Keith Slagerman , Jan 28, 2009; 11:11 p.m.
I have a bit of a situation and thought I would turn to the folks here. . I shot a wedding on 12/31/08 and the clients have had their proofs delivered on 1/5/2009 and the entire shoot is post processed and ready for selections for albums and a photo package.
An unusually long period of time passed without hearing from them so I checked in with them today to see where they were at with image selections. The bride informed me that her husband had been laid off and it would be some time, more than a month or two before they could pay the remainder of their invoice. The impression that I got from her is that she thinks the remaining balance is to cover the photos and album, when in reality, these are only a small portion of the remaining balance. Or in other words, I think she thinks that if she puts a hold on the project and I do not have to make her and album and print package, then I am not out any money.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to approach this. I don't want to come off as being insensitive, but I need to make money too. They are contracted clients and coincidentally, they were the last clients that I took on before I revised my terms and conditions to state specific time restrictions for image selections. (go figure).
I realize that 12/31/08 was not a very long time, but I feel like this could really drag out and they owe quite a bit of $$$.
Thanks!
Craig Gillette , Jan 28, 2009; 11:32 p.m.
Well, you can try and enforce the contract (and the attorney that helped you write it is the right source for advice on that) but if they are out of money, they are out of money. However, if they are able to reschedule payments/deliveries, it certainly seems reasonable to do so. I'm not sure that getting proofs early in one month and not having decided before the end of the month would necessarily be an unusually long time.
If he's really just been laid-off, they may still be trying to adjust to the new realities and delaying or reducing cash outflow until they have had a chance to really get resettled is probably occupying a lot of their waking hours. Having gone through several lay-offs, I can assure it's not easy and some patience will likely be greatly appreciated.
Nish Sivakumar , Jan 28, 2009; 11:33 p.m.
Hard to believe that people'd get married and not keep a backup sum of money for an emergency like a layoff.
Perhaps you could give them a 12 month payment plan? They might be able to afford small monthly payments.
Robert P. Armas , Jan 28, 2009; 11:36 p.m.
Keith, be honest and straigh forward with them. Let them know that you need the money. The costs of paying an assistanmt, post prossecing,printing, etc, will be a burden to you if you are not paid in full AS the CONTRACT states, and lord, I pray that you signed a contract with them stating so.
Keith Slagerman , Jan 28, 2009; 11:38 p.m.
I think a payment plan is a good direction to move toward. I'll see where they're at in a month or so.
Thanks guys.
Mike Bisom 
, Jan 28, 2009; 11:40 p.m.
Experience is the most expensive education. I would say you are pretty much SOL. Even if you have a legal case, pursing the case will only lead to negative feelings and if word of mouth got out, it may actually hurt future business (the photographer that sued his bride). And even then you would still need to collect on any judgement. NOTHING should have been delivered until you had been paid. You have delivered, thereby reducing any urgency to pay and as their ability to pay has also changed, again, isn't looking too good. We collect everything PRIOR to the wedding. I wish you the best but other than writing a letter outlining your position, along with wishful prayers, I doubt you see any money.
Keith Slagerman , Jan 28, 2009; 11:48 p.m.
Mike, I typically collect a 50% deposit, but after this issue and with the struggling economy and people finding themselves in increasingly dire financial situations, I have been giving some thought to collecting a full payment prior to the shoot like you do. Good advice. Thanks.
Eliza Beth , Jan 28, 2009; 11:49 p.m.
You might want to think about collecting the total of what's owed the day of the wedding. I require 1/3 of the total package as a retainer with the balance being due the day of the wedding. So far it's worked for me:)
Chris Whitcomb , Jan 29, 2009; 12:10 a.m.
Eliza- We used to operate that way as well....until a check didn't clear. Now we require a retainer of $xxx at the time of signing the contract with the balance due 30 days prior to the wedding. This gives the check time to clear the banks and enough time to react if something were to go wrong.
Tom Watt 
, Jan 29, 2009; 07:23 a.m.
Keith, speaking as someone who is out of work at the moment, let me suggest you take the friendly approach and try to work with them on this... carefully consider what you can live with, and offer a payment plan or some other option. You can't get blood from a turnip (legal action in other words). Several years ago I went through a financial dry spell, and had mixed experiences with different creditors. One of those, American Express, I will never forgive or forget how meanly I was treated, and I am more than happy to share my dislike of them with every rep that calls me asking for my business.
And, as others have suggested, payment in full for the service portion of the contract prior to performance on the day of the wedding might be a good thing. And then the wedding books/pp/etc. can be a separate cost.
