I am a semi pro photographer still with a lot to learn. I had a photoshoot recently where it all seemed to go wrong and I don’t know how to address it with the client.
This is a client I have worked for a lot in the past and they’re always happy with my work and rehire me for all their event photography.
They reached out saying they needed a lifestyle / headshot type shoot in their restaurant. This was split into two parts, one with a child and a food product and 5 different types of shots to get the 4 different type of shots with multiple food products. They gave me 1 hr to do the whole shoot.
I arrived an hour early to set up but client turned up 20 mins late. Then the restaurant didn’t have the correct food products for the shoot. There was no representative from head office just the two staff members to be in the shoot (not models)
We spent half an hour alone trying to sort the food products out and then I finally began shooting. 1st staff member was a reluctant model and it too a while to get her to relax by which time food product had melted and needed to be remade.
By the end, I was on site for two and a half hours, even though I was only being paid for 1 hour.
I’m not even happy to provide the client with the shots because they’re not good enough. (Client with eyes closed, blurred or product out of focus)
Currently, I’m thinking of sending the client what few shots I do have and explaining the issues but I don’t want to make it should like excuses for my lack of experience.
Do I write the whole shoot off and use it as a learning experience? I have definitely learned not to let the client dictate the time of a shoot.
Your first mistake was agreeing to do so many shots in 1 hour, but I'm sure you realize that by now.
When I worked in a commercial advertising studio (as an photo assistant, set stylist, and graphic designer), food shoots were a half- to full-day project (depending on the client), using stand-in food while the stylist made the 'hero' food look presentable. These shoots for well-known fast food restaurant menu boards and didn't even including any models.
Can you do it in less time? Maybe. But this was for a single shot of [whatever type of sandwich] plus creative directors from the ad agency coming in & out to oversee everything. The food styling itself took hours to get right (separately-paid professional), and then you have get the shot in a few minutes before it goes bad. Model shoots with a product like exercise equipment were often equally time consuming.
Sure, you can squeeze in a couple of shots in a half day, but you're on location (we never did food shoots on location) and you're talking multiple models and multiple food products... and you agreed to do all that in 1 hour? That's just craziness, IMO.
Someone already mentioned preparation. All of this could've been solved in advance with a meeting to discuss creative direction for each shot and how much preparation each shot would require.
Hopefully you get a chance to re-shoot this, and hopefully you are able to explain tactfully how expectations went wrong all-around. It would be nice if you could actually get paid for all the time it takes to do what you set out to do. Good luck!