Not to be mean... but how does this person/group get work?

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May 31, 2011
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I'm usually ok with the proof is in the pudding... so if you as a customer see a photographer's catalog... and you think... I'm good with my wedding looking like that... then you deserve what you get... but I'm looking through the photos... and I'm seeing the heavy use of flash... shiny t zones as a result... harsh shadows behind the subject... I'm seeing teeth that should have been whitened in post... I'm seeing dreadfully fake smiles (which you could blame the subject... but shouldn't the photographer make the subject feel comfortable enough to elicit a real smile)... I'm seeing a photo of a couple (I presume the parents and the shot is so unbalanced... the poor mother is barely in the shot... I'm seeing photos that are out of focus... and I'm not saying I don't have a photo or 1500 that aren't entirely in focus... but they are not in my CATALOG (I don't do weddings... but I accept that there are those who do it and do it well).

Here's the link they advertised... it is just frustrating... having said that... I don't hit a home run everytime either... but it isn't in my highlight reel.

Link redacted...
 
You will find more hacks in the wedding business than anywhere else in photography.

I'm not sure what it is about weddings that make poeple think they can get into that business and photograph them but I think they are one of the most challenging subjects in photography to do well. There are many good wedding photographers out there. I think there are just as many bad ones out there as well.

A lot of the time I think it just boils down to a couples budget. I see a lot of job postings where a couple is looking for wedding coverage and they can only pay 500.00 or so. I sympathize with anyone on a tight budget but at that price range you will be scraping the bottom of the barrel and exposing yourself to a plethora of hacks like the one seen in that link.

Given the gear i bring to a wedding, the products i offer, and the time I put into completing a wedding, I can't touch a wedding for less than 2000.00. Anything less and it wouldn't make financial sense for me to do it. I realize that this will price me out of a lot of couples budgets but that's life. Even at that price I feel like when all is said and done im not making a great hourly rate considering the time I put into it.

Come to think of it, im not really sure what it is about photography in general that seems to attract the untrained into thinking they can charge for professional services. It's definitely an ongoing problem that hurts the industry. I bid on a job once to photograph about 40 or so headshots and I ended up bidding pretty low cause I knew the client was going to be on the cheap side...if I recall i bid around 500.00-600.00. I didn't get the job and a few weeks later I had a student show up to my class asking for help with how she should photograph her first job she got....it was that same headshot job and she had bid 75.00. She only had a rebel and a kit lens. Pretty frustrating to say the least.
 
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AcutancePhotography said:
I would not worry about it. Focus on what you do and how you do it and let the others do what they do.

Or you can just hang out at YANAP (which I don't recommend) ;D

I don't do weddings, but I have this nasty habit of not only critiquing my work, but the work of others... And this was galling.
 
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From personal experience...let me preference this by saying that I am quite good as a hobby photographer/Photoshop user. Having said that...

My daughter wanted senior pictures done and I was a bit leery of my ability to do them myself so, we hired a local "Pro" that had a good reputation, was one of my biggest mistakes...he shot the things in jpeg with no color correction. They looked terrible. I bit my tongue and ordered the smallest package available...lesson learned.
 
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chauncey said:
From personal experience...let me preference this by saying that I am quite good as a hobby photographer/Photoshop user. Having said that...

My daughter wanted senior pictures done and I was a bit leery of my ability to do them myself so, we hired a local "Pro" that had a good reputation, was one of my biggest mistakes...he shot the things in jpeg with no color correction. They looked terrible. I bit my tongue and ordered the smallest package available...lesson learned.

My daughter're smile for me... So I wind up doing ninja candids, but it is painful to see a "pro" at Santa or the Easter bunny rocking a NIKON 3100 or t3 with a kit lens and think I have to shell out cash for that.
 
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OP - Have you informed the photographer that you are critiquing their photos and linking their website so that others can critique their photos? Have you given them a chance to respond to your criticisms?

Unless they are a member here and have asked for advice - this sort of unsolicited critiquing of someone else's work seem totally inappropriate to me.

Would you like it if someone - without your knowledge - was criticizing your photographic skills and asking others to critique your work on the internet (or elsewhere). I know I wouldn't.
 
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drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
Personally, I think that looking at the work of other photographers is an important part of my artistic and professional development.

Obviously, I get good ideas from photographers who are better than I am.

But also important is what I learn from looking at photos that are poorly done, at least to my eyes. It teaches me what to avoid. I'm sure my brain has a long list of photo problems to watch out for subconsciously during a shoot.
 
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PureClassA

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I think there's a glut of "professional" photographers, period. Not just weddings. This same person is probably chewing up Senior pictures and other such artfully critical work. And I'm not even getting started how many "Baby/Children Photographers" floating around my area. Sheesh.
 
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photos are posted for everybody to see, critiquing welcomed or not. Once out on the Internet, anything goes (including unsolicited reviews).

In the end, OP poster brought up our attention to something some of us were not aware of, so thank you for contributing. It was hard to look at, but it was definitely educational (and maybe a little bit entertaining).

pierre
 
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TeT

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Wow. they did get better as it went along, maybe. The opening few shots were really bad though.

to answer your question: they get work from word of mouth where the first word is cheap. As in "I know a guy, he works cheap."

Wedding are expensive and ppl like to spend money they dont have and while you can put the dress cake and tuxes on the credit card. the photographer is usually more of a check or cash thing.
 
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Besisika

How can you stand out, if you do like evrybdy else
Mar 25, 2014
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Kind a funny!
It is like you see an "ugly" woman and you talked about her to your friends behind her back without her consent.
Indeed, sounds inappropriate and unfair.
Yet, the time you put your work in public you should be ready for any form of critique.

In the defense of the OP, there are some newbies reading CR everyday and I find it appropriate if someone more experienced has the courage to tell them not only what to do but what not to do as well, especially if the what not to do part doesn't appear enough in the topics.
I am not even certain if the subject would be offended by our critiques, especially if his/her strategy is not based on quality.
The experienced users like us judged people by the quality of their photos but do not forget business photography is first and foremost about business - about making money and wedding is one of the most obvious.

Simply put, some brides care more about the cook than the photographer. Been there, done that.
Why do I care about them?
 
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PureClassA

Canon since age 5. The A1
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Shields-Photography.com
I don't think any names were used, nor did I see any on the link. It's just a collection of pictures. That said, I see this as anonymous look at issues we have amongst ourselves as a profession. Specifically, there are lots of people holding themselves out for hire simply because they own an ILC. Obviously, they have every right to do this. That being said, it's ultimately up to the consumer to decide whether to purchase their services. If all some people qualify a good photographer by is "Oh! You have a nice looking camera" then this post is precisely what will happen.


dak723 said:
OP - Have you informed the photographer that you are critiquing their photos and linking their website so that others can critique their photos? Have you given them a chance to respond to your criticisms?

Unless they are a member here and have asked for advice - this sort of unsolicited critiquing of someone else's work seem totally inappropriate to me.

Would you like it if someone - without your knowledge - was criticizing your photographic skills and asking others to critique your work on the internet (or elsewhere). I know I wouldn't.
 
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