Silly Things Customers Have Said to Photographers: by Dominic Lee and Friends

By Guest
Monday, September 20th, 2010
  1. Can you take people out and touch them up? (from Paul Cooper)
  2. Pointing to the 20×16 in the price list for 500 Euro, customer asks “how much is it for one? I don’t need 20!”
  3. In the middle of a family session, the Dad steps forward and hands me his own digital camera, “take one with this I’d like to email it to all our relations”.
  4. Customer: How much is it?
    Photog: The sitting fee is 65 Euro
    Customer: Would it be any cheaper if we stand? (from Richie Gavin)
  5. I’d like a disc of high res proofs so I can zoom in on the faces, I promise I wont print them myself!
  6. Customer: I’ve come to collect my wedding album from 15 years ago
    Photog: Do you mind me asking why you left it so long?
    Customer: Do you have any idea what it’s like to find parking around here? (from Fran Gavin)
  7. I presume you will throw in a set of high-resolution files so I can make my own album & give out copies to my friends; I’m a bit of a dab hand at Photoshop myself you know! (from Michael McKay)
  8. I know you, you did my sister! (a girl who bumped into a wedding photographer in a pub).
  9. Customer looking at the previews, “My ears are far too big” (from Andrea Siffert)
  10. Customer looking at previews, what’s that mark on my face? Photographer stares back at the woman’s face and says retouching is free but plastic surgery is extra!
  11. After shooting a family reunion of 13 children with their Mum & Dad, one son, a Builder, asks how much for 14 (10×8)s?
    Photog: I’ll do them for 50 Euro each
    Builder: Ah come on, I don’t want them framed!
    Photog: Actually they are just in card mounts
    Builder: Wow, you’re a bigger robbin bastard than I am!
  12. Customer: Can you make me look slim? Photog:- Sorry Misses. I’m a photographer but my cousin is a panel beater down the lane! (from Brendan Grace)
  13. Photographing a group of 18 kids in studio, amongst the chaos one of the fathers comes into the studio sits beside me and starts taking photographs, I say to him “no cameras please”. He retorts angrily…….”why not they are my children”? (from Joe Gavin)
  14. Customer collecting his passport photos “Can you also put that onto a disc”
    Photog: “Yes that will be an extra 50 Euro”
    Customer: hands over a memory stick saying “I dont have 50 Euro so just put in on this instead”.
    Photog: “Ok, that will be 49.50”

Do you have any funny stories or crazy things your customers have said? We’d love to hear them, please share in the comments.

–

Priory Studios Logo

Dominic Lee and his wife Mairead are the owners of Priory Studios located in Dublin, Ireland. Dominic is the primary photographer and Mairead manages the accounting and frame production. Additional staff members include: Vladimir who handles digital retouching and printing, and Linda manages the operation.

Phone: +35312880755
Email: info@priorystudios.ie
Website: http://www.priorystudios.ie
Blog: http://www.priorystudios.ie/blog/
Twitter: @priorystudios
Facebook: http://facebook.com/priorystudios

Here’s how you can share your tips, techniques and tutorials on CurrentPhotographer.com

–

*The Current Photographer website contains links to our affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support our efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.

Categories : Guest Bloggers
Tags : ,

Comments

  1. oooh I’ve got so many of these… where to start?

    I used to work in a lab and I handed someone a folder of pints that I’d put in upside down by accident …..
    Client: All my pictures have been printed upside-down!
    Me (turning the pictures round the other way) : There you go….

    Client looking at a wall of prints from an event..
    “How do I know which one is me?”

    A couple of other random comments..

    “You should have told me I look like that!”

    “what do you mean you won’t re-photograph and Photoshop out the big © on this other photographers image? We like your canvases … they’re much cheaper”

    • Customer calls into my Portrait Studio and asks “how much is it for passport photos?”
      Reply – €35 for 4
      Customer- “WHAT, that’s more expensive than the machine in the Mall”

  3. While shooting an outdoor wedding ceremony quietly off to the side of the couple and minister, sporting two camera bodies, including one with the big, loud, white 70 – 200mm lens; I’m joined by a relative of the couple. I whisper to her “you really shouldn’t be up here” and she replies “Well you are”

  5. I had a mother of the bride looking at the proofs and wondering why everyone else looked the same as she sees them but why the camera made her look fat and older. I had to keep a straight face on that one.

