Buy a Camera, Start A Business?

[KmH]

......then, i send him an email posing as someone to book him.. i see his shots, they SUCK, and YES, he is charging a lot less than me......

Wow......just Wow.......

 

[UUilliam]

The reason i say these noobs who charge likes of £100 for a full day wedding are stealing the clients is:
Humans look for the cheapest price they can
If you had the offer of a sport car at £300 and a sport car at £25000 which would you buy?
I guess the one at £300, your saving money right?
wrong you just paid for a Peugeot 105

Sure the majority will research a little bit
but at the end of the day, the money that the noob is getting for messing up a wedding is a client you could have had and gave them a good wedding (or memories at least.)

Also some of the noobs aren't under pricing themselves...
they charge like £800 etc... and the results are overexposed uncomposed blurry images and under exposed images... with about 1 out of every 40 being Decent.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

i'm sorry, but in a small town like mine, I DO loose business to crappy "photographers" i would say about 75% of my business comes from online advertising.. sites like Kijiji.. and, joe crappy photoguy is also advertising on kijiji.. he is advertising "why pay high prices for photographers, when you can get great photos for less" i'm advertising "don't be fooled by cheap photographers.. " then, i send him an email posing as someone to book him.. i see his shots, they SUCK, and YES, he is charging a lot less than me.. but guess what.. "fred" sees the 2 ads, and sends cheap face an email, sees the pics, and is relitively happy with them.. so, he books him.. he doesnt even send me an email to say "can i see your samples" so, he's not seeing the better quality of my photos.. he's not seeing the time put into my photos...

so am I loosing bussiness to cheap no name business' that only last a few months.. yes.. i am.. does it have anything to do with my skill.. no, it has everything to do with advertising.. people see cheap, and the guy says "i have a DSLR" so they assume he's good..

1/ Maybe you need to revise your marketing plan. I don't know where you live (don't even know what kind of photography you do) but, to be honest, if 75% of your photo business comes from the internet and you're doing local work, something is wrong. The only advertisement I did for my wedding photography was Business Cards.

Please don't think I am trying to be mean but we all need to be realistic about who we are. If you are not a marketing guru, get help. And this helps does not necessarily mean hire a pro. There are great books out there. Today, I own rental properties. Decided to go into that because I like to fix houses and I'm good at it. But I'm realistic enough to know that is not enough to make a go of it so I went to the library and took out every book they had on the subject. And I also bought a couple more.

2/ I personally would not use the line "don't be fooled by cheap photographers.. " in my adverts. Negative ads are not the best and I feel it would make me look like I'm afraid of the competition.

I think this is a different arguement all together. But I would love to make a thread about just that. Everyone Post your Photography websites!

I wonder if a guy with really great photos has a kinda crappy site should lose business but a guy with a really nice site and crappy picture would get the business? Just a thought?

I am not talking of the quality of the website only of the photos. And only of pro photogs website if that was not clear. Joe Blow who has a website to show his photos but he's not selling his services doesn't enter in the equation.

Your question about the quality of the website, however, is valid. I am quite sure that a good website brings in more business than a bad one. And with this question, you go right back to the heart of the problem in a way. Are photographers moaning here about the loss of business designing their own free website or did they pay a pro to design a website?

 

[thenikonguy]

sorry, i was speaking figurtively when i said i use the like "dont be fooled by cheap photographers.. " i thought that would have been known.. i guess not..

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Well one question I want to ask is this.

What happens in a family or man get married can only afford say $300 for a photographer OR for some one taking pictures what is he to do. If I was broke I would still want some pictures of my wedding. What about those guys that know they cant afford the best but still something is better than nothing. Think any major photographer would give him the time of day? Are there Buget Photographers out there????

In that case, you need to do your homework. Look at portfolios.

I'm sure that there are excellent budget photographers, but you have to find them.

:thumbup:

I once got a great plumber for a very reasonable rate (before I learned to do it myself) because the guy had just gone into business for himself. Did he price himself low because he didn't know how to price the job or because he was hungry enough? I don't know and didn't ask I just hired him. Not only did he become our plumber for a few years but because he wasn't afraid of me taking over his jobs, he taught me most of what I know today.

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

You guys all make me laugh. For those of you that are mad at people who buy a camera and start a business just makes me think you're scared of them taking business from you. I know this girl that lives in California who bought a camera to take pictures or her kids. Her friends saw them and then wanted her to take pictures of their kids. Now she makes about 90,000 a year taking pictures of children. This was about 4 years ago. It doesn't take a whole lot of know how to take great pictures. It does take creativity, patience, and a willingness to learn how to use your equipment and a stride to try new things and new techniques. Its the photographers who are unwilling to change who lose jobs. Face it, some people just have a knack for photography. I know a few people on here who have not done it for long and are awesome at it.

 

[Jeffro]

Maybe I a crazy " and that is totally possible" but Bottom line is that there will always be someone doing photographer for cheaper than others or even for free. That is the land of competition and sometimes they are not fair. Hell they may even cheat but Life aint FAIR!
So knowing that, I think that the true masters of their trade shine and seem to make a ton of money. Cause most normal people get burnt and move on to the fact you get what you pay for. They will see other Photos and realize that what they got from the friend of a friend was crap and they will tell people about it. SOME of those people will learn from the mistake and hire quality!

