Sick of it

MTVision · Jan 15, 2012

This blog post caused a huge stir a couple of days ago and people are still debating it on another forum.

http://yanphoto.com/blog/sick-of-it/

What are your takes on it? Unprofessional? Career suicide? Just being "real".

Would any of you photographers in business post something like this on your website for clients??

naptime · Jan 16, 2012

unprofessional cry baby.

I'm good I'm really good. You want to work with me. Blah blah blah... Then she should not be struggling

she chose her career path, not her customers. Or not customers it would seem.

that post tells me all I need to know about her as a person and as a business person. I'm sure that piss poor attitude in her post is reflected in her dealings with customers as well.

I feel for anyone that's struggles with a self owned small business. But success starts with you.

MTVision · Jan 16, 2012

naptime said:
unprofessional cry baby.

I'm good I'm really good. You want to work with me. Blah blah blah... Then she should not be struggling

she chose her career path, not her customers. Or not customers it would seem.

that post tells me all I need to know about her as a person and as a business person. I'm sure that piss poor attitude in her post is reflected in her dealings with customers as well.

I feel for anyone that's struggles with a self owned small business. But success starts with you.

I agree. I've heard people praise her work but I've honestly never looked at it and could really care less. I read this post and was amazed that someone would write that on a business blog!

I feel bad for people struggling in their business but why put it out there for all your potential clients to see. I wouldn't want to hire someone who is so financially unsteady and admits it freely.

I know as a customer I don't want to know a businesses financial problems. I want to see their product and see if it's what I want. Also, don't people book wedding photographers like a year in advance? Who in the hell would want to book Yan for their wedding knowing she is so financially unstable? Who knows where she will be or what she will be doing in a year.

IMO I think her blog post is degrading to herself and she is pretty much begging people to hire her.

"and one last thing. a request really. if you’ve thought of hiring me but have been holding off. if you want to book a family session but you’re in boise or utah, or somewhere other than denver, colorado (where i am right now in case you missed it). if you are getting married, and i’m your dream photographer (hahaha), but you just know i’m out of your budget.

please,

write me. you might be thinner in six months, but your kids are growing up now. we can set up dates and multiple sessions for a boise or utah trip in the srping. we can take a look at your wedding budget and see if its possible to work something out.

because i want to know you, and i want to work with you.

and because,

i’m desperate."

Instead of complaining about it maybe she should do something about it. Who knows though - maybe she's brilliant - her blog post has been passed around facebook, forums and it's at the top of google.

davesnothere11 · Jan 16, 2012

While I am no professional I have hired them in the past. If I read this when looking into hiring one I'd pass on her. Too likely to have a breakdown.
If so many people say her prices are too high maybe they are. Maybe she needs an established reputation to charge what she is charging.
Finally when I hear the "hire me I'm a mother of whatever number of kids" I'm done. I don't want to hear that whining from a "professional". We ALL have obligations it's why we work for money. To say your obligations mean more because of X number of kids is flat out bull.

480sparky · Jan 16, 2012

Her SHIFT keys are broken...... she should get a new keyboard. Then all her problems will be solved.

c.cloudwalker · Jan 16, 2012

OMG, this is too funny.

Sad, yes, but so funny nonetheless.

Reading this would make me take her off my list of potentials but, honestly, have you looked at the portfolio? She would never have been in the run-in in the first place. Considering the photos I saw, there is no way in hell I would even consider paying her $2,700. Her lowest rate!

As for the career suicide... no. None that I can see since there is no career.

Real? Yes. A REAL idiot. Sounds to me like her marketing plan is to sit by the phone after having set up a website and a facebook page... and I only went past the home page because of this thread. I never would have otherwise.

Frankly, retail photogs should love people like that and they are what? 60 or 75% of the retail photogs population. Photogs should see no competition in people like that unless they are themselves that idiotic.

And it does make me wonder who are the people who responded to her blog post......

Thanks for the morning laugh.

Off to work I go.

Derrel · Jan 16, 2012

OMG...what a frank, open, honest, and sincere piece of writing. It tells me, in simple, poignant words that she's a mother. Of three. Married. And has an uncle who is her second shooter at weddings. That she operates out of Denver, and that her mad skillz in the way she "wields her lens" make her prices well worth every penny. Even though she gets only one inquiry (which she spells enquiry) per week. ACK!@! Yet another MWAC trying to charge high rates for substandard work. [ A SELF-DESCRIBED, MWAC, no less!]

I went through the entire Engagements portfolio, 54 images. OMG--there is some dreadful,dreadful stuff in there. Horizontals with cut-off feet galore!!! Violation of a basic concept. Totally, totally headless people, photographed horizontal as some sort of "outfit" shot, on multiple occasions. z_O_M_G !!! She says it...she's a mom...trying to run a photo business...who cares that she cannot afford the $250 price for her kid to be in the school play--she desperately needs to spend some money on ART LESSONS so her pictures look decent. The blog owner is not a good photographer. There's much more to being a photographer than being able to open files in Lightroom and churn through them in between episodes of one's favorite TV shows on the web...

