For those beginners who charge $$$'s

ndb0407 · Aug 12, 2011

I liked the article. Here is another kind of along the same lines. 5 Tips for Building Your Photography Portfolio I would love to charge for my photography and I have had offers from people to do so. Lord know running all over town to find locations and burning CDs cost some money, but I figure that until I know my camera inside and out I can not charge for sessions.

Stradawhovious · Aug 12, 2011

One quick thing here............You can't fix stupid.

Really.

I don't understand why anyone would want to try.

If someone truly believes they can make a profession out of something they have no experience or training in, I say let them go for it. The rational ones will see reason before getting too deep, but the others won't listen to common sense. They will either fail miserably (probable outcome) or become a success (doubtful). Either way I will get the same amount of sleep every night.

I'm not sure why so much energy is spent discouraging these people. Yeah, they're fun to make fun of on the intertubes, but why make it a crusade? Like I said before......

You can't fix stupid.

To address the inevitable "they make the real pros look bad" remark, no........ no they don't. What they do is show people that cheap photographers that advertise solely ln Facebook and Craigslist suck, you get what you pay for, and next time do your homework and get a look at a real portfolio first. Word of mouth is a fantastic thing in that word of bad business or shoddy product spreads like wildfire in any profession.

Gaerek · Aug 12, 2011

Stradawhovious said:
One quick thing here............You can't fix stupid.

Really.

I don't understand why anyone would want to try.

If someone truly believes they can make a profession out of something they have no experience or training in, I say let them go for it. The rational ones will see reason before getting too deep, but the others won't listen to common sense. They will either fail miserably (probable outcome) or become a success (doubtful). Either way I will get the same amount of sleep every night.

I'm not sure why so much energy is spent discouraging these people. Yeah, they're fun to make fun of on the intertubes, but why make it a crusade? Like I said before......

You can't fix stupid.

To address the inevitable "they make the real pros look bad" remark, no........ no they don't. What they do is show people that cheap photographers that advertise solely ln Facebook and Craigslist suck, you get what you pay for, and next time do your homework and get a look at a real portfolio first. Word of mouth is a fantastic thing in that word of bad business or shoddy product spreads like wildfire in any profession.

The free market has a tendency to seperate the chaff from the wheat. In the end, a smart consumer will do their research and decide what photographer fits their needs within their budget. There is a place for the Facebook/Craigslist photographer. Some people simply can't afford more than that. However, a client who knows what they want and is willing to pay for it won't ever check either of those places for a photographer. We have "professionals" here who are certainly fun to watch. They sell photos to people that would likely get deleted in camera before hitting the computer for me. They sell CDs of pictures because "it works for Wal-Mart, and the customer wants a CD!" If you want to compete with Wal-Mart, have at it. Wal-Mart is cheaper and will likely sell as good, or better product. Watching these people is good, cheap entertainment.

BTW, love the sig, lol.

MTVision · Nov 2, 2011

Bump....

Great article!

unpopular · Nov 2, 2011

This kind of self important garbage is exactly what I cannot stand about the profo establishment. The ONLY thing that makes a professional photographer is delivering a product which the consumer wants.

The rest is just complaining about "young guns" whom they can't compete due to their "old men's club" mentality of ripping off customers through draconian licensure and out-dated pricing schemes that don't reflect modern cost of business.

There is no "code of ethics". A young startup doesn't "owe" anyone anything. If the market demands a product, the only responsibility the photographer has is to provide it.

MTVision · Nov 2, 2011

unpopular said:
This kind of self important garbage is exactly what I cannot stand about the profo establishment. The ONLY thing that makes a professional photographer is delivering a product which the consumer wants.

The rest is just complaining about "young guns" whom they can't compete due to their "old men's club" mentality of ripping off customers through draconian licensure and out-dated pricing schemes that don't reflect modern cost of business.

There is no "code of ethics". A young startup doesn't "owe" anyone anything. If the market demands a product, the only responsibility the photographer has is to provide it.

I didn't think the article was complaining about "young guns" whom they can't compete due to their "old men's club" mentality...... I think it has some good advice - look at your work and critique it, learn photography, make a business plan, create a website instead of just a facebook page, be creative and original, and find what you like to shoot.

Maybe you were talking about the replies on this thread - I didn't read them.

Why are you always picking on me?? LOL!

TenaciousTins · Nov 2, 2011

Thanks so much for this. I have told all my friends and family that I won't charge because of these very reasons!! They all gush (and even a few strangers do as well) and say how I really "ought to be getting paid to do this".

Have I gotten paid for a few jobs? Yes I have, but that was more of a "donation" type of thing where they offered me money for it after seeing the results. I might take OK pictures, that are even visually pleasing to my own eye, but I know I don't have the experience, the funds, the knowledge, or the tools, to live up to that. I have a camera, and a flash, and a few mics. tools. I have told all my fans that I won't promote myself as much as they want me to. I do have a Facebook fan page, but I don't promote it for business purposes. It is there strictly so that people who like my pictures can get their monthly/weekly dose of them.

This is a great article and I hope a few of my *coughphotographercough* friends will read it and get the hint.