I'm really confused and upset right now.

[jowensphoto]

So now you have been on both sides of the "cheap" line.

You did a $75 shoot and didn't get paid - you got ripped off because the market for a $75 photo shoot is a ****ty market.

You paid $400 for a full glam session with 11 digital files - the photographer, with "8 years experience," knows or should know that this is dirt cheap (check out Emily's example, that's a good example of professional pricing). You, also as a photographer, should know that you get what you pay for. IMO, you got more than you paid for.

So now it's up to you to decide to continue running your business cheap, running into these types of issues forever, or raise the bar, both in terms of pricing and product.

 

[robbins.photo]

As compared to?

A really complex trade, like Walmart Door Greeter.

come 'on ... be real

like a Copyright Lawyer !!

worth their weight in cow manure.

Stand up philosopher... lol

 

[tecboy]

Stop making money in photography and don't hire a photographer. Things happen and there is nothing you can do about it. Forget about that eight years photographer and that client. You are already have enough problems. Move on and shoot what you like. Since you like portraiture, stick with it and keep shooting.

 

[photoguy99]

It's perfectly reasonable to expect that someone who's been working at some fairly simple trade like photography should be able to produce acceptable work after eight years. That is, it's a fair expectation. From time to time, you will be disappointed.

As compared to?

Lots of things. Research chemist. University professor. Electrical engineer. Architect.

Basic commercial photography isn't that hard. You will continue to improve of course, but if you can't crank out acceptable basic work after a year or two of serious effort, you need to rethink your approach. Not so many other trades.

 

[D-B-J]

It's perfectly reasonable to expect that someone who's been working at some fairly simple trade like photography should be able to produce acceptable work after eight years. That is, it's a fair expectation. From time to time, you will be disappointed.

As compared to?

Lots of things. Research chemist. University professor. Electrical engineer. Architect.

Basic commercial photography isn't that hard. You will continue to improve of course, but if you can't crank out acceptable basic work after a year or two of serious effort, you need to rethink your approach. Not so many other trades.

I disagree. Photography as a business and art is difficult. It's like any other job. You put in loads of effort and you may get better. It's not "easy."




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[limr]

Uh...not for nothin' but I believe the pictures on the OP's "About" page are two from this photographer that were in the other thread: Elizabeth Page Photography

And isn't one of those Derrel's edit?

So, yeah, now she's published them on a business website with no accreditation. Two words: commercial gain.

This means that posting the pictures here on TPF will be absolutely no problem whatsoever because the OP has permission to do the above, OR it means that there might be a cease-and-desist letter in her future.

 

[tirediron]

It's perfectly reasonable to expect that someone who's been working at some fairly simple trade like photography should be able to produce acceptable work after eight years. That is, it's a fair expectation. From time to time, you will be disappointed.

As compared to?

Lots of things. Research chemist. University professor. Electrical engineer. Architect.

Basic commercial photography isn't that hard. You will continue to improve of course, but if you can't crank out acceptable basic work after a year or two of serious effort, you need to rethink your approach. Not so many other trades.

Since none of those are trades, I don't follow. "Professor" is a position or title, and chemist, engineer and architect are academic professions.

 

[mmaria]

"I'm really confused and upset right now."



... and I'm really confused by op and this thread... and from the first post.... that's all I have to say

 

[photoguy99]

I am not interested in semantic chopping over what the word 'trade' means. My usage was obviously casual, colloquial.

I am also not talking about art, I am talking, obviously and now explicitly, about basic commercial photography. If you are not able to produce solid respectable work after eight years, you're doing it wrong.

It is therefore reasonable to expect that someone who's been is business eight years is competent. Making that assumption does not make you stupid. Basic commercial photography is not some kind of necromancy that one never truly masters. It's more like plumbing. You learn what the usual problems are and what the usual solutions are and you apply them.

Well, ideally you do. Obviously not everyone does.

And that concludes my contributions to this thread. When the miss start actively picking fights with you it's time to move on, right?

 

[cynicaster]

Six pages of blathering on about legalities and qualifications, and still, the thing I’m most confused about is why the OP didn’t just take her own camera and do a set of self-portraits.

 

[robbins.photo]

Uh...not for nothin' but I believe the pictures on the OP's "About" page are two from this photographer that were in the other thread: Elizabeth Page Photography

And isn't one of those Derrel's edit?

So, yeah, now she's published them on a business website with no accreditation. Two words: commercial gain.

This means that posting the pictures here on TPF will be absolutely no problem whatsoever because the OP has permission to do the above, OR it means that there might be a cease-and-desist letter in her future.

A cease and desist letter? Lucky girl. I love those things. I use them for wallpaper collages. It's pretty simple really, cease and desist letter, restraining order, cease and desist letter - you just layer them in and apply a clear coat and bam!

Lol

 

[imagemaker46]

You got burned by a poser. There is no set time for someone to become a photographer, some days it starts the moment the camera is taking out of the Best Buy box, and before the manual is read. Other times it's decades, and the end results could be the same. If you're not happy as the client, then as a "professional" photographer of eight years, they should refund your money, offer to do it again with the conditions that if you're not happy the second time around, you get the money back.

I know photographers that have been in the business for decades, and they still make a living at it, one guy is now teaching photography, but back in the pre-digital days he wasn't very good, and never got better. Fortunately for him, peoples standards have dropped when it comes to quality pictures, and now he looks like a genius. His mediocre work for years has now become good. Thanks to digital and photoshop, fixing all his mistakes has become easy. He's still producing mediocre, but that's ok, most people don't know the difference anymore.

 

[Caymex]

I think that if this person was in the business for 8 years, then they should have had a pretty good portfolio that they could have showed you. If you didn't ask to see a portfolio, then there is only so much responsibility that falls back on the photographer. By looking at her portfolio in advance, you would have found out that she is not as good as she thinks she is and maybe would have been able to better pre-negotiate the shoot or maybe not use the photographer at all. If your a professional photographer AND your a considered very good, then you usually have a portfolio. If your new in the business, then you usually let your clients know that your new and then let them make their decision as to if they want to use you. Only my opinion, but I think that this is a 50/50 fault and had you asked more questions in advance before forking over $400 you may have been able to make a better decision before the photo shoot.

 

[robbins.photo]

As compared to?

Lots of things. Research chemist. University professor. Electrical engineer. Architect.

Basic commercial photography isn't that hard. You will continue to improve of course, but if you can't crank out acceptable basic work after a year or two of serious effort, you need to rethink your approach. Not so many other trades.

Since none of those are trades, I don't follow. "Professor" is a position or title, and chemist, engineer and architect are academic professions.

Ok, but if you can't run around comparing apples to steam shovels then what the hell is the internet for exactly?

Lol

 

[JacaRanda]

Wow!