The Gritting Of The Teeth

In my first profession gritting teeth was commonplace. We often ladeled a little sweet abrasive paste in there and let the customer heave left and right on it to flatten out any imperfections in our handiwork. The more conscientious of us used to tell them not to swallow, but what the heck - I've seen worse on a paper plate at a BBQ joint. But gritting teeth in photography? Not so good - it often indicates displeasure, rather than high spots or intestinal worms. You hear it when you are telling clients how much it will cost - then when they start to protest and haggle you can start grinding your own. Then there is the impatient grind as you try to get a wedding group set up. If cats had garden pictures with bridesmaids and family I am sure it could not be harder to manage. The brides themselves can do the same as they watch their careful battle plans meet the enemy - reality - head-on. The graphic designer grind is fun, because you can turn it on and off. Just keep flashing design boards at them with Comic Sans or Blackmoor type and wait for the sounds to start. If there is one class of professional more sensitive to external advice than another it is graphic designers. You can tell brain surgeons and fighter pilots what to do while they're working and they'll go along with the gag but just try it with a graphic designer... The dissatisfied grind from the client when the finished job is presented is maddening. The only way to silence it is to have included 4 of their direct orders in the shoot and then discount it by 40%. Finally, occusal stress is caused when trying to work at a distance from clients when the security systems for their computer systems continually blow you off - and you have to constantly reset passwords or call up for a re-connection...