Craigslist Ad Says *Pro Wedding Photographer* LMAO Come Get Some Laughs IN!

[Rick M]

It's funny to look around at others work like this on Craigslist. I was looking at a friends album shot by a local "pro". All of the wedding party shots were outside with the sun directly square behind the subjects, all faces were in the shade! They thought the pics were great, I just kept smiling.

 

[Marcel]

That may be going a bit too far, but I agree to an extent.

In the days of film, photography was more of an artisan's trade. There was a certain mystique, and anyone who wore the "pro photographer" label had their own studio and a ton of equipment and skills. Digital has changed all that. Photography these days is less of an art form and more of a gadget. Everyone has a camera on their phone or iPad, and with stock agencies and apps like Instagram being so popular, photography has lost a lot of its mystique.

Of course people with even a modest interest are going to try and cash in, especially with weddings. I would argue that anyone advertising on Craig's List isn't actual competition at all. Most of them are one and done, or just people fishing to see if they can actually get their 1st gig. They're either A) going to realize they don't have the stuff or B) have ticked off customers on their hands and give it up. I would guess that a very small percentage of them actually make a real attempt at progressing and turning pro.

But...I don't blame technology for the woes of the working pro. It's their own damn fault.

Getting into price wars with these Craig's Listers and Facebook Fauxtographers is futile. You're not going to win, nor should anyone even try. Instead, compete on quality, service, and reputation. Anyone shopping for a real photographer isn't checking Craig's List anyway.

This has been going on for as long as wedding photographers are there. When I first started working for a Studio here in Sherbrooke in 1968, there were still another studio shooting 4x5 with rapid pack and old type flashbulbs. The studio I was working for was using 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Hasselblad and the amateurs were just beginning to use 35mm. My boss would treat them of all names and laugh at them, but time have changed and now everyone is digital, they used crop sensors before the FX and it seems that there is still an "equipment war" going on.

Truth is, a professional guy will know how to place people in a group shot, will know how to use flash to improve the shot, and will act in a professional way with customers. Putting down the competition will eventually come back to bite you. There is no point in doing that. Just treat your customers good and fair, give them your best and, if your best is good enough, you'll get work and lots of referrals.

 

[Corey @ Faymus Media]

This has been going on for as long as wedding photographers are there. When I first started working for a Studio here in Sherbrooke in 1968, there were still another studio shooting 4x5 with rapid pack and old type flashbulbs. The studio I was working for was using 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Hasselblad and the amateurs were just beginning to use 35mm. My boss would treat them of all names and laugh at them, but time have changed and now everyone is digital, they used crop sensors before the FX and it seems that there is still an "equipment war" going on.

Truth is, a professional guy will know how to place people in a group shot, will know how to use flash to improve the shot, and will act in a professional way with customers. Putting down the competition will eventually come back to bite you. There is no point in doing that. Just treat your customers good and fair, give them your best and, if your best is good enough, you'll get work and lots of referrals.

Well Said. 100% truth.

 

[Eye-level]

Like I said before a good photographer can do it in Instagrams...if that is the hot style at the moment...LOL

And about the welfare system...that is really funny...zombies everywhere are sucking off the welfare system and others are raping everyone while they get rich beyond anyone's reasonable dreams for security and comfort... LMAO

Craigslist Wedding Photographer...that is funny...really???

I think I would check Angie's List first...

 

[Corey @ Faymus Media]

I am currently using snapknot on a trial, not sure if I like it or not tho.

 

[Browncoat]

Putting down the competition will eventually come back to bite you. There is no point in doing that.

There are tactful (and effective) ways of exploiting the competition's weaknesses to work in your favor. Ford and Chevy ads do it, Mac and PC ads do it, the list goes on and on. It's important to take notes from these guys and not politicians who only seek to sling mud.

 

[ohkphoto]

I think part of the problem is that the general public (especially brides) have a difficult time distinguishing between a good photo and poor one . . . like they never realized that brides are not supposed to have "raccoon eyes" or bushes sticking out of their head.

 

[Eye-level]

...or maybe that they need some detail in their dress instead of a whiteout and a picture of the guestbook too. I totally agree with you Helene.

 

[Browncoat]

That's what I meant earlier when I said that I don't blame the amateurs for the woes of the working pro. It's their own damn fault. To most people, a good photo has two qualities:

1. Has distinguishable shapes. Hey, those look like mountains and a lake on a sunny morning...or, yeah, there's a wedding party.

2. Tells something about the event. Okay, looks like they're having fun there.

Average Joe and Jane aren't looking for things being out of focus, Uncle Ted flipping the bird in the background, highlight blowouts, poor posing, or even giving the slightest crap about composition. They look at a photo, run down the checklist above, like/share/Instagram/PinIt and poof...someone now has a reputation as a pro photographer.

