People recommending you

nerwin · Oct 6, 2015

Okay..this might be a little bit of a rant. The problem when you have a lot of family friends with you on Facebook. You share your awesome pictures and then they think you a super star photographer when one of your pics gets published on TV or something. Then they start recommending you to their friends who are looking for a photographer for a portrait session, engagement or wedding and they happen to be something you have zero interest in doing nor have the experience for such a thing and then you gotta turn them down and they are like: "I thought you were a photographer?" ugh..not every photographer in the world shoots portraits or weddings.

Just because people see some good landscape, macro or cat pictures..they think I can shoot everything and automatically good at it. Shooting portraits is a whole different ball game and I just don't have any interest in it, at least not yet. Maybe someday. However, you want me to take a picture of your car? Sure, I'm down.

But I feel so bad when friends or family recommend me to one of their friends and I gotta turn them down.

vintagesnaps · Oct 6, 2015

I'd be honest about what you do or don't do. Maybe give some reasons or explanations about why you would not be a good choice for shooting their _____ (you have no experience at weddings, you don't have the proper equipment/skills, etc., that they'd do better to find an experienced wedding/portrait photographer who has had the necessary training, etc.).

Maybe help them understand a little about what's involved in shooting a wedding (hours of shooting, setting up lighting, often an assistant is used which involves paying that person, editing and preparing wedding photo packages, etc.). They may not have any clue what goes into it. If you can maybe direct them to where they can find portrait/wedding photographers.

480sparky · Oct 6, 2015

I've been threatened with getting sued for refusing to do commissioned work. No matter how often I say, "I'm not interested in shooting your ___insert event here___ no matter how much you want to pay me. I shoot what I want to shoot. If you like my work enough to pay me for something I've shot, fine. But I can't be bought to produce future works."

Some people just won't take 'go to he11' for an answer.

Fred Berg · Oct 6, 2015

Explain to these people that the place to find what they're looking for is in Yellow Pages, not on Facebook.

dcbear78 · Oct 7, 2015

I had to train my friends to know I don't do newborn or maternity photos. Then once that was done I had to teach them not to tag me into anyone wanting cheap photos.

nerwin · Oct 7, 2015

dcbear78 said:
I had to train my friends to know I don't do newborn or maternity photos. Then once that was done I had to teach them not to tag me into anyone wanting cheap photos.

"can you do this for free? I'm short on money. How does $20 sound?" Sounds insulting to me.

chuasam · Oct 21, 2015

I say things like "oh baby photos? I have a friend who loves doing those. Here's her contact"
It's called a referral. It works really well.
In return they refer me when it's something I specialise in.

chuasam · Oct 21, 2015

480sparky said:
I've been threatened with getting sued for refusing to do commissioned work. No matter how often I say, "I'm not interested in shooting your ___insert event here___ no matter how much you want to pay me. I shoot what I want to shoot. If you like my work enough to pay me for something I've shot, fine. But I can't be bought to produce future works."

Some people just won't take 'go to he11' for an answer.

wait...how does that law suit work?

Village Idiot · Oct 22, 2015

More word of mouth = more money for me.

480sparky · Oct 22, 2015

chuasam said:
wait...how does that law suit work?

My guess is it went like this:

Potential customer: "Hey, Mr Legeleagle.... I wanted to hire this über-fantastic photographer to take pictures at my 40th class reunion, but he refused me, saying he doesn't do commissioned work. I want to sue him for the cost of hiring another photographer."
Lawyer: "You're kidding, right? Get out of my office and quit wasting my time. Oh, here's my bill for the consultation.... be sure to pay the secretary on your way out."

Mr. Innuendo · Oct 22, 2015

I was once asked to shoot a wedding.

In my opinion, if you're getting married, I'm probably the last person you want shooting your wedding, and I have no problem telling someone that. I explain that, just as I'm not a wedding photographer, many wedding photographers do not shoot concerts or motorsports.

I shot that one wedding. The bridge and groom were ecstatic with the results. The way I see it, I'm battin' 1.000, and I don't wanna' screw that up.

Now, with that said, if someone asks me to shoot something I'm not comfortable shooting, I always offer to try to help them find another photographer.

zombiesniper · Oct 22, 2015

I almost strictly shoot birds and since most people don't want their kids tied up in trees or thrown in the air for that mid flight portrait it's not a real problem for me :allteeth:

Seriously though I have had this a couple of times and my answer is always straight to the point.
"I suck at portraits."

pixmedic · Oct 22, 2015

nerwin said:
Okay..this might be a little bit of a rant. The problem when you have a lot of family friends with you on Facebook. You share your awesome pictures and then they think you a super star photographer when one of your pics gets published on TV or something. Then they start recommending you to their friends who are looking for a photographer for a portrait session, engagement or wedding and they happen to be something you have zero interest in doing nor have the experience for such a thing and then you gotta turn them down and they are like: "I thought you were a photographer?" ugh..not every photographer in the world shoots portraits or weddings.

Just because people see some good landscape, macro or cat pictures..they think I can shoot everything and automatically good at it. Shooting portraits is a whole different ball game and I just don't have any interest in it, at least not yet. Maybe someday. However, you want me to take a picture of your car? Sure, I'm down.

But I feel so bad when friends or family recommend me to one of their friends and I gotta turn them down.

have you considered yet that maybe you really are good at shooting everything?