She desperately needs some training in how to pose, and how to compose. This work is amateurish,in the worst sense of that word. It's all processing of image files, shooting toward the sun, lens flare, and horrible compositions from a person who clearly is a camera operator and image file processor, but clearly is NOT a "real photographer". Forget wedding photos--I did not even look at the wedding photos because almost anybody can shoot wedding photos. The bride has professionally done makeup and a fabulous, expensive gown. The groom has well-fitted tux or suit. The event itself is pretty much a series of predictable, malleable photo ops. The engagement portfolio is a MUCH better indicator of the skill of a ,photographer--real people, with street clothes, and no "artifice", no ceremony to cover up weak or nonexistent skill.

The blog author stated that her wedding photos would make "you cry" when reviewing them in the future. yeah....I bet they would...

Netskimmer · Jan 16, 2012

The way this woman talks, it's like she's the greatest photographer on the planet but she just can't seem to figure out how to get the rest of the planet to see it. What a terrible cross she has to bear. They ought to call her the guillotine, most of her subjects are missing their heads. She seems more interested in their clothing. Perhaps she could get a job shooting for the Sears catalog. I especially liked the picture of the clouds. No land, no people, just a sheet of homogenous grey clouds. Not even any shapes in the clouds.

MTVision · Jan 16, 2012

Derrel said:
OMG...what a frank, open, honest, and sincere piece of writing. It tells me, in simple, poignant words that she's a mother. Of three. Married. And has an uncle who is her second shooter at weddings. That she operates out of Denver, and that her mad skillz in the way she "wields her lens" make her prices well worth every penny. Even though she gets only one inquiry (which she spells enquiry) per week. ACK!@! Yet another MWAC trying to charge high rates for substandard work. [ A SELF-DESCRIBED, MWAC, no less!]

I went through the entire Engagements portfolio, 54 images. OMG--there is some dreadful,dreadful stuff in there. Horizontals with cut-off feet galore!!! Violation of a basic concept. Totally, totally headless people, photographed horizontal as some sort of "outfit" shot, on multiple occasions. z_O_M_G !!! She says it...she's a mom...trying to run a photo business...who cares that she cannot afford the $250 price for her kid to be in the school play--she desperately needs to spend some money on ART LESSONS so her pictures look decent. The blog owner is not a good photographer. There's much more to being a photographer than being able to open files in Lightroom and churn through them in between episodes of one's favorite TV shows on the web...

She desperately needs some training in how to pose, and how to compose. This work is amateurish,in the worst sense of that word. It's all processing of image files, shooting toward the sun, lens flare, and horrible compositions from a person who clearly is a camera operator and image file processor, but clearly is NOT a "real photographer". Forget wedding photos--I did not even look at the wedding photos because almost anybody can shoot wedding photos. The bride has professionally done makeup and a fabulous, expensive gown. The groom has well-fitted tux or suit. The event itself is pretty much a series of predictable, malleable photo ops. The engagement portfolio is a MUCH better indicator of the skill of a ,photographer--real people, with street clothes, and no "artifice", no ceremony to cover up weak or nonexistent skill.

The blog author stated that her wedding photos would make "you cry" when reviewing them in the future. yeah....I bet they would...

That's why I love you guys and this forum!

I still haven't looked at her portfolio - I probably won't. She may not be a good photographer but I definitely can't talk since I'm lacking in skill!

******Derrel - I still think you're Jane Momtographer

Netskimmer · Jan 16, 2012

MTVision said:
She may not be a good photographer but I definitely can't talk since I'm lacking in skill!

There's a big difference in lacking skills due to inexperience and lacking skills due to inexperience while singing your own praises and crying because no one will hire you because they don't realize how great you are.

molested_cow · Jan 16, 2012

If you are only getting one call a week, you should be using the time to look for another job.

Bitter Jeweler · Jan 16, 2012

She's so poor she can't afford a keyboard with a working shift key.

GeorgieGirl · Jan 16, 2012

I saw this thread and took a look. I clicked the link to her site and took a look. They are worth a look IMHO.

SCraig · Jan 16, 2012

I think it should be required reading for anyone that starts an "I'm going to open my own business" thread.

Rjcommando · Jan 16, 2012

I'm probably not qualified to really judge, but looking through her wedding portfolio, I saw quite a few images that I thought were pretty good. I did see quite a few that I thought were quite horrid as well. As far as the blog entry, probably not the best move. Struggling and dealing with disappointment and setbacks are just part of life. Coming across as desperate and barely hanging on is not the best way to attract quality clients.