Some people just don't understand the work that goes into photography/videography...

IanAvery-Leaf

IanAvery-Leaf

Active member
I just got asked to shoot photos at a wedding for $50 (lol) and then run inside, somehow instantly sort, edit and copy photos onto "CDs to sell to the guests for $20 a pop to make the rest of your money"

I hung up after I heard that, fuck shitty clients
 
I can beat that. After getting to know my area's young life leader fairly well, he asked me to come to all the events and bring my camera to film and take pictures. He told me that Young Life would want the pictures and use them around the country for marketing. I said 'thats awesome! how should i contact them to talk about compensation and contracts?' He then told me 'we dont have any money, you'll be paid in heaven.' I am a christian, but i let out a little chuckle when he said that
 
I don't blame you for hanging up. But if you don't have any other work, you're missing out on some money--even if you're selling yourself short. In this case (if I wasn't already busy), I'd take the pictures, load them onto the computer, and put the one's that have good focus, etc. on a CD. Fuck editing the photos for that price. Who knows, maybe you could have sold between 10-30 CD's and made a decent chunk of change.
 
I don't have other work right now but I'm glad I hung up; I really don't like selling myself short, it devalues the industry honestly, and $50 is pathetic for a full weddings worth of work. And who the hell would buy the CDs, I don't feel like trying to sell shit to people I'm there for photos
 
i thought that it was really easy and fast so i watched my dad do it once and it took him 2 hours to make 10 photos to look really good and im like shit that was a long time for 10 photos
 
I'd never do that.

But there is a line I draw. I'm 24 and I use my photo/video to pay the bills. If I'm not working or know I won't be working I'll go a little cheaper then normal. However I got started by working for free. Work for free, show what you can prove and why you're better then everyone else. After I did some free or extremely low pay, I started to get calls for work. Nothing but uphill ever since.
 
Yeah, I mean... I took some headshots for a few friends who were theatre department graduates... they referred me to people, and I went from getting paid nothing, to getting paid in tip money to getting paid in real money in no time flat... It's a side job that literally came out of nowhere...
 
I agree this is a great way to get started, but it's also one of the reasons people expect it to be so cheap. Since lots of people just starting out do it for cheap/free, people get the impression that it's the norm, so I've seen more people asking me to do stuff "for the experience" or for small change.
 
Oh and sorry for my double post, but my favorite is when clients give you a super lowball price, then you have a "no fucking way" reaction, but then they try to convince you that it's really not much work and "oh you can shoot that in an hour it's really easy". Well if it's so easy do it yourself!

Another favorite: "Yea but my brother in law said he could do it for 50 bucks!"
 
I'm not some kid with a kit lens....I've got 2 bodies, flashes, multiple fast primes, and an 11-16, and most importantly know how to use them. $50 for a full wedding plus sorting and editing is nowhere near worth it, but the CD thing is what made me want no part of it
 
There was one posted on some camera rental's facebook page, but this example works too...

bride_groom0.jpg


bride_groom1.jpg


 
And this is how cheap photographers are born. Fuck yourself over because you're too eager to make a quick buck.
 
it's called trying to pay bills, not trying to make a "quick buck". Put in the amount of effort you think you're making off the deal. If it's a measly 100 bucks, take what you would consider to be $100 and make it worth your time
 
How do people edit photos like this? I know it'll be playing about with adjustments but I could never get anything like that without masking, is that all they do? Or is there an easier way? because it'd take a long time to do that for a lot of photos.

thanks
 
no no, the first photo was shot professionally, the second was "uncle joe's" shot of the same pose.
 
Oh, I was wondering how somone could make such a big improvement, know what lens that was shot with?
 
What would you shoot a wedding for then? Do you have a portfolio?

There are an astonishing number of "professional" photographers that post their awful point an shoot photos to Facebook the same day of the wedding, and they charge a ton. People pay it too, I'd imagine you have to get your name out there if you're better.
 
This can be said for most things in life. I mean imagine how our team here at NS feels when someone is like "Dude, why doesn't NS do this? My buddy installed phpBB for free and it does it."

Often times people don't understand the complexity of something behind the scenes. I run into this all the time in working on websites.

The best thing you can do when facing this is try to relate it to whatever it is they do for a living. If you're pitching a tax accountant and he wants to pay $100 for his wedding say:

"You must understand the difference between professional work and amateur work. Imagine I came to you and said "But my younger brother at 15 years old is willing to do my yearly corporate taxes for $100... why would I pay you $10k?"

"You sir would laugh at me, and tell me that there's a difference between my 15 year old brother and your services as a chartered accountant, correct?"

That person usually would answer yes.

"That is the difference I'm trying to offer you here. Professionals cost money, and you know that."

Almost anyone in any line of work will bit on this analogy. If they don't, then fuck 'em they're probably going to be a shitty client.

 
Take the job, edit it with Imovie in like 5 minutes, make it really shitty and then sell them for $20 what the hell are they going to do return it?
 
I don't disagree with that. Pricing oneself can be a tricky and contradictory thing. It's just that when you lowball yourself, you make less money and produce crap just to pay bills. It's a very real yet unfortunate lose-lose scenario that everyone faces at some point.
 
bump because fuck ungrateful friends. maybe you guys saw it this past spring, but i helped a good friend get his kickstarter funded to produce an EP. filmed 3 videos for him including the kickstarter interview, did a bunch of promo for him, the video just passed 50,000 views on youtube. never asked him for a cent. he shipped out all the EP CDs a few weeks ago. guess who never got one....
 
i shot for a wedding for my cousin thinking she would pay me and she said she would so i put a good amount of effort into this for pay, and she never paid me... the fuck? and she keeps asking me to send the photos on a cd for her, yea like im gunna do that if you dont pay me.. bitch.
 
number 1 rule..never take jobs you dont think will portray yourself as a photographer, and never get paid for below par work. bad idea.
 
i mean thats true. i still did my best work i could do thinking i was gunna get paid, so she got good work for free, it was a good learing experince, just wish i got paid for the work i did, but its all good, i got her a wonderfull facebbok profile picture.. LOL
 
haha, maybe just drop a few hints like "my xmas present better be fucking huge this year" or something
 
bingo, it ruins appreciation that people have for the hard work that goes into photography, especially shooting a wedding.
 
im getting a glide cam 4000 HD for xmas, kinda a over kill for a t2i, but im getting it for like $250= shipping new from glidecam directly, YOLO
 
adding LOL or YOLO at the end of your post doesn't make it funny or ironic, it just makes me realize what a moron you are.
 
hahah gets old after while so i thought i chaged it up, every one on heres always so serious, lighten upski!
 
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