zSCOTTz wrote:
I dont consider myself a proffessional yet, thats why I am on here to learn. I have alot of friends with children who play sports who tell me my photos are great and they want me to shoot photos of their kids who play, and want to pay me for doing it. I also have requests for family pictures and senior portraits. They arent photographers, while its nice hearing from them how great my pictures are, I also know they probably don\'t know any better, so I want to have my photos critiqued by professionals so I can learn how to put out a quality product and not junk. I have started a web site, with some pricing, and I know Im not charging that much yet, because I know my quality is no where close to charging top dollar, but on the other hand Im not going to go out and shoot all these pictures for free either. When I am satisified that my quality is up to par, and I have professional photographers tell me that I have amazing shots, then I will consider myself professional and charge top dollar for anything I do.
Scott... I understand what you are saying... shoot family all you want. No problems tehre. But... once you shoot \"friends\" and other kids on the team, and charge for your services, whether you like it or not, you are now considered a professional and will be held under the same scrutiny as all professionals. What I try to stress with new shooters is to understand the industry as a whole. If you charge 30 bucks for an all you can eat CD to a friend or a teammate and EVERYONE were to do that, it impacts us all. When that teammate now goes to an event, he\'s going to expect the same pricing as you have been giving him and that\'s what hurts us all. Why should I pay the photographer $250 for an unlimited CD of my kid if Scott is doing it for $30.00?
And I\'ll still go as far as giving you enough leeway by saying that if you still choose to do it, then do it. Nothing is going to stop you. But don\'t come here and ask for advice from us either. You can\'t have your cake and eat it too. Not when you\'re taking the cake off our tables.
Feb 06, 2012 at 01:39 PM
Previous versions of P Alesse's message #10315499 « New Sports Photographer needs Critique »
