Why I don't work on other Photographers images

 

This may be a no-brainer to many, but for those new photographers, photographers who have never been asked, or clients who haven't heard of this moral no-no, here we go!

In the past I worked for a number of companies where clients of photographers *who will obviously remain nameless* would come in and ask (beg) that we fix either very small or very large and obvious mistakes in their images. Examples of these issues would be crop lines, uneven colours, holes in the image (yes I mean an eraser tool), and so many other things. One of the worst ones I encountered was from a big name photographer in the area I was working in,  they had attempted to combine two images (I assume) and left a HUGE line down the side of the image. The bride stormed into the little shop and was in complete hysterics, telling us how they had ruined their special day and they paid X amount for horribly done images, unprofessionalism and poor editing. 

If I had been on my own I would have said no...

I will explain so you don't think I am a horrible person for not "wanting" to help this young lady. My boss got me to take on the image, fix the resolution, adjust the orange in the image, and finally fix the horrendous lines that strained our eyes. The bride came back into the shop in a few days, praised us for the image work and left, after buying a print or two. She was SO grateful and said that we saved her favourite image. I felt so good about being able to help someone with their images, I am a photographer, obviously I want the best for people, even if they aren't my clients. 

Flash forward to a couple weeks later and this image is circulating around social media. 

"Our favourite image from the wedding! Taken by: So&So's photography", that we had to fix. This is the explanation you have been waiting for! There is no mention of us, the shop name, myself or my boss at the time. There is no credit in fixing other peoples images, you're just the faceless editor that "saved the day". These photographers still book more than myself, still give the same images and people continue to try and come to me to fix them. When I say "Unfortunately I don't work on other peoples images" people get very upset. I understand that it is from a consumer/client perspective and you always want to do what's best for your clients, but going back to the photographer that you dealt with is ALWAYS better. The photographer may have thrown it in by accident, it may have saved wrong etc. With any hope they are wonderful people and will fix the image no questions (or charge) necessary. 

I am running my own business, editing and culling my own wedding, engagement, rodeo, baby, maternity, pet, equine, lifestyle, and so many other shoots. I love my photography and taking pride in my photos, my editing, and my clients. Working on other peoples images not only gets you no credit, but it can also get you into trouble. If the photographer did know what image they had given out and saw the edit done that can come back on the editor. Work on your own work, and if you get requests like the above, kindly suggest they talk to their photographer about any concerns that they have. It makes it a better situation for everyone involved. 

🐾 Grae