intimidating.....

[ARS.photography.MS]

Expensive gear doth not a professional make. LOTS of people with more money than skill have top-end gear; doesn't mean they know beans about it though.

True.....true....true....

 

[Steve5D]

If you're intimidated by a mother and her expensive camera, then you have no business being in the business of taking pictures. That's how you deal with this.

Expensive gear doth not a professional make. LOTS of people with more money than skill have top-end gear; doesn't mean they know beans about it though.

I always get a kick out of comments like these.

The OP clearly stated that the woman had worked as a photographer in a studio. Given the description of the camera she had; the one she used in that studio, I'm gonna' go out on a limb and guess that the studio wasn't a mall kiosk.

To the OP, I would've just asked her not to shoot behind you...

 

[Steve5D]

If you dont have it in writing, you have pretty much zero recourse.

I often see this. It makes sense. If you don't have a contract, you have no recourse.

It's important to note that this is just as true for the client. ..

 

[Michael79]

I would've been intimidated, but for the reasons others have stated. I shouldn't be there.

The only reason why I would've been intimidated was because I wasn't totally confident in my skills. I'm glad you took the challenge head on, and hope you are happy with your results.

 

[Michael79]

If you're intimidated by a mother and her expensive camera, then you have no business being in the business of taking pictures. That's how you deal with this.

Expensive gear doth not a professional make. LOTS of people with more money than skill have top-end gear; doesn't mean they know beans about it though.

I always get a kick out of comments like these.

The OP clearly stated that the woman had worked as a photographer in a studio. Given the description of the camera she had; the one she used in that studio, I'm gonna' go out on a limb and guess that the studio wasn't a mall kiosk.

Not trying to start a debate here, but picture people and sears have some decent equipment, and they hired my wife, whom never even touched a dslr before that. My guess is the reason she hired the OP is because she was out of her element, being a professionally set up studio.

 

[kathyt]

Expensive gear doth not a professional make. LOTS of people with more money than skill have top-end gear; doesn't mean they know beans about it though.

Have you been drinking sir?

 

[kathyt]

Next time smash her camera and make her children cry.

See, this is why we are meant to be together!

 

[orljustin]

Saturday I had a session with two beautiful little girls....bear in mind I'm new and not proclaiming to be a professional....BUT have had extremely happy and satisfied clients so far.
The mother of these little girls contacted me and said "I want pics of the girls!!!! Let me know when!!!" So we finally got a session booked.
We meet at the local park for outdoor session. The girls run up to me excited and happy and ready...so I'm waiting for mom and she walks up with her own camera, her $5000 professional camera and lens she used when she worked as a photographer at a studio.....omg I was so got off with. I didn't know what to think. For half an hour she follwed us around taking Pics behind me! Soon she went and sat down. By then I was so "nervous" I was shaking!

Anyone have any advice? How would u handle a situation like this?

Don't worry. You're not "proclaiming to be a professional".

 

[jwbryson1]

Next time smash her camera and make her children cry.

See, this is why we are meant to be together!

:shock: :shock: :shock: BUT.....BUT.....BUT..... ale: I thought we had a thing going on here....

 

[kathyt]

Next time smash her camera and make her children cry.

See, this is why we are meant to be together!

:shock: :shock: :shock: BUT.....BUT.....BUT..... ale: I thought we had a thing going on here....

Don't worry jdubs, runnah and I have an open relationship. Plus, I am a player in my newly found single life. I get bored quick.

 

[imagemaker46]

Saturday I had a session with two beautiful little girls....bear in mind I'm new and not proclaiming to be a professional....BUT have had extremely happy and satisfied clients so far.
The mother of these little girls contacted me and said "I want pics of the girls!!!! Let me know when!!!" So we finally got a session booked.
We meet at the local park for outdoor session. The girls run up to me excited and happy and ready...so I'm waiting for mom and she walks up with her own camera, her $5000 professional camera and lens she used when she worked as a photographer at a studio.....omg I was so got off with. I didn't know what to think. For half an hour she follwed us around taking Pics behind me! Soon she went and sat down. By then I was so "nervous" I was shaking!

Anyone have any advice? How would u handle a situation like this?

Don't worry. You're not "proclaiming to be a professional".

The Op took money for a shoot, I assume it's not the first time the Op has taken money for a shoot, and by the comments made by so many on this forum that makes the Op a professional, regardless of the statement proclaiming not to be a professional. Maybe it's a professional amateur situation.

Why would the mother who has worked as a photographer in a studio hire someone else to take pictures of her own kid, several reasons I suppose, she sucked as a studio photographer, she sucks as a photographer when working in natural light, or she has gear she doesn't know how to use. I suppose if you got paid, and the photos were better than what the mother shot then everything is just fine now. What happens the next time when someone hires you and they have a couple of cameras worth more than what you are using, do you slip into a coma?

 

[vintagesnaps]

Or what if her photos turn out way better than yours? You might be lucky if she only asks for her money back.

Why she brought her own camera who knows, but you need to be in charge of the session and ask. Listen to what Scott (Imagemaker) is telling you; you don't sound prepared for taking photos as a professional and if you're accepting money that's exactly what you're doing.

What are you going to do if a child gets hurt in a session you're directing (outdoors, running or climbing on a playground)? What if you get told you're going to be sued for not providing professional quality photos to a client's satisfaction? Do you have any insurance? backup equipment? etc. etc. Even if something comes up that wasn't specifically mentioned in a contract you need to be prepared to handle whatever happens as a professional business woman.

 

[tirediron]

Expensive gear doth not a professional make. LOTS of people with more money than skill have top-end gear; doesn't mean they know beans about it though.

Have you been drinking sir?

No more than usual...

 

[Netskimmer]

Most parents have a tough time staying objective when it comes to their kids, she may have just wanted an impartial party to take/edit the shots.

Did you see her shots? It could be that she doesn't know what she is doing and was shadowing you in an attempt to learn. The studio she worked for may have not dealt with child portraits, or portraits at all. That is assuming that the whole studio story isn't a flat out lie. She could just be one of the many, many people that underestimate what it takes to get a good photo and went out, bought a high dollar camera and now can't get good pics of her kids but is too embarrassed to own up to it.

 

[Steve5D]

Most parents have a tough time staying objective when it comes to their kids, she may have just wanted an impartial party to take/edit the shots.

That's probably the most accurate estimation of what happened.

I was going to say "great point", but then you had to follow it up with this nonsense:

Did you see her shots? It could be that she doesn't know what she is doing and was shadowing you in an attempt to learn. The studio she worked for may have not dealt with child portraits, or portraits at all. That is assuming that the whole studio story isn't a flat out lie. She could just be one of the many, many people that underestimate what it takes to get a good photo and went out, bought a high dollar camera and now can't get good pics of her kids but is too embarrassed to own up to it.

The level of assumption you aspire to is impressive. If you'd have just stuck with your original point, you would've had one of the best posts in this thread. But you had to go muck it up with what I've put in bold above.

"What ifs" are rarely, if ever, valuable or productive, and they should be avoided, especially if you're trying to make a point based on reality...