When a client told me my photos were 'too curated' I had to rethink everything

Honestly, I was getting solid bookings as a digital nomad photography person, but one client said my shots looked like stock images - no real life in them. She wanted like, messy coffee cups and blurry street scenes, not crisp sunsets. So I switched to leaning into chaos, like snapping during actual conversations instead of staging everything. Now I get way more engagement on my travel blog since I stopped over-editing. Has anyone else had feedback that totally flipped their approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

theawest1mo ago

Gotta love when clients want "authentic chaos" but would probably hate it if you forgot to wipe the lens smudge off. Guess polished just isn't the vibe anymore.

danielmartinez1mo ago

Yeah it's like people are scared of things looking "too clean" or whatever, which is funny because nobody ever complains when a coffee shop has a perfectly organized shelf. @theawest youre totally right that its more about the vibe than the actual process. I mean, you can have all the lens smudges you want but the second someone sees a blurry photo theyll blame you. Its kind of the same way with home decor now - everyones going for that "lived in" look but they still want it to be just the right amount of messy. Real mess has crumbs and clutter but staged mess is just styling. Feels like people want the appearance of imperfection without any of the actual flaws.