Classic example of the problem of pro photography today

[nerwin]

Yesterday I saw a friend of mine on Facebook asking a question "I need new family portraits, can anyone recommend a photographer?" Someone replies, "I have a big camera I can do that for free!".

"big camera"

What a joke.

 

[andrewdoeshair]

I love this forum. I love how you all answered this, I had the same thoughts as most of these replies. I haven't sold my time behind the camera yet, so I'm still just a hobbyist, and no I haven't volunteered to do a THING for anyone who should hire a professional (and I still hire and recommend a professional when I have an important gig). But this same issue arises in my industry, especially in parts of the world where licensing isn't required to cut hair. The market was completely flooded with "photographers" once Best Buy was able to offer a DSLR kit for under $500. I made fun of a few friends for buying Rebels then starting "photography businesses" the same month, and then when I bought my first Rebel I jokingly said "I'm a photographer now, hit me up to shoot your bar mitzvah." The almighty market has a way of settling these things, though.

I am an expensive haircut. I am not working for someone who needs shorter hair, I'm working for someone who wants an experienced opinion, years of expertise, advice, styling lessons, a luxury experience, some hype, and even a crappy head shot (included with every haircut), and for that reason, because like everyone I charge what I have to charge to keep appointments available at a reasonable wait, I am expensive when I hold scissors (still nearly worthless holding a camera, though). If you just need shorter hair there is a barber on every corner who can do some version of that. So with photography, I wouldn't waste my time feeling annoyed or stressed that someone who wants to spend $200 to shoot their wedding isn't willing to spend $8,000. They were never your customer in the first place, and you didn't lose them because of the photographer who had every right to seize an opportunity to make $200, you lost them because they weren't looking for what you offer anyways. If anything it will probably help your business to befriend a few cheap inexperienced photographers so you can refer the people who can't afford you- then you still get a positive checkmark from the (never really was a) potential customer. their story may go "we went with this person but we wish we went with THIS person." This widespread race to the bottom is actually a great opportunity for an experienced pro, it means that there is a lower floor in the standard, which makes better work look even BETTER by comparison. About 7 years ago I read an article about how barbering was rated one of the best jobs you could have- it's easy to gross 6 figures, you make your own hours, you don't have a boss hovering over you, and you can basically do whatever you want. In the past 6 years barbering became the new cool thing (first was being in a band, then being a DJ, then being a tattoos artist, and somewhere along the way was being a photographer or a graphic artist) so the market got really wide, but all these guys with 2 years behind the chair landed in "$15-$20 per cut" barbershops and will quit before year five, where the suckers like me who have had no other choice but to cut hair for over a decade, were grandfathered into a sort of seniority status.

You can charge more BECAUSE of the people who will do it for cheaper. Be okay with hearing that you're too expensive. If you charged what "they" charged you'd bee too busy, and if you're too busy you're too cheap. On a positive note, how many shitty fauxtographers have you seen grow into something really cool? I went cheap and had a really bad experience with the guy who shot my wedding (long story) and now I have a hard time complaining about it because a few years later he was doing AMAZING work. I do think he owes me a free session now though

 

[greybeard]

Outstanding wedding pictures have been shot on cameras that were no where near the equal of a D3300. So, in my opinion, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, a Nikon D3300 is more than up to the task of weddings. As long as the client is not expecting a $10,000.00 wedding package on a $20.00 per hour budget, I don't really see anything wrong with any of this.