Creative Highlight - Photo By Jakob Owens
Here’s something I see more often than you’d think.
A creative gets a set of confirmed dates from a client, sometimes weeks or even months out. They say yes. Then, somewhere along the way, another job comes in for a few of those days. Instead of flagging it, they show up for part of the week and mention to the client on set that they won’t be in for a day or two that week.
To the creative, it feels like a small thing. To the client, it’s a scramble.
For some it seems like a common sense move, but for others, I’m not sure anyone has shared this. As a good friend mentioned recently, “Common sense is not so common these days, and that phrase needs a refresh.”
When a client confirms us for a week, they’re building their whole schedule around you. They’ve planned their shots, their team, and their flow assuming you’ll be there. Finding out mid-week that you won’t be leaves them short-handed and wondering what else they can’t count on. Many clients would rather have someone who can commit to the full stretch than piece a week together.
The fix is simple, and it’s standard practice for working creatives:
When you receive confirmed dates, review all of them right away. If there are any weeks, or any days within those weeks, that you’re not free, say so immediately. Not the week before. Not on set. Right away. Just… keep all this in email please. Receipts will do you a favor later on too. And if you have an agent, it’s their responsibility to communicate this to the client, this is why you have them! :)
That one habit gives everyone time to adjust. It protects the client’s project, and it protects your reputation as someone they can rely on.
And here’s the part people forget: saying “I’m not available those days” is completely fine. Clients understand that busy creatives get booked. What they don’t forget is being surprised.
Your availability is part of your professionalism. Communicate it early, and you’ll be the person they call first.
