trying to go professional is harder then i thought...

[tirediron]

Yes.... they do. :???:

The video linked bellow is actually one that paid for most of my gear. My old boss Edward Martinez had a $65K budget, and i was his assistant at the time. I ended up getting the picture car in the opening scene (1952 Bentley w/ suicide doors), for free from my friends father, and i put down $2.5K for the budget and i kept it as well as the salary i was already being paid, lol yea, I can be sneaky.

Sneaky? I would call that unethical, personally... but hey, call it what you want...

I'm pretty sure that's actually called "fraud" which in most parts of the world is a criminal charge!

 

[Gavjenks]

I suggest you play to your strengths and pursue a career in organized crime.

 

[amolitor]

I'm baffled by the accusation of fraud. It depends very very much on details that haven't been mentioned.

 

[tirediron]

I'm baffled by the accusation of fraud. It depends very very much on details that haven't been mentioned.

Granted, but to summarize those we do know, essentially: "I got free use of a prop for which I had estimated and billed at 2.5K", I'm still going with "fraud"!

 

[runnah]

I'm baffled by the accusation of fraud. It depends very very much on details that haven't been mentioned.

Granted, but to summarize those we do know, essentially: "I got free use of a prop for which I had estimated and billed at 2.5K", I'm still going with "fraud"!

You say fraud and I say markup.

 

[molested_cow]

I am not a pro, but I am a designer who also finds it very challenging to do it alone.

First of all, I don't know if there's anyone who actually buys photograph, like pretty landscapes and what not, as art. I've sold two photos to a colleague who happened to like them. I wasn't trying, it was coincidental. When you come to forums like this, you will find a ton of beautiful photos taken by people who also spend a lot of time honing their skills, but they aren't even doing it for a profit. There are many reasons to why beautiful photos aren't as marketable as the way we would like them to, of which I want to highlight one- They do not really serve a value in order to sustain a demand. Even post cards are so yesterday... people just snap a shot with their iphone and tag it on FB.

Like previously mentioned in this thread, you should not be focusing on selling your work, but your skills. Photography isn't a skill that has a high entry point like say.... engineering or medicine. You get some gears, put enough time and passion and you will get somewhere. So among all of these very talented photographers, why pick you? In another words, what's your niche? I don't think you should be thinking this as a "competition". If you do, you will only end up in a price-cut war. It's about the unique value you can offer that others can't. That's not competition, because you own the market. So that's what I think you need to focus on, or for any profession for that matter. Good luck!

 

[Gavjenks]

I'm baffled by the accusation of fraud. It depends very very much on details that haven't been mentioned.

Why does he need to be "sneaky" if it's a legitimate transaction?
Also, to some extent, it might not matter. Even if you could have put it down as "$2,500 going to me for this prop" and even if the guy would've been fine with it, it could still likely be fraud anyway if you lie instead. Fraud is just using lies and trickery to get something from a person. It doesn't require that there be no other possible way to have gotten it honestly.

 

[amolitor]

Fraud has an actual definition, it turns out.

 

[Designer]

Fraud has an actual definition, it turns out.

For those who don't own a dictionary:

fraud |frôd|noun

Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain: he was convicted of fraud | prosecutions for social security frauds.• a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities: mediums exposed as tricksters and frauds.

We're not talking about some crime for which the perpetrator might be prosecuted, but perhaps he could be sued in civil court.

It's fraud.

 

[amolitor]

We have no idea there was deceit. Perhaps he felt "sneaky" for not telling the rest of the crew about his finder's fee, while being 100% open with the boss.

There almost certainly was no injury here, if the $2500 is a reasonable rental fee for the car.

Throwing around accusations of fraud isn't really appropriate in the absence of.. anything.

 

[Overread]

Ok guys in absence of any actual evidence barring a comment made in passing lets leave the home sleuthing out and stick to what we know - photography

 

[limr]

As far as a business-like attitude, to your credit you use appropriate punctuation and spelling.

But note that so far, just your's and 2 other post in the thread don't have all the appropriate capital letters. (I, instead of i. Mark III, instead of Mark iii)

OP, don't underestimate the value of the above advice. Sloppiness or inconsistency in your business writings (ads, letters, promos...) will get noticed. You can have the slickest outfit around but what people will notice and remember is the toilet paper stuck to your shoe. And there is enough sloppiness in writing skills these days that not making mistakes will get you noticed in a good way.

Can people technically just steal my photos right now?

I'm not very concerned about people stealing them (or should i be?), but if they do does it harm my chances of making money with these photos in the future?

You automatically own the copyright of any creative work you do and display. If someone uses your image without accreditation, yes they are stealing your work. You have the right to sue them to stop using the work, but you can't sue for monetary damages unless you register the work with the US Copyright Office. If this is something that you are trying to make money from, I would suggest looking into that. It's cheap (unlike getting a patent! Be glad you didn't invent anything ) and it will give you more protection and control over how your work is used.

I suppose this is more relevant if you are looking to sell your pictures. As suggested several times, if you are selling your services as a photographer, this may be less of an issue but it still might be worth looking into.

I am not a pro photographer, nor do I have any desire to be one, so on your other questions, I got nothing. Good luck, though!

 

[azillian]

Lol definitely not fraud. I'm sneaky because I'm connected and I get Bentleys for free. Ed knows how I get down... You trolls need to go back into your little troll houses and stop trying to rain on peoples parades, not my fault you were deprived of friends and love while growing up. Resorting to being an E-Bully, aka loser, was really a weak career choice on your end, you may want to reevaluate. :mrgreen:

And thank you to anyone who has replied with relevant information, I appreciate your input and help!

 

[12sndsgood]

Lol definitely not fraud. I'm sneaky because I'm connected and I get Bentleys for free. Ed knows how I get down... You trolls need to go back into your little troll houses and stop trying to rain on peoples parades, not my fault you were deprived of friends and love while growing up. Resorting to being an E-Bully, aka loser, was really a weak career choice on your end, you may want to reevaluate. :mrgreen:

And thank you to anyone who has replied with relevant information, I appreciate your input and help!

The way it was worded (being sneaky) made it appear that's what you had done. now calling people trolls because they were replying to how you responded makes you look even worse. People standing up for what's right (not commiting fraud) is not being a loser or E-bully.

 

[amolitor]

To be fair, the OP was accused of a crime first, and only called people trolls in response to that. Ideally we'd all just smile benignly when other people accused us of being a criminal but we're not all saints.