"I want it just like that - only different."

For anybody who has ever done web design, or any kind of graphic design for that matter, this post discussing if architects had to work like web designers will be painfully funny. And I do mean 'painfully'.  Give it a read.

I saw the link at Rob's XSet, but judging by the number of trackbacks on the original post, it resonates with an awful lot of other people too. I'm betting the link's been anonymously forwarded to more than a few clients.

I also run into this kind of thing photographing commercial jobs and shooting weddings. The title quote comes from one of my brides, as she was perusing my sample album.

The worst case was a young bride who would want very stylish, fashion-style coverage, but her staid, traditional mother was paying for the wedding. It often seemed like I was shooting two totally different weddings at the same time. I'd end up feeling schizophrenic. Eventually learned to just refuse such assignments, because in the end none of the 3 of us were happy.

In the case of commercial shoots, the best (not) was the client who would come in with a gorgeous, grandiose designer's comp (sketch) of what they wanted - often done by an amateur - and insist the shot be made to look just like the comp. Except the comp hadn't been drawn to scale, and hadn't used the most basic rules of optical perspective common to our universe. I actually had one that showed a product box at an angle, but showed both ends of the box at the same time. Neat trick. And there was usually no lead time and even less budget, but of course I'm the idiot because I can't produce what they want.

Some clients can be educated about the realities, and become wonderful sources of future business as a result. For the ones who can't, it's usually best to just walk away. You just can't win with them, and it's best not to waste your time trying.

Comments

[RP]

That was pure wisdom and applicable to many different professions. As a lawyer, I'm still learning which business to reject. Some business just ain't worth doing.

[Funkalicious]

Heh. I used to run into similar crap when I worked as a housecleaner years back. The first question was always, "You seriously charge $15/hr?" Ummmm...yeah. I have to pay for gas and insurance, I'm spending time driving to your pseudo-mansion, there's the actual cleaning time and oh yeah, this is the Bay Area, where the cost of living is roughly equivalent to the goddamn national debt. The next thing I would say would always blow them away: "I'm a great housecleaner, but I'm not a perfect one. If we do this, it's with the understanding that I most likely won't do the job as well as you. If you can't live with that, then let's not waste each other's time, because we'll all be unhappy." Of course, I worded it a lot more nicely than that, but that was the gist.