Facebook people who call themselves photographers

Well maybe thats the reason. If some person wants to buy a camera from best buy and start a company on facebook theres nothing wrong with it. Everyone has to start somewhere and i bet some of these people wont bother to learn much in the long run.

However can you blame the people that will choose the facebook page/family/friend for a cheap photo session then hire a true photographer. When i buy new gear for skiing i dont go to the store i go to the outlet.

If someone was to ask me who some good local photographers were i couldnt tell you. I could list a few bigger names that shoot skiing/snowboarding or for the local paper but thats it.

This thread is simply a hate thread for people who are "taking your money". The more advanced technology gets and the cheaper the prices thats just 1 more person trying to get clients. Maybe instead of having people contact you, try going after companies and shoot for them because they will be wanting quality and then you have a more consistent schedule.

I know virtually nothing about the industry but in all reality i think it helps. Everyone is struggling with jobs trust me you guys arent the only ones. I bet if you took some of the best photographers in the world they would be bitching about you guys. I know im getting hate for this
 
what you dont get, and you said it yourself ( you know next to nothing about this industry) is that we cant be mad at those clients, they are out saving their money. What we can be mad about is photographers breaking the code of ethics and underselling the industry. Those top notch photographers dont care about us, because they offer a quality that is worth their niche market. The average photographer doesnt have a niche market, they have a market of people who want to save a bit and get good pictures.

A top notch photographer only sells to people who see the value in paying 10G for a wedding. Those clients dont care about price. Our clientel is entry level and does want to be carefull with the price. Now when someone takes your job because he charges stupid low, that is not good.

And those are our clients they are taking, not just the poor ass ones who would never think about our services. Usualy the way it happens, you are setting a contract for a client. Lets say he is willing to pay 600, you have him set on that price and he is ok with it. Next week comes along a facebook Fauxtographer who tells him 300, what does he do? he goes to the cheap guy and undercuts you.

You guys have realy nothing to argue on, this is a massive issue that is known by any photographer. its aknowledged as a problem and is very frustrating to photographers. Just be humble, guys, and admit you dont know enough about it as an outsider so you should stop pronouncing yourselves.
 
1316127686im_a_photagrapherrrrrr.jpg
iIm thinking of starting a fan page
 
jesus fernandez! theres a lot going on here!

when your trademark logo (c) looks like a boob.... you have a problem
 
I don't have a problem with fauxtographers (the video equivalent, anyway). Why? Because not only do they make me laugh, but theres also the fact that if you truly are good at what you do, you shouldn't feel threatened. If a client chooses them over me, no loss; they clearly don't understand the value of good work and aren't worth my time.
 
So...a bunch of photos that I took working for Tough Mudder this week were used on their website/facebook.

Does that make me a professional photographer now?!?!?!?!?!?!
 
lower your price to compete then. is it better to make some money or no money? if you dont have work and people are offering the same service you provide, relatively speaking, for less money then you are an awful businessman.
 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh god what a complete tool, please tell me you called him out over that
 
Quite the opposite actually; if you are so desperate for loose change that you will undercut yourself to compete with incompetent amateurs (assuming you aren't one yourself), you are an awful freelance photographer. You are greatly misinformed.
 
Landis already made a good point, the services are not similar. One is incredibly amateur, the other is professional. Very different.

You said some money is better than no money, and that's true. But if you are barely making enough to get by, how are you going to be able to afford new gear? Without gear like flashes and such, it's going to be hard to get more legit clients. So it could be very easy to find yourself unable to get bigger clients, while at the same time your smaller clients are giving their money to people who have owned a camera for 2 months.

It's ok for people to have pride in their work and refuse to lower the quality just because amateurs are offering a shitty product for low prices.
 
Yeah, what sucks is that people who actually WORK hard at their photography, can't get any paid work (except for sports functions/ wedding shit/ studio work), because it's pretty much not seen as a legit profession any more.

A friend of mine really works at it, and gets nothing, makes me really feel for him.

http://http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/22152_357795033501_347906283501_5083509_3998500_n.jpg

Nice photos, no watermarks (or something small), that's definitely where it's at.
 
Anyone who uses Facebook as a main outlet to share their photography sucks. There is something about it that seems so juvenile and attention seeking it bothers me when I see them pop up in my news feed.
 
this thread makes "real photographers" sound so out of touch with the world. being an "art" form changes nothing. it's a capitalist world. you can't compete, you go under. simple as that.
 
I post pictures to my facebook and consider myself a photographer. By no means do i use facebook to sell my photography (ive never even attempted to sell it) im actually just looking for critiques and to be able to show my friends. Never have i posted a picture that i took on auto and by no means do i think my pictures are the best. heres my tumblr, which are all also on my facebook: http://cottage-steeze.tumblr.com/
 
'real photographers' wouldn't feel like that if the system had worked for decades up until recently, don't you think? if that's how things have always been, i'm sure things would be different
 
The problem with your logic is that you are assuming that both amateur and professional photography are equal-value goods. That's like arguing that Lamborghini is going under because they can't compete with Honda's prices.
 
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