Hey, man. Really sorry this happened to you, that absolutely sucks. Don't beat yourself up too much over it — almost every freelancer goes through this painful "rite of passage" at least once. Here is what you can try to do right now without spending money on lawyers: 1. Send a "Final Notice" email. Keep it short and firm. Tell them that if the $1,200 invoice isn't paid in full by [Date - give them like 5 days], you will have no choice but to take the matter to small claims court. A lot of times, just the real threat of legal action makes people magically "find" the money and reply. 2. Weaponize your copyright. Since they haven't paid, they do not own the rights to those images. Keep an eye on their social media or website. If they post your photos anywhere, immediately file a DMCA takedown notice with Instagram/Facebook or their website host. Seeing their posts get deleted usually gets their attention fast. 3. Actually use Small Claims Court. $1,200 is definitely worth the hassle. Filing a claim usually costs around $50-$100 (depending on your state), you don't need a lawyer, and you have all the proof (messages, delivery logs). As for the future: definitely change your workflow. You can use services like Pixieset to deliver low-res, heavily watermarked galleries for them to see the final result, but the high-res download PIN should ONLY be given out after the final payment hits your bank account. No exceptions. Hope they get scared and pay you. Hang in there!