Communicating your Style

Just bring your personal style actively into the contract talks, if that is a strict thing for you. A client might not be aware that the style that you show off on your portfolio IS in fact what they can expect. If you have a very definite editing style that is your brand, just communicate this before. It might sound obvious to you, but it might not be for the client.

If you are set on your style, which is totally ok, then make sure that you include an Artistic Style Clause in your contract, describing your stlye and setting clear boundaries how far you are willing to stray from that style. This way you are at least on the safe side legally. And just for reference, In the case mentioned, the photographer had this, as far as I understood.

Avoiding miscommunication about style afterwards

While disliking the style of a photographer after the fact is really unfortunate, a lot of the problems could have been avoided after the first request of re-edits.

Listen to the client! Try to find out what the client really dislikes, even if it hurts the ego. Ask for an example of an image which style the client likes better. A lot of clients are not very good at describing what they want. If you have an example image, it is a lot easier.

Then edit ONE image based on that.

Get the client's approval. Make sure to state that this is the only free edit run through the images - then apply that style to the rest of the images.

Giving out RAWs

The main trouble started, when giving out RAW files. I can only highly discourage you from that. With that well-meant gesture you can easily dig your own grave. The client will suddenly know that they can get the RAWs and will probably pursue that idea.

If you feel comfortable with giving out RAWs, at least consider a contract, what can and cannot be done with the RAWs. You may not want edits that are not representing your work out there with credit to your name. You may also want to rule out commercial use.

In this specific case, the unhappiness of the client obviously grew as with the RAW she noticed how far the stylized edit went from the true to color base. So if you are doing very heavy edits, keep this in mind.

How to work with a shitstorm

If your client for any reason decides to make a social media mess out of the situation, I would recommend consulting a lawyer. There is a fine line between a valid bad review from a client to slandering and depending on the case, it might be good to have that checked.

However you feel about it: Refrain to answer in public in the same way. Shitstorms usually only escalate if both sides feed it. You can just weather it out. In the case of Sepia Gate, the photographer did a very clever thing by keeping silent, and only doing one interview about the case.