buyhighselllow
Regular
- Location
- San Diego
I was not sure if it was real or satire at first but after watching this last video it's definitley satire and it's brilliant.
There are a great many "professional photographers" who know little to nothing about the basics of photography. I see them all the time on flickr. They're usually talking about their "nifty fifty's" and saying things like "You really rocked the bokeh on that one". Even the blind squirrel finds the occasional nut. Part of the problem (as she explains in the first video) is how great modern cameras have gotten at getting the exposure right.
And unfortunately people like that (and the computer-generated gal in the other video) are putting "real" professionals out of work (or making it much harder than it should be). So being a successful "professional" is now more about marketing yourself and your images than it is about the actual images. Even as an outsider, it just bugs the daylights out of me that someone picks up a hobby and a year later they declare themselves a professional and start charging people money. Imagine if I just read a bunch of science books and announced that I was a doctor.
I am going to split with you on this one granted there are a lot of bad pros in every profession , plumbers, gardeners and yes photographers, where we are different on this, is that most people are not hiring the “ hobbyist Pros” because they know they are better than the boring or bad pros, they mostly do it because they are cheaper. Most “ hobbyist Pros” do not see their own actual costs, whether it is time or equipment. At the same time I not even suggesting that there are not quite a few “ hobbyist Pros” that might even be better than some of the "good pros". My point is it is easy to undercut if you do not think you have operational costs. For me there are a few small jobs I turn down every year because I cannot afford to shoot themA
I disagree a little on the wedding photography issue. There are some - in fact there are a lot - of very average 'pro' wedding photographers out there charging a lot of money for a very bog standard product. If the competent wedding pros have an issue it should be with those 'pros' who have dragged down the standard and made the competent hobbyist a viable alternative.
Agree with you on stock, but that's the market. I occasionally get asked by people if they can use some of my pictures. They never offer to pay, just to 'acknowledge' me and give me some 'free publicity'. If it's a commercial operation I always say no unless they pay me. But obviously I'm not going to ask as much as they would pay if they bought from one of the stock agencies. I did have one occasion where someone approached me for an image for a commercial website, I quoted a very reasonable price and they can back and said they had found someone who would let them have a pic for free! So it's not just the pro's who are being undercut by the people who are just thrilled to be asked
I disagree a little on the wedding photography issue. There are some - in fact there are a lot - of very average 'pro' wedding photographers out there charging a lot of money for a very bog standard product. If the competent wedding pros have an issue it should be with those 'pros' who have dragged down the standard and made the competent hobbyist a viable alternative.