To do this at a child's party where I was the facepainter

[BrickTraybake]

I am trying to establish a small business as a facepainter just to earn a little extra money.

Yesterday I did a childs birthday party for one of the mums at my DSS's school. I did it at a discount price for her as she said she would recommend me to all the other mums and she is the PTA and said she can get me a slot at school fairs.

I have a system where I get the children interested in having their facepainted to write down their name on the list and then I call them when it's their turn so there's not loads of bored kids queueing. The parents sign next to the child's name to say they consent to me painting their face and then they tick a box if they consent to me using images for promotion. It's worked well so far.

So yesterday one mum puts a massive X in the photo consent box and writes next to it NO PHOTOS NO SOCIAL MEDIA!! fair enough.

When it came to that child's turn, I wrote next to her name "pink Tshirt" just to remind me of who she was in case I accidently got her in the background of a pic.

Mum paid up, everyone happy. Then later on Facebook I saw her post thanking everyone for coming to the party and the mum of pink t-shirt girl wrote underneath "thanks for inviting us! Shame facepainter wrote down details of what my child was wearing?? Bit odd 😂" and the mum shock-reacted it.

I'm so upset. I was so looking forward to hopefully getting more party bookings and a place at the school fairs. This was only my third party and now I'm worried this mum will gossip that I'm a wierdo and I won't get any more.

Was I in the wrong? Should I reply??

Well done, op!
Woman sounds like a nasty miserable bully.

Ah I see you’ve done it ignore my reply 🤣well done OP

Fantastic! Which reply did you use?

It may be that she is fleeing domestic violence . I have met a number of women in this type of situation and sometimes they are terrified of their ex-partner finding anything out at all - to the point of paranoia.

I'm not saying that this is what has happened with her, but it's something to bear in mind if something similar happens again.

Same here - leave details of her request out of it. Just say you made a personal note so that you could stick to her instructions. You could even add that you were sorry if she found this inappropriate, but had she mentioned it to you at the time, you could have explained. Then do the thank you bit.etc

Love that she deleted her own post making her look like a right tit. Luckily, everyone had already seen it.

She’s just an idiot. Good luck with your business.

Oh - I've just seen this - she obviously isn't scared for her personal safety!

As you were. 😁

Well done. She obviously feels like a bit of a prat now you've given a perfectly reasonable explanation.

The actual wording is "(business name) may wish to use images of children to promote the business on social media, our website and in written literature. Please tick this box if you are happy for images of you'd child to be used in this way."

Where did you get this wording from and are you GDPR compliant? It doesn't matter that you are there in person to explain things, it needs to be in writing.

Take it from me, you will NOT get any work through schools without it, and I'd be very surprised if you're not breaking the terms of your insurance policy.

Well done OP.

Now that you are face painting for money you need to ensure your insurance is watertight in case someone has a reaction and makes sure your hygiene is on top form, individual sponges per child, strong laundry bags to store used sponges before washing and disinfecting when you get home etc. Hopefully you are on top of this and haven't just bought a pack of Snazaroo as a 'get rich quick' hustle (you won't).
Temporary tattoos are a good shout for arms of children who can't be facepainted as a side element.

For photos just use your own child, that way you don't need to worry about permissions and can have good lighting and make a nice photoboard on Canva that you can print and have at your table.

Some people will find fault where there's non for a bit of attention. It would be obvious to me why you wrote a description of what her child was wearing but non of the others. 🙄

Yeah she is that mother that the other mothers put up with because their kids are friends with hers. Be grateful that you dont have to put up with her twice a day at school like they do!

Good result all round! So funny that she deleted the comment, sounds like she rarely gets called out for being ridiculous.

Good lord how did she want you to remember which child not to photograph/put up images of? 'The fat one with the eyes too close together' 'sticky up hair green booger nose'... Obviously 'pink tshirt' or 'unicorn pants' is the sensible way to go.

Glad you posted a sensible reply, you're spot on, she's now deleted her comment as she's realised she looks a proper twat, and everyone ELSE knows it! :)

Great job! You just expanded your business and put a nasty person in their place with class!

Good result op. Well done, let's hope it leads to big things for you.

Just politely explain it was in order to make sure you adhered to her wish of not being in any pictures. She sounds a bit OTT to be honest. But she might have her reasons, DV etc.
Don't worry, you've done nothing wrong. I hope the lady who's party it was will promote your business.

Thanks so much everyone for helping with my wobble. I feel so silly worry over a tiny thing
I am really enjoying doing it. I find it hard to talk to other adults face-to-face and I am only quite young myself - I'm 21 and they are all in their 30s. But I love being fun and bubbly with the kids and feel I can talk to them easier than I can the adults haha so hopefully they like being in my company and will tell their mums to all book me :D

So pleased for you, well done OP!

I bet you’re the barmy X mommy. Calm down dear.
It’s a bit face painting for kids parties, not supervising a trip to Outer Mongolia…🤦🏻‍♀️

That's great all went well

You replied. Was polite and as I said previously obv they knew what she was alike as we have a mum like that in our class

You reply was professional. Got liked and now another party request

Mum deleted her comment

Win win

Reply politely and professionally and everyone will see, clear as day, the difference between you and this mum (who sounds like one of those stirrers and trouble-makers). Honestly, there is nothing more infantile (in my view) than people who post these "laughing" faces at their own jokes (which are usually absolutely dire and not laughable at all).

Don't stress about people picking holes in your notice. Not everyone gets it perfect first time. I still see huge companies breaking GDPR all the time.

Make sure you register with the ICO and then just add a link to a 'privacy notice' or have one printed parents can request to read for more information. There's a few things you should have in there, I don't remember them all off the top of my head but you can Google it. Just things like how you store the photos and how people can contact you to withdraw consent in the future. But don't stress about it, it's a simple process.

I was 19 when I started entertaining so young like you. I'm now 31 and it's still my full time job. Wishing you every success.

Well done! So pleased for you 😊Remember this next time you doubt yourself!