As a photographer, naturally I am apart of a lot photographer Facebook groups. And I often see someone new asking others what to do about clients who have asked not to be posted on social media. I never understand this question because the answer is honestly so easy. If the client doesn't want to be posted, just don't post them. I understand it's frustrating, I understand we as photographers legally own the rights to the photos, I understand we may have posted a model call for portfolio additions, I get it. But, as the saying goes, you catch more bees with honey.
I would much rather have a content client who will leave me a good review and book me again in the future than a client who tells all their family and friends they had a bad experience with me and I lose out on so much business.
My personal policy
Like I said before, I understand the photographer owns the photos. And rightfully so I believe. But I like to look at it as a partnership. Yes, I took, edited, and keep and post all the photos I took, but there would be no photo had I not been hired.
Everyone who books a session with me is sent a questionnaire about the session they booked so I'm able to have as much information as possible to make their session what they're envisioning. I love getting to know my clients a little more and reading their answers.
The very last question is a checkbox answer asking if I have the clients permission to post their photos on my website and socials. The options are "Yes, of course!", "Yes but without our faces", and "No, thank you." That simple! I haven't had someone check with no faces or no thanks yet but if I had one tomorrow, fine!
We as photographers need to understand our clients are REAL people with REAL feelings. Someone could see their photos and just notice all their insecurities (which is why I have a question on my form asking if their are any insecurities I should be aware of), or they have foster kids they can't put online, or their job requires them to be on the down low, or they just don't want them shared. There will be another client who checks the yes box, we'll be ok without that ONE no thanks.
My thoughts on posting kids faces online
I have a 13 month old baby and I personally don't post his face online. My husband and I made that decision before he was born and that goes for my business pages and my personal pages. I'm not afraid to be honest, I struggle with feeling like a hypocrite when I then go post my clients kids faces on my pages. But I realize that social media is a huge part of society today and that is such a personal choice for each parent and family.
There are so many articles online that talk about the use of AI and children's images that really pushed my family to make the decision. I saw many photographers post that they were making the decision to not post children on their sites, I'm making the decision to let every parent make that choice themselves. I don't think there's a wrong answer to this.
Even though I already ask in my questionnaire, I make sure to ask parents again at the end of our session what their preferences are. I've only had one family decided after getting their gallery that they'd rather I didn't post any photos. They were so apologetic but I was like don't worry about it because my clients happiness is more important to me than the 20 likes I get on Instagram.
Why I think more photographers should be taking Faceless photos
They are so fun, that's why! Faceless photos, whether it's a closer shot of their outfit or their hands or just them walking away from the camera, add a break to the same ole people and photos. It adds some character to the carousal, it shows you have a good eye for the details that no one would normally think about. It especially tells the client you cared enough about them to get these little moments.
Like I said. there's no wrong answer. It's ok if you do take faceless photos and it's ok if you don't. It's ok if your client say you can post them and it's ok if they don't. At the end of the day, it all works out.
xoxo
Emilie Alexis
