A photographer "friend" who copies?

[e.rose]

Photochick... in all honesty, Darrell has a point.

I understand how frustrating it is... I have a photographer friend in Nashville dealing with the same thing... but she's actually GOOD... and this girl that is "copying" her work is sub-par. But it's the same thing... sure she might be the first in her immediate area to do such things, but someone else, somewhere is doing the same thing.

I agree with whomever said just try to separate yourself from her as much as possible and just produce better work. Stay one step ahead. People who care about quality will go to you and she can have the bottom feeders who will bleed her dry until she hates cameras.

If they're ideas for upcoming shoots... stop posting them until you do them.

If she's copying existing shoots... then just let her always be one step behind.

Not much more you can do other than that.

I'm curious as to what you feel she is copying however... and after you let us know that, I'm also curious to see your work compared to what she's doing... if even by a PM.

 

[rub]

Use her face as a platform to stepup and do things ever bigger and better.

I have the same issue in my town, with the person even going so far as contact clients on mine, who I had told her |I had booked for an upcoming shoot, and having her tell them to book with her instead.

I called her on it. Phoned her up, and said hey - shoot what you like, advertise how you like, but dont ever contact my clients again. I work my ass off to build a relationship with my clients and that was that pretty low. She apologized, then asked if she could rent my studio for her to shoot boudoir in (she was trying to poach boudoir clients). I just about kicked her in the neck. With some restrain and a stiff whiskey, I decided to once again, step up my game. She may steal away a few, but they will be back.. And if they aren't, I didnt want them anyways.

 

[Kolander]

"Maybe I'm a little too naive, though. Maybe all is fair in capitalism"

You are quite wrong, only in capitalism you'll have property rights

 

[Kolander]

...the ideas she's "borrowed" from me...

...and this girl that is "copying" her work...

...even going so far as contact clients on mine, who I had told her |I had booked...

:shock: :shock:

 

[e.rose]

...the ideas she's "borrowed" from me...

...and this girl that is "copying" her work...

...even going so far as contact clients on mine, who I had told her |I had booked...

:shock: :shock:

I don't get it? :scratch:

 

[bentcountershaft]

Women are evil?

 

[tirediron]

Women are evil?

When did that become a question?

 

[tirediron]

...I have a photographer friend in Nashville dealing with the same thing... but she's actually GOOD...

Really? Is she? Can she start a thread that will generate ten pages of responses and average 100+ smilies/page?

Just askin'...

 

[MReid]

Just ingnore her and provide a better product.

+1

 

[KmH]

My first thought was - Ideas are not owned (copyrightable).

U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright in General (FAQ)
What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "What Works Are Protected."

You might also want to look at - Copyright Protection: Idea v. Expression | Photo Attorney

 

[jake337]

She's one of the photographers a lot of people get angry about, by the way. She's got no experience, cheap camera, uses picnik to edit photos, calls herself professional, etc. Drives me insane.

If a person like that is so easily duplicating your photos, I would question your work, not hers.

What he said...


Step up and create images for your clients that she cannot replicate. Once she can, hire her, and use her as your workhorse!

 

[e.rose]

Women are evil?

OH... right. :lmao:

...I have a photographer friend in Nashville dealing with the same thing... but she's actually GOOD...

Really? Is she? Can she start a thread that will generate ten pages of responses and average 100+ smilies/page?

Just askin'...

She is.

She was our wedding photographer... her wedding pricing starts at $3,000.. she's been in business (successfully and LEGITAMATELY) for years... is currently starting up a new brand... and no, I doubt she'd start a 10 page thread complaining about it, because she's far too busy with clients and taking care of her 2, extremely energetic children.

I'm sure plenty of people would find fault with her work, but *I* like it. We can't *all* be TPF style shooters.

My only regret is that I'm not in fuggin' Nashville right now (I don't wanna hear it, you who knows who he is... there's more than just me in the picture here, I can't just pick up and go. :greenpbl: ), because with her new brand starting up, she keeps telling me that she'd have a job for me if I was there. :banghead:

But, on the bright side, I DO get to second shoot a wedding with her in March RIGHT after I get off the bus after being on a torturous tour for a month. The timing just worked out! Go on a tour I hate... come back to home base in Nashville... second shoot a wedding 3 days later... fly back home to PA and sulk for a week about not living in Nashville before picking myself back up and continuing with my efforts here.

 

[e.rose]

Oh... and to clarify... my statement of "and she's actually GOOD" was in no way to imply that the OP is NOT good. I can't say that. I've never seen her work.

I was pulling an all-nighter again last night (like that's a surprise) and my brain stopped functioning somewhere around 9pm, so anything I type after that happens tends not to be clear.... or just plain doesn't make sense either.

And considering my DAMN CAT wouldn't let me SLEEP again today... I have a feeling that's how all of today is going to go.

I'm already having to think REALLY hard about each letter I'm typing, and that's unusual for me.

I'll probably be brain dead in a few hours.

It was nice knowing all of you.

:hug:: :heart:

 

[thephotochick]

update - i just let it go. not worth putting so much thought into. perhaps i was just losing my mind due to all the business stresses. and yeah, i thought about reporting her for not paying taxes. lol. fleeting thought. now i just chuckle about it. why does she want to imitate ME?! insanity. i'm barely making money right now. i'm a noob. why not imitate someone who's already got it going on? lulz.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Thanks for the update!