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09/30/2005 05:22:12 PM · #51 |
Originally posted by EddyG:
My point was not that there aren't good PJ wedding photographers out there. Of course Dennis Reggie is world-renowned, as is Gary Fong (who charges $120,000 for 12 hours of coverage). These guys are masters of their craft.
But just because they can capture a wedding without equal in the PJ style does not mean that everybody can. They are true experts in being able to "see creatively", to visualize the lighting and composition and get the shot. But because more and more people offering "photography services" (they shouldn't be called "professionals") are pushing the PJ-style and candids for weddings and portraits, they are decreasing the need for true professional-caliber photographers. Combine that with the "camera operators" in every Sears, Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Babys R' Us, etc. and the public is becoming more and more complacent with mediocre and sometimes downright poor photography since that is what they perceive as the quality you get from a "professional photographer". It's just not a good situation for anybody whose livelihood depends on being a real professional photographer.
If all PJ-style wedding albums were as good as Reggie's or Fong's, or all portraits looked like a Simone portrait (as one example), then people would have a good understanding of what a professional photographer can do with a camera and what being a real professional photographer is all about. But that clearly isn't the case. And that was my only point -- that the public's view of what a "professional photographer" is is changing, and not for the better. |
Seems that the issue is not that more people are offering photography services, its that more people are offering "bargin basement" prices with quality to match, and that the customers are settling for lower quality results.
Thomas Jefferson said something to the effect that "if the people are too dumb to vote, you should educate them better..." Pro photographers have to educate thier prospects on what makes a good picture, and the difference between "almost" and "good". Then they have to prove they are good. Then justify thier cost to the customer by reminding them that you can't put a price on happiness (e.g. "I'm sure you'll look over your album on every one of your wedding aniversaries. Imagine that your daughter has come to you for advice on her wedding and you both sit down and look through your wedding album...") And remind the customers the photographer's job is to make the client look good (and show a couple of examples of the right shot and the wrong shot). And a wedding is (one hopes) a one-time event that cannot be repeated, so the customer needs someone who will get it right the first time.
I guess what I'm saying is that pro photographers need to do more marketing than they are currently doing. However, if you are your own marketing agent (and PR, advertising, web designer, etc) isn't there a parallell to the guy who photographs his own wedding?
Message edited by author 2005-09-30 17:27:15. |
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10/04/2005 06:00:50 PM · #52 |
| I think the owner of those photographs may of possibly just contacted me, it was rather hard to tell through all the colourful language. However I do not think they appriciated all the constructive criticism. Still at least they was kind enough to comment on mine, my favourite being `f**king cr*p`, and who am I to argue???? :-) |
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10/04/2005 06:46:19 PM · #53 |
um wow.
ok well congrats to them for getting business.
im not gonna say i was impressed by the photographs, but apparently they get business. If so many people are unhappy by this, you've got an open market to move into, its yours for the taking.
A successful photographer is probably more business savvy than talented in the end. |
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10/04/2005 07:11:29 PM · #54 |
OK, the quality sucks, but did you look at the price?
They are only cahrging 150 pounds. What is that? About $230 or so?
You get what you pay for...
JD
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10/04/2005 08:05:30 PM · #55 |
Originally posted by aKiwi:
Jeez guys, give them a break.
Sure there are a couple of unsharp pictures, some nasty shadows from side flash, a couple of red eyes, but there are some very nice ones in there as well.
I would assume it is a startup photographer & you have to start somewhere. I can imagine if I was asked to do a wedding I wouldn't be that much better. |
On the other hand, check out this thread //www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=282956
Tiberius has a few shots near the end of the first page that show that he's starting from a pretty good place.
Message edited by author 2005-10-04 20:05:57. |
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11/02/2005 01:35:05 AM · #56 |
They need to buy some real equipment, starting with a flash!
Some of the shots show promise, artistically. Some, well WTF?
Did you see the prices? They are doublling them from this year to next, from super cheap to real cheap. Not that I am a currency exchange expert, but 150 eng pounds is what, $300? for 2 photogs for 4 hours? You get what you pay for I guess. |
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