Photographic Assumptions... discuss!

RMThompson

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Hey guys, instead of splitting this into two different forum topics, I am going to combine two different questions in this one post, and use hyopthetical situations: (one question is from a real life situation I am going through, and the other is from another forum I frequent!)

1. You are hired to shoot a maternity shot. You do the shoot, and promise the mother-to-be fully edited pictures in a week. Do you automatically assume that you should edit out stretch marks?

2. You are a model photographer, and see a very beautiful woman working at the local Starbucks. You give her you're business card and say "Hey there, if you ever want any pictures, give me a call." Does the woman assume that you're offering free or at least discounted services?

Discuss!
 
Hey guys, instead of splitting this into two different forum topics, I am going to combine two different questions in this one post, and use hyopthetical situations: (one question is from a real life situation I am going through, and the other is from another forum I frequent!)

1. You are hired to shoot a maternity shot. You do the shoot, and promise the mother-to-be fully edited pictures in a week. Do you automatically assume that you should edit out stretch marks?

You would be better served if you are being hired to do a shoot to know the expectations of the customer before you do the shoot. Stretch marks happen with pregnancy. It is a fact of life for many women. Ask in a nice way if they have experienced any stretch marks and if so if they would like them touched up or not. After all they are the paying client.

2. You are a model photographer, and see a very beautiful woman working at the local Starbucks. You give her you're business card and say "Hey there, if you ever want any pictures, give me a call." Does the woman assume that you're offering free or at least discounted services?

Discuss!
This shouts pervert to me personally. On those rare occasions when I see someone that I think would be perfect for a project I will introduce myself to them, explain that I am a photographer, that I have a particular project I am doing or is in development and that I think they might be right for and go on to explain the project to them and the compensation. If they are interested they will call. If you use them for the project you pay them. If they want to use your services they pay you.
 
1. What you are asking about is not 'editing' but 'retouching'. Editing is selecting and cropping. Retouching is altering the image itself. So your agreement - if what you state is accurate - does not require you to remove the stretch marks or anything else.
So first, get an understanding of the terminology and use the correct terms.
And do not respond with 'well I assumed you would know what I meant'. Never 'assume' anything because you will always assume wrong.
Particularly with clients.
If you assume something and do it, they will nearly always decide that they didn't want it and so aren't going to pay.
The correct course of action for a professional is to negotiate exactly what the client wants before doing the shoot. You then have a strict brief to work with, the client knows what they are paying for and what they are going to get, and you have something to refer back to if there is a dispute.
Besides, doing anything more than you are charging them for costs you money and is not good business.
Never assume that clients are logical, sensible, flexible, understanding or forgiving.
They are not.

2.Is the 'photographer' hoping that she will go 'Oh wow! A totally unknown amateur is offering to take cr*p pictures of me naked for no money and maybe get to cop a feel. I can't resist such a childish and clumsy approach. I must say yes" ?
You could get away with this approach if you were famous and well known but for the majority who aren't it counts as sexual harassment and could end with you talking to a Judge.
Stick with photographing your partner or mother. It's a lot less exciting but much safer.
 
LOLOL Thanks for the laugh Hertz!!

1: Yes; ask first, shoot later.

2: Yes, but... You should have references to give her as well or you'll look like the guy Hertz was talking about if you want to shoot her for profit. If you want to shoot her for fun, you'll still need references or just introduce your family to her.

If someone is looking for a pick-up line, you can do much better than this.
 
good answers. I promise I have NOT done the second one... but I did the first!
 
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1 - Fix expectations from the first minute. When in doubt... ask.

2 - Been there and done that. I was sitting at lunch with a work colleague and we were talking photography. A woman with incredibly beautiful eyes was listening and looked over now and then and we made eye contact several times as my friend and I were talking. After lunch, I just got up, complimented her eyes and said that I am an amateur photographer and handed her my business card. I mentioned that if she ever wanted professional level portraits done for nothing much more than my costs, to just give me a call. She smiled and said she was married, to which I chuckled and said "well I have a girlfriend, but feel free to bring him along anyways and we shall make it a 2 person photography session with you and your husband". She smiled, accepted the card, shook my hand and I left.

If you don't try, you will not succeed.
 
I have to agree with everyone else in number one. You have to know what the expectations of the client are and, retouch or not accordingly.
On number two. Anymore I worrry about how over reactive many people are now a days. I will not walk up to a person who looks like they will photograph well and, offer to shoot them. But if they talked with me while I was out shooting then I would offer to shoot them. At this point I would most likely do trades as, Im out of practice shooting people now.
 
I think you get the point on the maternity point. On the second point; I have shot 2 first time Models (from MM). Of course the shots came out great, but it was a lot of work. Experienced models are much easier to work with. I am trying to say that randomly handing out your card is a bad idea.

Love & Bass
 
Let me clarify a bit here. I wrote a post above on my PHONE and it came out wrong.

1st, I jsut did a maternity shot, and told the mother that I would be editing the photos for blemishes but didn't SPECIFY stretchmarks. In the end, she was happy I did (ecstatic) but, in the future I will be mentioning it before hand!

2nd, I have never given my card to a girl at Starbucks and told her if she wanted some pics to call me. I personally feel that this would be creepy and that she WOULD assume the pictures would be free/discounted. That question was posed on a forum on Model Mayhem and I wanted to get some second opinions. The only time I did anything close was when I asked someone I had met a few times if she did any modeling because she looked familiar... she WAS a model, I've worked with her like 3/4 times now!
 
2.Is the 'photographer' hoping that she will go 'Oh wow! A totally unknown amateur is offering to take cr*p pictures of me naked for no money and maybe get to cop a feel. I can't resist such a childish and clumsy approach. I must say yes" ?
You could get away with this approach if you were famous and well known but for the majority who aren't it counts as sexual harassment and could end with you talking to a Judge.
Stick with photographing your partner or mother. It's a lot less exciting but much safer.

Well I never mentioned if the photos would be nude, so that's regardless, but yeah IF a photographer DID this it would seem a bit creepy. However I want to point out (again) I did not. I was merely offering some things to discuss and it felt like some answers were directed to me as if I was doing such things!

Ok, that's all, carry on!

:)
 
So should we continue to post opinions and thoughts or should we wait until you are not posting from your phone?

Love & Bass

I've never pretended that I have any control over anyone ELSE'S ramblings... just clarifying my own.

All the opinions here are valid. I appreciate reading them!
 
for Question 1, I think I would offer both natural, and retouched pics. Let them choose after the shoot.

Question 2. I would not offer the business card. In todays climate I think that would be tossed in the trash as soon as you turned away. If I truely wanted to use the Starbucks girl I would come back later with a portfolio, and approach in a more professional way.
 
If someone is looking for a pick-up line, you can do much better than this.

No need. Just pull out the 300mm f/4 + hood and stand quietly in a corner. She will come and use her pickup line on you. Normally something along the lines of "Your lens, it's so.... big!"
 

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