Honestly, I think some tough love might be appropriate here.
Of the 340 original images, I have 2 good ones. The rest are blurry, look SUPER disorganized, only have one person looking, or just overall look bad.
Young kids aren’t always gonna cooperate. But a few things stand out here:
You’re charging for this service. Parents are going to expect that you have some level of expertise in trying to get them to cooperate. Yes, you can’t always get kids to behave, but you know who else you can’t always get to cooperate? The parents. There’s a reason the parents might not seem super interested or involved: They’re expecting you to handle it, since they’re paying you. You need to work on setting expectations with the clients first, understanding whose role is what, and laying out what you need from them and what you are able to do. One out of three shoots going well is not a good percentage for a professional.
The results. I’ve seen plenty of photos where the kids aren’t looking, but the photo is still great. I’ve shot an event for children, I know it’s tough. But you’ve got to be a little better prepared. The other issue here might be time - you had a 15-minute window? That’s… wrong. More time than that is needed to get a good photo session. I’d recommend you never try to book something for only 15 minutes of shooting.
Blurry shots. That one’s kind of on you; you should be managing your exposure settings to avoid that. A three month old isn’t exactly Usain Bolt. I don’t know if you were using flash or not (and while critical for regular portraits, I could see toning it down for infants and young kids). But you need to manage your technique and set up a more controlled situation if that’s coming up.
WHAT do I do? Do I offer a refund? Do I offer a reshoot? I didn’t make hardly any money off these shoots as it is, and I truly don’t want to work with these people again.
You’re a professional. Did you deliver what was promised? If you don’t feel like your photos were what was promised, you haven’t delivered your end of the contract. (Also, have a contract.) Keep in mind that even a full refund wouldn’t be great - those people took time out of their day to do this, maybe bought new clothes for their kid. Their reviews could sink your reputation before you even really start.
If I felt like I didn’t deliver what was expected, I’d offer them a choice of reshoot or refund, along with any of the shots you had for no cost. I’d consider partial refund and reshoot. That’s what I’d expect if I paid someone for a service and they didn’t deliver on it.
Finally, I don’t know your level of experience. However, it’s very common for people to jump into trying to make money from photography before they really are qualified for it. I don’t personally think there’s integrity in taking peoples’ money as your training opportunity rather than when you’re actually ready. But if you’re having issues with technique and cannot reliably deliver the results that people want, maybe you should reassess whether you’re in a fair position to solicit clients.
Honestly, I think some tough love might be appropriate here.
Young kids aren’t always gonna cooperate. But a few things stand out here:
You’re a professional. Did you deliver what was promised? If you don’t feel like your photos were what was promised, you haven’t delivered your end of the contract. (Also, have a contract.) Keep in mind that even a full refund wouldn’t be great - those people took time out of their day to do this, maybe bought new clothes for their kid. Their reviews could sink your reputation before you even really start.
If I felt like I didn’t deliver what was expected, I’d offer them a choice of reshoot or refund, along with any of the shots you had for no cost. I’d consider partial refund and reshoot. That’s what I’d expect if I paid someone for a service and they didn’t deliver on it.
Finally, I don’t know your level of experience. However, it’s very common for people to jump into trying to make money from photography before they really are qualified for it. I don’t personally think there’s integrity in taking peoples’ money as your training opportunity rather than when you’re actually ready. But if you’re having issues with technique and cannot reliably deliver the results that people want, maybe you should reassess whether you’re in a fair position to solicit clients.