Photographer Goes Viral Calling Up Clients to Pay Outstanding Invoices
A photographer has gone viral calling a client on camera to try to get paid for an outstanding invoice.
Roxy Facer from O’ahu, Hawaii shone a light on how difficult it can get be for freelance photographers to get paid for work they have already done in a powerful TikTok video.
‘Another Day of Calling Clients About Outstanding Invoices’
In the video, that has amassed 2.8 million views, Facer documents “another day of calling clients on my burner phone to try to and get them to pay for outstanding invoices.”
@roxyfacer Nothing more empowering than begging people to pay you what they owe you 🥲 #freelanceproblems #smallclaims ♬ original sound – Roxy
In the clip, posted earlier this month, the photographer calls a client from a different cell number and politely “corners” them to ask why they haven’t responded to her emails about their outstanding payment.
The client then claims that Facer’s emails about the outstanding invoices “have been going to spam” — which the photographer describes as a “classic” excuse.
Facer gently explains that she had been sending emails to the client to try “to get an ETA” for the outstanding invoices they owe her.
According to Facer, the client then attempts to “guilt” her about asking to get paid for this invoice. The client tells the photographer that she has been busy “juggling” work and has to fire two people this week — rather than give Facer a direct answer about the outstanding invoices.
In a caption accompanying the TikTok video, Facer writes: “Nothing more empowering than begging people to pay you what they owe you.”
‘That’s Why They Must Pay in Full Before The Shoot’
Many photographers sympathized with Facer’s struggle to get paid — calling the situation “frustrating” and saying that they were “going through this now too.”
However, several photographers commented that Facer should demand clients “pay in full before the shoot.”
“That’s why you need a contract and always get paid before work,” another viewer similarly says.
Another TikTok user comments: “Most photographers in my area have a non-refundable first half payment due at time of booking and second half is due the day of [the shoot].”
@roxyfacer Replying to @Stormi Lerwill ♬ original sound – Roxy
In a follow-up TikTok video, Facer responded to the multiple photographers who said that she should insist for payment in full before the shoot. The photographer said she did not know any clients who would agree to these terms and conditions.
“I’m so confused at this comment because I got a ton of them like that on my video. Who are the brands you guys are working for that pay you in full before a shoot?” Facer says in the clip.
“Like, where are these clients? Because I can’t even get a deposit paid half the time to hold the spot in my schedule with my clients.”
Many commercial photographers agreed with Facer’s explanation. They commented that while event photographers can demand payment up-front, it was a different situation for commercial photographers — who typically only got paid after the job is completed.
PetaPixel previously reported on how Facer exposed the “underwhelming” pay sometimes offered by huge fashion magazines after revealing she was paid $300 by Vogue for a full day’s shoot and edit.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via TikTok/@roxyfacer.
