You may have read recent reports in which a mother has spoken out about her fury towards a professional photographer who airbrushed her toddler’s birthmark without permission. 

According to The Daily Mail, 20-year-old mum Lauren Holsten took her 18-month-old daughter to be photographed after seeing a deal in her local shopping centre. After picking up the images, she realised that the photos had been altered to completely remove her daughter’s distinctive strawberry nevus on her right cheek. 

The report claims that despite the incident, the photography company had refused to apologise or refund the money, saying that Ms Holsten should have asked for the birthmark not to be removed from the photo.

In a statement they said: 

“We did not know it was a birthmark first of all. We airbrush the pictures. Any customers who don’t want their picture airbrushing, they let us know. She should have told the photographer it was a birthmark and she didn’t want it airbrushed. 

“We have already changed our policy. We are going to make sure we ask parent about birthmarks.” 

Despite this, the company has since been told it can no longer operate from the shopping centre in Sittingbourne, Kent.

This is a perfect demonstration of the value of Infocus Insurance’s PR Crisis Containment and Professional Indemnity insurance. 

1)    An immediate apology and offer to reshoot would likely have kept the paying customer happy

2)    Good relations with the Shopping Centre and a valuable source of income are likely to have been maintained with a speedy resolution to the complaint

All in all, this situation could have been handled so much better with expert advice and guidance. 

The best way to protect your livelihood from any claim is with insurance. 

Ensure that your policy includes Professional Indemnity Insurance for financial protection should you ever be accused of failing to produce work of a professional standard.