Why Bending My Own Rules Cost Me Two Days of Photography Work

Have you ever made a stupid mistake that gets you mad when you think about it even years later? I still get mad when I think of this story.

I went hiking with the dogs knowing it was going to be overcast and that the sun wouldn’t burn through the clouds. So I decided not to wear sunscreen.

My hike was a slow, three-hour, three-mile hike, with lots of stops for pictures for me and water for the dogs. By the time we returned home, the sun was out and I was proud of myself for not having gotten burned.

Since it was such a nice day, my husfriend and I went to work washing all three dogs outside because they were filthy from the dry, dusty LA trails.

I thought about putting sunscreen on but then I thought, “I’m only out here for an hour or two and it’s later in the afternoon, so I’m good.”

Nope. Turned out, I’m not all good. I’m not good at all. I got burned.

I got burned when I know better and when I’ve gone to great lengths not to get burned over the years, especially since I’ve had a chunk of skin removed for bad melanoma-forming cells.

Why did I do this to myself, knowing that aside from the discomfort, it’s dangerous? Maybe I secretly wanted to look like the 54 year old tan workout lady I admire on Instagram?

Sometimes your logical brain knows what to do but your emotional brain takes over and does the wrong thing.

Like the time I knew I shouldn’t have made an exception to my business policy and yet my emotional brain made me do it anyway… at my expense.

For individual photography sessions, I take a non-refundable deposit to reserve a date. When a client wants to move their session, my policy is to take another non-refundable deposit for the same amount.

What’s to stop them from moving their session indefinitely or not showing up at all? Trust me, my policies are built on real life experience.

And I stand by my policy firmly… most of the time.

I only make exceptions for unexpected illnesses, etc., and IF I believe a client is being truthful because there are always tell-tale signs when they aren’t.

I had a client call me to move her session, but she didn’t have the money for the second deposit.

I pointed out that if she doesn’t have the money for a second deposit, it goes to reason she doesn’t have the money for the photo session. Why did she schedule one at all?

She pushed back and played the “I’m poor” card. Too poor for the deposit but not poor enough for the photo session.

Long story short, I felt bad and gave in. As a photographer who has been in business for 26 years, I gave in!

And the killer is, I KNOW BETTER.

My emotional brain got the better of me.

And guess what? The day of her session, the makeup artist and I sat there waiting and waiting until we realized she wasn’t showing up.

She knew all along there was a chance she wasn’t going to show up, but instead of losing two deposits, she only lost one while I lost two days of work.

If she had been forced to put down a second deposit, would she have shown up? From my experience, I can give that a 99% “yes.” She would have made the finances work.

So trust me when I say do not make emotional decisions.

No matter how kind you want to be, don’t make exceptions that hurt your business.

Please don’t feel bad for being in business to make a profit.

You’re not a charity and it’s not your job to be a people pleaser.

It’s your job to make sure you help those you serve and you live life on your terms.

You CAN be both firm and professional while being likable and pleasant to work with.

In fact, you’d be surprised by the level of respect you receive from clients when you do stick to policies.

The ones who don’t respect your policies are the same ones who don’t respect you.

Want to avoid working with the bad apples and start achieving your photography goals through effective scheduling? Stick to your policies and create a plan for success.

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