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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Executive director broke my lens in two while using Iphone!
Greg Francis, Photographer
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Rochester | NY | USA | Posted: 10:49 PM on 06.22.11 |
->> I was photographing an annual black tie event tonite for a client of 7 years. A group of about 25 people gathered on the elevated podium to be sworn-in and I took off my Nikon 28-70/2.8 and set it on a small table behind me, shade down, where a Powerpoint projector was located. Swithced to my 17-35 and I look behind me and the executive director of the association is try to photograph the group with her Iphone, and she flips an index card taped to the projector over the projector lens to block the projction from falling on the 25 dignitaries on the stage.
Next thing she sweeps her hand across the table and down drop three feet my 28-70 lens, in two pieces, the from assembly comes out of the Nikon lens.
She then says, 'I better go sit down'.
This woman with the Iphone is the Exec Director who signs the check for payment to me for the 3 annual events I've done for the last 7 years.
Do I send the $200-$400 NPS repair invoice to her and ask for any contribution she would make, or pay for it out of pocket. I'm sure my insurance deductible is $500.
I can't fathom why the person hiring me the professional is using her Iphone to shoot stills of the same black tie event! |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 11:13 PM on 06.22.11 |
->> Sorry, I think you are out of luck. You decided to put the lens somewhere other than your bag or on your body, and these things happen-it was an accident.
People are always trying to take their own photos with IPhones and point and shoots-it is part of our society today. Always keep extra equipment on your body or in a bag
Debbie |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 11:20 PM on 06.22.11 |
| ->> what debra said. x2 |
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Mike Doran, Photographer
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Petaluma | CA | U.S.A. | Posted: 11:43 PM on 06.22.11 |
| ->> What Debra said x3 |
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Ted Aguirre, Photographer
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Covina | CA | | Posted: 11:45 PM on 06.22.11 |
| ->> That is a tuff one. If the women didnt offer to pay for the damages or help you fix it on the spot, she likely has no intent on doing so. In an ideal world, she would of offered knowing how expensive the equipment is, but the truth is most people wont take responsiblity for it. Heck, I recently had a unknown co-worker spill soda all over my desk paper work while I was away from my desk and they left without cleaning it up or leaving a "I'm sorry" note. Instead, I had to clean up someone else's mess. So it looks like you will have to do the same and pay for the damages caused by someone else. I think if you send her the invoice for repairs or request her to pay the deductible, you might take a chance on losing their business. So it depends if its worth the risk of losing out on future income. Ultimately, there is always some risk of using your equipment on a photoshoot, whether damages occur by your own fault or someone else. But when that damage does occur, I dont believe you should send the bill for repairs when its an accident. I guess thats what insurance is for. Your bad experiance helps remind us to always take extra precautions with our equipment around other people. Good Luck |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 12:11 AM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> Insurance. |
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Brian Blanco, Photographer
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Tampa / Sarasota | FL | USA | Posted: 12:56 AM on 06.23.11 |
->> Unfortunately, it's all part of the cost of doing business Greg.
It sounds like this was a commercial gig so hopefully your rate will cover the cost of repair (even at the highest estimate) and now the shoot will essentially be a wash.
These things happen. Sometimes unexpected things can occur on assignments which can totally erase any profit from the gig and sometimes even end up costing you money in the end.
Example: This weekend one of my favorite commercial clients put me up in a nice hotel in Palm Beach, FL for an out-of-town shoot because he knew that I was bringing my wife along. Being the really nice guy that he is, Doug found her a hotel that had a fun little boardwalk that lead to not one but THREE different high-end Palm Beach shopping malls, all within a 2 minute walk of the lobby.
After two days of her entertaining herself at the malls I'm afraid to do the math and find out if the whole weekend, despite the client's generous rate, was a wash. (OK, slight exaggeration... but only slight)
Other very real, and not exaggerated, examples:
Get a $250.00 speeding ticket on your way to shoot a newspaper assignment = wash.
Buy a few gallons of gas to get to a Patch.com assignment = wash
Buy a pack of gum while shooting on spec = wash |
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Matt Brown, Photographer
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Fullerton | CA | USA | Posted: 2:06 AM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> Tables kill lens. Your bad. |
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Jason Jump, Photographer
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Humble | TX | USA | Posted: 9:38 PM on 06.23.11 |
->> "In an ideal world, she would of offered knowing how expensive the equipment is, but the truth is most people wont take responsiblity for it."
I'm with Ted. |
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Gabe Souza, Student/Intern
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Boston | MA | | Posted: 9:50 PM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> I second what Matt said. Tables and lenses don't get along. Just a bad idea. Keep extras in a bag or on another body. It can be tempting as tables are easy places to set things down, but especially when you start shooting, it's too easy to forget it's there and in a public place there's no control. Best of luck with the situation. |
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Simon Wheeler, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Ithaca | NY | USA | Posted: 10:03 PM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> I feel bad for you but it sounds like an avoidable accident that you could have prevented. I see other photogs put lenses down like that all the time in my town and I have been wondering when something like this will happen to them. I learned this lesson the hard way 24 years ago leaning a 300 2.8 on the top of an extended monopod against a table being used by other photogs to stand on. Some one else got off the table, wiggled the table and down went my lens. Fortunately it was on the the first Tamron 300 2.8 Adaptall mounts. It landed on the locking nut for the tripod ring and the mount. I went and pounded on the door of a downtown Indianapolis camera store that had just closed. They sold me a new adaptall and the locking nut was just bent. After a 4 foot fall the lens was still sharp and i was using it at a second event that evening. In some ways that lens was tough as nails. I think you have to rack that one up in the live and learn category. I doubt a non photographer would ever expect to find an expensive lens just laying around so its kind of hard to blame some one for not seeing it. |
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Jeff Stanton, Photographer
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Princeton | IN | USA | Posted: 10:10 PM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> I'll have to agree with the other posters here, Greg. You're SOL, dude. If she has signed your checks the last 7 years, you best keep your mouth shut and just absorb the loss, write it off to experience. |
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Jason Joseph, Photographer
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Dublin | OH | USA | Posted: 10:45 PM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> The only time I ever charged a client for broken gear was when one of their staff members moved my strobe into the line of fire of snowboarders who were hitting a rail. I saw him move it and before I could get there, it was down and in pieces. Other times when things have gotten damaged, I have absorbed the cost and considered it to be part of the risk of doing business. |
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Randy Sartin, Photographer, Assistant
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Knoxville | TN | USA | Posted: 11:58 PM on 06.23.11 |
| ->> Or in other words, Pooh Pooh happens... |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 6:57 AM on 06.24.11 |
->> "In an ideal world, she would of offered knowing how expensive the equipment is, but the truth is most people wont take responsiblity for it."
In an ideal world, she would HAVE (or would've)...
Sorry, pet peeve. It's "would've," not "would of." |
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