If not then they would not have spent the money in the first place. Either way photographers charging $1000+ will never get this business anyways.

So I still dont think it is hurting them as bad as they think!

Build your business on Skill and great photos and people will come!!!

WORD OF Mouth is Still the way to go!

 

[bitteraspects]

The reason i say these noobs who charge likes of £100 for a full day wedding are stealing the clients is:
Humans look for the cheapest price they can
If you had the offer of a sport car at £300 and a sport car at £25000 which would you buy?
I guess the one at £300, your saving money right?
wrong you just paid for a Peugeot 105

Sure the majority will research a little bit
but at the end of the day, the money that the noob is getting for messing up a wedding is a client you could have had and gave them a good wedding (or memories at least.)

Also some of the noobs aren't under pricing themselves...
they charge like £800 etc... and the results are overexposed uncomposed blurry images and under exposed images... with about 1 out of every 40 being Decent.

you seriously need to point your finger in the mirror, and ask yourself what YOURE doing wrong at that point.

people dont look for "the cheapest price". they look for the best deal that fits their budget. the "cheapest price" is FREE. so why not just give a family member a p&s, and have them take the pics?
when people plan out their wedding, they will have a set budget for each element of the wedding (catering, cake, music, mc, flowers, dress, etc). and they will look for the best deal they can possibly get within that range. HOWEVER, if they dont find something they are comfortable with at that price, they will go up a level, and adjust funds in other areas.
now, if they only have $100 to spend on a photographer, and your chepest package is $1000, then you were not going to get the contract regarldess of the product you put out. this leaves you 2 options. either lower your price to allow you to do these "budget" weddings, or retain your self worth and laugh it off.
i for one, would not put my name on a $100 wedding REGARDLESS of the images, because when they get the prints and talk to family and friends, you become "the cheap photographer", and you will be doing $100 weddings from then on out.

if the cheap $100 wedding is what youre after, adjust your rates accordingly, and sell yourself short. but if your work was really worth more then that, then someone doing a $100 wedding wouldn't bother you at all.

and if some other photographer sold their crap work for $800, you're not mad that the pictures came out like crap, you're just mad that they got the contract and you didnt. it has NOTHING to do with "wanting to give them good memories". who do you think youre fooling? at that point youre just making excuses to yourself for not getting the work.
if they can sell crap for $800, why didnt you?

step your game up.
weather its the images, marketing, customer service, ect.
everything plays a factor in the "business" of photography.

(btw. this wasnt aimed directly at you "UUilliam". just using your quotes as an example)

 

[PhotoXopher]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing sports? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.


I'm ready, I've had a DSLR for 8 months now.

 

[bitteraspects]

Well one question I want to ask is this.

What happens in a family or man get married can only afford say $300 for a photographer OR for some one taking pictures what is he to do. If I was broke I would still want some pictures of my wedding. What about those guys that know they cant afford the best but still something is better than nothing. Think any major photographer would give him the time of day? Are there Buget Photographers out there????

In that case, you need to do your homework. Look at portfolios.

I'm sure that there are excellent budget photographers, but you have to find them.

:thumbup:

I once got a great plumber for a very reasonable rate (before I learned to do it myself) because the guy had just gone into business for himself. Did he price himself low because he didn't know how to price the job or because he was hungry enough? I don't know and didn't ask I just hired him. Not only did he become our plumber for a few years but because he wasn't afraid of me taking over his jobs, he taught me most of what I know today.

You guys all make me laugh. For those of you that are mad at people who buy a camera and start a business just makes me think you're scared of them taking business from you. I know this girl that lives in California who bought a camera to take pictures or her kids. Her friends saw them and then wanted her to take pictures of their kids. Now she makes about 90,000 a year taking pictures of children. This was about 4 years ago. It doesn't take a whole lot of know how to take great pictures. It does take creativity, patience, and a willingness to learn how to use your equipment and a stride to try new things and new techniques. Its the photographers who are unwilling to change who lose jobs. Face it, some people just have a knack for photography. I know a few people on here who have not done it for long and are awesome at it.

well said :thumbup:

 

[Jeffro]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing spots? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.

Ok so what do you do when you get every lens? LOL

 

[bitteraspects]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing spots? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.

HOLY CRAP!!! CAN YOU DO THAT?!?!!? :lmao:

thats a great idea. hahahhaha

 

[PhotoXopher]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing spots? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.

Ok so what do you do when you get every lens? LOL

It starts hitting Craigslist and the For Sale section here

 

[bitteraspects]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing spots? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.

Ok so what do you do when you get every lens? LOL

charge for bodies, lighting, flashes, tripods, reflectors, backdrops, etc...

the possibilities are endless

 

[Josh66]

I'm going to start a new business model and just shoot for equipment.

Need me to shoot your son/daughter playing spots? Buy my a 70-200 f/2.8 and I'll shoot all year long.

Need shots of your family? It'll cost you an 85mm f/1.4.

Ok so what do you do when you get every lens? LOL

By then, you would be good enough that a body upgrade is in order.