How do you deal with changes your clients want to make to their album design? It's a question that came up recently with a photographer who was considering changing his strategy. He was saying that there's a fine balance between creating a beautiful album design, and not letting the clients destroy it, and delivering something the couple feel connected too. So what are your options? Here are a few. None of them are right or wrong. Like your pricing, style, branding etc you've got to figure out what works best for you, and your clients. 1. Pre-design and allow a limited number of free edits: Once an album design is completed your clients can make a pre-stipulated number of changes to it. After that you charge them. This method is a great way to keep a lid on the time spent designing an album. You are the professional after all. 2. Pre-design and don't limit the number of edits: Great if you want your clients to feel that they have real freedom to influence the final outcome, should they want to. You'll probably have a mix of clients who want a lot of input, and others who don't. Just be prepared to spend extra time with those who do. 3. Design the album together with the couple: Another popular strategy is having the couple come into your studio, sit down with you, and develop the design together. Most photographers will still have a pre-design prepared as a starting point to stimulate discussion, then continue editing/designing in front of the clients (Photojunction is great for this). You may take a bit longer on the design, but you'll know, when they walk out the door, that the design is fairly well done and you've got a happy couple. Outsource: If you outsource the design work, your designer will probably work using the first model (allow a certain number of edits for free, then charge). That way they can approximate how long an album design will take, and put a few boundaries around how far they're willing to go. They do have other clients' deadlines to work to also. If your designer works this way you're probably going to want to do the same. Otherwise if you get a indecisive client you could be up for a big editing bill by the end! What strategy/ies have you found most effective in managing client album edits, and why? Leave a comment below, we'd love to hear from you. Cheers, Nigel