  6. Oh my goodness!!!! Swamped today and this just gave me a few seconds of comic relief… Good to know I’m not alone…THANK YOU!!!!

  7. People always ask, (knowing I am a professional photographer of course) “So, take any good pictures lately” I usually respond “that’s the only kind I take, I don’t see the point in taking any bad ones….”

  8. Hi Cormac,
    My friend would love to use a picture you took of me to hang in his Tanning Studio (its on your website) but there is one problem, your logo is in the middle of the picture. Would you PLEASE be so nice and send me that picture without your logo and as well could you please make my skin a little bit darker and change the colour of my swimsuit to orange?

    I’m sorry for bothering you with this, but i would love to have my picture hanging in my friends tanning studio.
    Thank you VERY MUCH for your time.

  13. Some of these are fab!

    I had a client who asked me what kind of camera I used. Trying to keep it simple, I explained that it was a pro level Canon DSLR and lenses. She looked at me and said, ‘you shoot with a digital camera? Don’t you have a real one? Surely only amateurs use digitals?’ I think she expected me to turn up for the shoot with a £100 compact.

  14. I was working on a real estate photo shoot. At the master suite (2nd story) the Seller proceeded to remove a window screen and said, I’ll hold on to you. Just hang out the window and take a panorama photo. That’s my favorite view”. Lol

  15. I love these!

    Something I get quite often which really irks me is “Wow, you must have a really good camera!”. Yep, thanks for your vote of confidence in my ability.

    Even worse is it comes from friends and family as well as clients.

  16. Customer: This is a picture of myself taken 10 years ago. Can you make me look like that?
    Photographer: Yes, I can take a picture of that picture, if you want.

  17. Customer – How much? look I’m an artist myself so I know what photos cost!
    Photographer – I never knew artists based the price of a painting on what the canvas & paint actually cost!

  20. Hired to shoot headshots for a company the customer requested I bring a mirror so people could check themselves before having their photo taken. When I got there they have me setup for the shoot in the studio which has mirrors. Full length mirrors covering an entire wall.

  21. I was photographing some cheerleaders and a woman came up to me while and said “she’s a photographer too” pointing to a mother with a small click camera that was moving my poses an getting in the way. (why am I here)

    My favorite is when a client says “oh and you can switch heads, move bushes, touch up this and that and make my face thin, and add a different color to my shirt”. (in my mind I reply, why yes, I would love to spend the next year editing your photos.”)

    Oh the joys 🙂

  22. A Fashion designer phoned the studio and asked me for a quote, to photograph appx 100 dresses for her website and to supply one of each image in high res format as she needed to print on a brochure also. I estimated between 600.00 to 850.00 euro as it was short notice and I heard there was a recession on 🙂 plus it’s nice work to get.

    The reply I received was “Oh, that seems a bit on the expensive side, the last time I got this done, the photographer charged me only 500.00 for everything”

    I then asked the client “Do you mind me asking what is the average cost of one of your fabulous designer dresses?” The client replied, “Well actually, they range from 500 euro to 8,000.00 euro each”
    I rest my case. I got the contract by the way 🙂

  24. Two cameras and a large tripod, along with a bag full of film …”are you the photographer” was the question from a passer by at a Wedding shoot in a park.

  25. I Just love when I tell people I am an Artist/Photographer and they ask “oh, are you any good?” sometimes I feel like being a smart ass and I respond “no, not at all”  I always feel like saying to doctors “oh, are you any good? ”

  26. Yehhhhh, i have a good one from my time from advertising in manchester
    The impossible we can do straight away….
    miracles take a little longer.
    We use this as a pay off line now for a bit of humour, see vid.
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qunf_tl95xk

  27. One of the most irritating ones I get recently…”Looking for family portraits on the cheap”.

  28. Customer: How do I download my photo from your online gallery without your company name across my face?
    Me: you have to pay for it.
    Customer: Why?

  29. Customer with an 8×6 wedding photo & a 10×8 frame:
    “I want this photo to fit this frame but I don’t want a mount and I’m not paying again”
    Photographer – “try soaking it in water overnight then gently stretching it with 4 people”
    Customer – “can you do that for me?”
    Photographer – “No, I only have 2 staff and it needs 4 people”
    Customer – “Ok, I’ll try that”.

    Dying to see the results!!!