce that at the expense of my clients getting exactly what I wanted.

And when I got over the initial feeling of being offended that’s what I realised. They’d decided for whatever reason, that despite being so overwhelmingly positive about my work initially, they now wanted something that they thought I couldn’t provide. So that’s the question I asked them.

I didn’t say ‘no how dare you’, I just said ‘tell me what it is that you want that you’re not seeing in my work’. And that started a much more positive conversation that we took out of WhatsApp and into a series of Zoom calls.

They sent me a load of photos showing what they wanted, and in return I showed them a chunk of stuff that wasn’t in my online portfolio, showing that I could shoot the kind of stuff they wanted, which was mainly soft, bright editorial-style portraits and editorial-style details of their decor, table settings and wotnot.

Of course, I left it that booking the additional photographer was entirely up to them and I wouldn’t spit my dummy out if they decided to BUT I’d much prefer to be the only photographer and had full confidence in myself that I could shoot the kind of photos they desired.

So they didn’t book the other photographer.

It doesn’t end there though…

As well as this, they had decided my editing was no longer to their taste… now preferring a softer, lighter, colder style of editing.

This became clear when discussing why they wanted the other photographer. It wasn’t just the style of photography, it was the softer, less contrasty edit.

I didn’t push back, and I still really wanted to work with this couple. I could’ve walked away from the booking and suggested they book someone else but I didn’t. I told them I will work to their preferences when shooting and editing their wedding.

I’m telling you this today because I just shot their wedding recently and it was A DREAM. They were a dream to work with, at a beautiful venue, on a beautiful day. Them and their families were wonderful to me, and knowing exactly what a client wants is great as far as I’m concerned. Yes I had to adjust my approach a bit, but I’m delighted with the images and while there’s still the adjusted-editing-style bridge to cross, I’m confident about that too just because I’ve shot it in such a way that should/will suit the kind of editing look they want.

Moral of the story: I don’t believe in client ‘red flags’ and while of course there’s an initial feeling of being offended when someone questions your work or approach, it’s usually just because they know they’ll only do this once and they want it to be ‘perfect’ (by their own definition). And when it comes down to it, as much as I have my normal style/approach… I also want it to be ‘perfect’ by their definition because that’s how they’ll be delighted. And when all is said and done, I want delighted clients.

Does the story end there? No. I haven’t explained why I chose the heading at the top of the email yet…

On Sunday I shot an engagement shoot. Pre wedding shoot. Whatever you want to call it, I shot one of those (for a different couple to the one in the story above). Afterwards I sent them a couple of preview images. It was late, and the cards were downloading so I just pulled out a few of the straight-out-of-camera (SooC) JPEGs and sent them over. I don’t do much to images shot in near-perfect light and because I shoot manual white balance and manual everything,  I knew the JPEGs were 95% of the way there in terms of my final look.

They really loved the preview. This was the first time I’ve ever sent SooC JPEG’s, so that was an interesting moment.

A few days later, at home on my iMac I edited a few more previews and sent them over along with the first three I’d sent, now with my preset applied. The difference was negligible, but noticeable if you know what I mean.

They loved the images BUT preferred the first set due to the ‘more neutral’ tones and less contrasty finish.

They preferred the SooC JPEGs! What?! I’ve spent a decade working on my editing!

So I’ve said I’ll bear their preference for a more neutral, less contrasty look in mind when I’m editing the full set, while also explaining that I edit for print, not for backlit phone screens… although should I be editing for backlit phone screens considering that’s probably how/where 95% of my images are viewed?! That’s a discussion for another day… anyway…

Am I a bit sad about two clients in a row not loving my editing? Yes. A little.

But more than that I’m thoughtful about whether this is a general shift in the preferences of (at least) my clients for a different look/finish.

It’s a quandary! Or is it?!! I’m very committed to knowing who I am artistically and sticking to what I do and how I do it. But I’ve always said I don’t want to be so stubborn that my work is unable to mould and adjust to changes in clients tastes and preferences.

Is this just two clients who know what they want and are confident enough to say it — which I really respect by the way. I love direct honesty, and as I say knowing what people wants makes it much easier to delight them with the final product.

OR… OR! Is it a hint at a wider change in what people (in general) want? My work has cooled down over the years as it is and I shoot a lot more backlit/soft/portrait oriented editorial-style stuff these days anyway. Back in 2012-2015 my work was so warm it was almost orange, I think my work is way more neutral these days but still warm because it’s what I love. I can feel my own preferences moving towards a slightly cooler, slightly less contrasty finish. But are my clients even further down that road?

Are the times ‘a changin’? Can someone ask Bob Dylan please?

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend of creativity!

Adam