why is my photographer friend mad at me?

[sunnydays2018]

Why do I get the feeling this is all a big joke?

Should I feel bad for asking to him to babysit when someone else offered me a free photoshoot when he wanted to do it for me for free?

 

[vagabondkidd]

I'm actually confused with his argument.

 

[Derrel]

As to the last two photos

so he is right for saying those are shitty photographs and feeling embarrassed to have his name attached to them?

They are not "that bad"...I have seen worse, and I have seen better...I think the maternity shot has poor composition, but the family group shot has a fun feeling about it. Not a "great shot", yet still...it has nine people in it, and feels authentic.

If the photographer who took the images does not like the work, well, he might have 1) become a better shooter or 2) has developed a more-critical eye toward his earlier work or 3)decided he needs a different portfolio representation or 4)he's just now beginning to transition into higher-level posing or higher-level work.

it is very common for people just starting out in shooting for other people to shoot stuff that, a few years later, no longer suits their newly-developed opinions or their newly-developed skill level; such is the way it goes. I look back on some of my earlier pictures and think, "Wow...that's nowhere near what I want to see from myself these days!"

 

[sunnydays2018]

If the photographer who took the images does not like the work, well, he might have 1) become a better shooter or 2) has developed a more-critical eye toward his earlier work or 3)decided he needs a different portfolio representation or 4)he's just now beginning to transition into higher-level posing or higher-level work.

the first two pictures in that album are years old, the last two pictures (maternity and family picture) are the most recent ones

 

[Derrel]

The first two shots are mother-and-baby, studio-lighted, studio-posed, "setup shots". The one-armed baby in the soup kettle is okay...the second studio-lighted mother and baby on dark backdrop is less-compelling; the maternity shot is poor, with an awful background structure, which HE included in the photo that HE shot...it's not very good,and I would never include such a badly-composed shot in a portraiture portfolio; in my opunion, it looks very snap-shotish, and not in a good way whatsoever.

The last of the two pictures, the candid, family group shot...authentic feeling, but has some eye direction issues, yet still, pleasant enough.

With a big family, simple, matching outfits, or simple, color-coordinating outfits makes for a much more-compelling portfolio shot. At least that is the trend of the past 40 years...too matchey-matchey on the clothes looks contrived, but say, red shirts or red sweaters and blue jeans,on everybody...that's what many people want to see in a portfolio.

Also... your photographer seems like a bit of a whiney-ass...He seems to be using you for portfolio development, at some level...if I were you, I would dump him.

 

[jcdeboever]

I blame all my bad shots on the light, cloth selection, location, my rate or lack of pay. If y'all would just co-operate, I could be a great photographer. I have a great camera...

Seriously though, sure those things help but if I were building a career at it, I would find a way to manage my portfolio. If I truly want to give friends a break, I would strip my name from the EXIF data because I want to help my friends out.

I help friends out all the time and don't except payment but barter for future controlled shoots for my practice of improving. I am clear in my communication and genuine in my helping them. I think if I was a professional, I would do the same. My late mentor told me if I genuinely want to help people out, try to set it up so you can become a better photographer. His idea of bartering future controlled shoots made a lot of sense to me, use that time to explore and improve. Win-win. He was a pro and always made time to help people and used it as an opportunity to improve his craft. He also said, a good photographer can adapt to any situation, and that was a key component at being a cutt above photographer.

 

[Designer]

.. because he didnt want to shoot at one of the most photographed locations in all of houston anymore especially in bad lighting. he doesnt like having to shoot the same location over and over let alone in bad lighting he says.

Now that is starting to make him sound like a spoiled snowflake.

I agree about the poor lighting, but not about the over-used venue. I think he is being unreasonably picky on that one.

 

[ac12]

Lighting makes a HUGE difference.

Bad lighting makes the photographer work harder to get the best out of the lighting. But there are limits to what can be done.​

"Cant he just photoshop the lighting?"

Absolutely NOT. That is what the average person has been brought to believe. You can only do so much in Photoshop, and if you have to do the editing to ALL the pictures, it would be a LOT of time and work. Are you paying him for his time (and his cost of equipment and photoshop)?​

"all i need for him to do is press the button on his good camera and he seemed annoyed."

This tells me that you don't really understand and appreciate the work that a photographer does.​

"Id like to pay him but we cant afford to pay him a lot of money"

So are you paying him anything?

Camera gear is not cheap, Photoshop is not free/cheap, how much time is he spending on your project.​

If the only payment is his being able to use you pictures in his portfolio, I can see where he is more critical.​

"All he wants is decent lighting and correct outfits that he says are distracting to the composition. I dont care about lighting or composition, I just need to be a fly on the wall and press the button on his camera. Why would that make him angry?"

You two are really not seeing eye to eye.
You are not understanding or appreciating the effort and work that a photographer does.
​

If you don't care about lighting and composition, and just want to press the button; why don't you just buy a camera, and shoot for yourself?