Sometimes I make a mistake. I had a shoot recently and I got some great indoor studio photos of 2 sweet children, then when I went outside, I forgot to change my manual setting on my camera to the outdoor light. Well… all the pictures outside were completely overexposed, and ruined. I haven’t made a mistake like that in many years!! I felt so sad when I realized that I was going to have to tell the bad news to my client. I could tell that the outdoor pictures would have been really great, but there was no way to fix them.
My gut reaction went immediately to thoughts of, “You idiot! How could you have forgotten to change your camera setting? What an amateur mistake!” I had to say to my racing brain, “STOP.” Just stop. I needed to calm down so I took my dog for a walk. I take my job very seriously. People trust me with their most important moments, and I am paid well to do a great job. It’s a big responsibility, and when something goes wrong, I feel horrible. So, I needed to figure out how to turn my thoughts around and decided to talk to myself the way I would to a friend. If I heard a friend saying terrible things about herself, I would grab her by the shoulders and snap her out of it! Those things I was saying to myself were not true and just plain mean! Yes, I made a mistake, but it doesn’t mean anything further than that. I made a mistake, and that’s all. It happens. I just plain messed up. Here is what I would say to a friend: “You are a wonderful photographer with hundreds of happy clients! That was a super challenging shoot of 2 young children and you really did your best! You got fabulous shots in the studio, and so what if you missed a few outside. People make mistakes, and that’s all this was! Just tell your client what happened and think of a good way to make it up to her.”
One of my favorite customer service ideas came from a photographer named Michael Redford who told me, “When you make a mistake, handle it immediately and spectacularly.” I called my client and I told her I was sorry, but the outdoor photos did not turn out. I offered a free portrait session to make up for my mistake. She totally understood- she knew her kids were challenging subjects. We were all distracted at the shoot trying to entertain them and get them to smile! She was thrilled to have a free shoot offered to her. She loved the indoor photos and is planning to order a bunch of them.
So, it all worked out. I turned my negative self talk around, and solved the issue with the client. I will try not to make the same technical mistake again, but I know that mistakes happen, and I am human. There is no reason to beat myself up. I can talk to myself like a good friend would, and resolve the issue with less anxiety and worry next time.