Meanwhile, the photog charging $2,000 for weddings is dumbfounded.

 

[STM]

These $300 to do your wedding hacks are a dime a dozen. They are the kind of people who DO advertise on Craig's List because it is free. But if the saying caveat emptor was ever more applicable, it is here. You pays your money and you takes your chances. And if he hoses them up, there is NO DO-OVER.

Technically if he has done a wedding and fleeced his victims for money, that makes him a professional. But his work is STRICTLY amateur. In fact, I would say that most of it SUCKS. But then again, you get what you pay for. If this guy needs ONE THOUSAND PICTURES to cover a full wedding he is nothing but a HACK. I don't think i have ever taken more than 200 for the whole shooting match; engagement, pre-wedding, wedding and reception, and in most cases less. You do your clients a HUGE disservice if you force them to wade through 1000 photos to look for the best. That is a hallmark "spray and pray" technique as we called it in the Army and it is a signal loud and clear that this guy is a total rank amateur. And, if these guy's photos are any indication, his best work is actually his LEAST WORST.

I don't do that many weddings and my engagement, newspaper, wedding and reception prices start at $1000 and go to about $2500 depending on how much they want done. And my packages don't take the cheesy way out and offer people CD's with the images on them. Mine actually include high quality wedding albums with 8x10 prints for the bride and groom and 5x7 prints for the families in them. That is the REAL professional way to do it

I just looked at that guy's "website" and not only is his home page filled with TYPOS, his "portfolio" photos look like something your half-blind, 90 year old Aunt Gertrude took with a disposable Kodak camera she got at Walgreens. Accoridng to him he has been doing this for 7 years and his stuff has been published "ALL OVER THE WORLD" Yeah, maybe on websites telling you how NOT to do a wedding. LMAO

 

[Browncoat]

You certainly can't fault these fauxtographers for trying. This is 'merica after all. And besides, we really do need these people...and so does the paying customer base.

There are price tiers in all walks of products and services. I mean, we all want a Nikon D4, a crap ton of gear and lighting for every situation, and a 250,000 square foot studio to put it all in, with Nat Geo footing our travel bills to exotic locations. Oh, and the most beautiful people on the planet lining up to model for us. But let's face it, we're not Joe McNally or Annie Leibovitz. Those photographers would look at our work and laugh too.

It's all for naught, really. Like I said before, people shopping for a budget wedding photographer aren't your client base anyway. You don't see commercials for a Honda minivan featuring an elderly couple, do you? No...it's a soccer moms with 9 kids.

 

[SkvLTD]

You have not see the CM's in Japan ...ride:

And they can actually drive too! Way better than half the America to boot.

On wedding note, I'll have an opportunity to partake in and practice/cover (mostly for my own amusement) one good friend's Chinese style wedding next week. Now that will be all kinds of fun.

 

[eurotrash]

While I'm not one to make fun of other people that are perhaps of lesser photogenic aptitude than I, (I really don't consider myself "good", in reality, I snap what I see..) I will say that these photographs aren't what I'd consider paying real-world money for. Everyone has to start somewhere, but this guy blatantly says he has 7 years wort...7 YEARS WORTH of experience shooting weddings. How is it that I can't get one wedding setup unless it's from someone I know and this guy can somehow hack these photos for that long AND get paid for it? Mindboggling, really.. I guess people are interested in the bottom dollar and not the quality. Reminds me of things made in China..

 

[pistnbroke]

unfortunaltly people who say you can shoot a wedding in 200 shots are well out of date ..you need two photographers to cover a wedding one doing formal and one informal ..brides house ..church ...arty pholtos ...reception ...disco you may come away with 1200 but it cuts to 800 with black and white etc ..been there dont that 50 times in the last 12 months ..happy customers and bank balance ....what more can you want.???

 

[Browncoat]

Yeah, I've avoided commenting on that because inevitably someone gets their feathers ruffled, others step in and offer group hugs, and then the thread gets locked down if there's 2 degrees difference in the room temperature from an actual discussion.

There's varying schools of thought on the whole process, and what it really boils down to is what customers want and are willing to pay for. One of my old photography courses required that I create a survey. Granted, my survey wasn't some wide-sweeping national deal, but there were over 1000 responses. 88% of them said they wanted to create their own wedding packages versus choosing from predefined "sets". When asked what their top extra purchases would be, people answered 1) DVD of images and 2) Album.

Personally, that's fine with me. My price structure is based on my time shooting, I charge extra for a DVD or prints and it's FAR more profitable to just burn a DVD and let the customer mess with prints and albums. I include an informative PDF document on the DVD about using real photo labs and have several links to good ones.

 

[pistnbroke]

not forgetting that what people want/can afford is dependent on there disposible income and which country they are in ...different seanario in US comp to UK