What would you do if a client threatened to ruin your reputation online if you didn't issue a refund... for a photo shoot you already did? That's what recently happened to San Francisco-based photographer Josh Edelson.
Here's a note caution: when tagging Santa Claus in your Facebook photos, make sure you tag the right one.
Photographer Brian Matus had a strange experience this past weekend after tagging Santa in three of his holiday photographs. He tells us that shortly after doing so, he received a "legal notice" in his Facebook inbox.
On July 14, 2012, I received a desperate email from a photographer whom I had only met once briefly at a public appearance. He was terribly distraught, and nobody would help him. In his letter, he said that I was his last resort.
His name is Nelson Tang, and he is a very gentle soul, kind and soft-spoken, a new immigrant from Hong Kong with only a rough command of the English language. At the time, he and his wife were adjusting to life with an 18 month old son, she was a server in a restaurant and he worked for a non-profit. Financially, they were living paycheck to paycheck.
A couple years ago, I read a story about a Washington wedding photographer that was threatened with a $300,000 lawsuit by an ex-client. The story then seemed to drop out of sight. Sometime thereafter, I decided to put on my investigative reporter mustache and do some sleuthing. Was the threat real? Did a lawsuit actually get filed? If so, what was the result?
In the age of the Internet, with sites like Yelp often being the first stop for anybody looking for a service (say, photography) they've never used before, it's no surprise that pros are trying to keep their star ratings as high as possible.
What is surprising is the news that some photographers are keeping their reviews positive by threatening to sue anybody who writes something negative.
Update: Mr. Hamilton has gotten in touch with us to tell his side of the story, filling in some of the missing pieces that help explain his actions. Read the full update at the bottom.
Think before you post. This should be the message greeting all of us when we open up our social network of choice. Before we get a chance to do anything else, a big bold ALL CAPS message reminding us that our social media comments have consequences should appear front and center.
Maybe if they had, Australian photographer Mark Hamilton wouldn't be embarrassed, apologizing for a Facebook tirade in which he threatened to release racy photos of a model because she had 'liked' a post that insulted him.
Here’s a quick update by Gary Fong on the wedding photographer who’s being threatened with a $300,000 …
Photographer and entrepreneur Gary Fong was recently contacted by a wedding photographer who …