This article was inspired by the recent feud between Photographer Carly Fuller and DJ Ken Rochon of Absolute Entertainment and the outcry from Photographers. If you haven’t heard about the controversy, you can read it on Forbes.
In a nutshell, The DJ took photos at the wedding and created a gallery for the wedding party. The photographer argued she had an exclusive clause in her contract. Bottomline, in my opinion, legally she was right but could have handled it differently. Someone used my Photo without my Consent shares my viewpoint on how to handle a situation like this. This article, on the other hand, sheds light on why I feel this is happening and what we as photographers can do to fix it. Ill get my point across through a story.
A Short Story with Tips to Prove My Point
My son Alec was a multi-sport athlete in High School. By Senior year he achieved varsity letters in Cross Country, Track and Lacrosse. He wanted to end the year with a fourth letter. Of all sports he chose Bowling??? Yeah, thats what I thought until I saw bowling had more spectators than Lacrosse! As per our agreement, I got to photograph his sports activities. Personally, I think he chose bowling because of the challenging low light and hard angles for a photographer to get great photos.
What does it take to shoot: show up to the game (errr match) prepared
On my way to the event never shooting bowling before I thought of every possible way I could get a great shot. I had time before Alecs match so I explored the venue. As luck would have it, I ran into the girls bowling coach talking to the manager of the bowling alley; thankfully both are friends of mine. To my surprise they looked up, smiled and said they were just talking about me. They heard I was coming and asked if I could take a few photos. The manager asked if I needed anything to help get great shots. I asked what does the media do for profession matches. He said they close down the middle alley and set up a platform to shoot from. Since this wasn’t possible for today, he gave me access to the walkway on the side of the alley. He warned me to be careful, balls sometime jump the lane. We laugh and away I went.
After the match, I showed Alecs coach a few of the photos. He looked at them and said, If I had a camera like yours I could take great photos like you. Alec laughed and knew what was coming next. I said to the coach in an overly exciting tone, Is that your bowling ball? Wow I bet if I had a bowling ball like yours I could bowl like you! He looked at me, I kid you not, and said with a straight face, NO, it takes years of practice if you want to be good. Really???
The Coach is not alone: The reason people think this way.
Why do people, much like the coach, think all they need is a good camera to get the same results as professional photographers? Truthfully, most people can take great photos with affordable high end cameras set on auto mode. The cost to shoot a single image is about 2 cents Check out, Click Away Digital is free, or is it? allowing people to shoot more and in the process become better. They post their images on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram where they get praised by family and friends. They are excited so they accept photography jobs for free or close to nothing.
Believe it or not, this is actually great for professional photographers.
More consumers in the market place ensures camera manufacturers continue to make a profit. They invest these profits in making our cameras better. Before you say, What good is a better camera if I lose jobs to these people, think back to the old lawn care days. Lawn care much like where photography is today was the most affordable start up company. All you needed was your parents push mower, a little gas and lots of sweat to make a few bucks. Those who were ambious on making it a fulltime job purchased a riding lawn mower from their profits. The public was willing to pay a kid a few bucks to mow their lawn. Did it look as good as a professional? Not at all, well the lawns I mowed didn’t. The consumer didn’t mind. It was Just good enough. It wasn’t until the professionals started to add extra value to their services mowing, trimming and edging and consistently performed a good job that sparked a change. Consumers that wanted a guarantee that their lawns were going to be maintained correctly and on time switched back to the professionals. These days, having a neighborhood kid mow your lawn for a few bucks is not the majority. Step up your game and the jobs will come back.
We can make a difference by making the public not accept Just good enough
Not everyone wants to be a professional photographer. Some just want to learn how to take a better photo. This large group of people are not looking for photography jobs, they are looking for help. This is a great opportunity for professional photographer. Take on one of these photographers as a trusted assistant. You can find lots of eager volunteers at your local camera club. Your teaching will enhance your skills as you improve the quality of those around you.
If you are one of many photographers that want to take your skills to the next level and maybe even start a business, be willing to learn. Join a camera club, attend seminars and most importantly, keep an open mind. If you need help, ask a photographer you admire. If they are willing to help, you need to be willing to learn. This will increase the quality of photography forcing the public not to accept just good enough.
Why teach, whats in it for me?
Heres what happens when you teach someone new to photography, they ask questions. Lots of questions. Some questions you may have taken for granted and perform the task without thinking. When you answer their questions, you reinforce your knowledge. Sometimes, you have to exam why you do something a certain way and realize there maybe an easier or better way of doing it. This makes you a better photographer.
Just because you are a professional and can teach others doesn’t mean you can stop learning. Challenge yourself to learn something new. Collaborate with other professional photographers. My buddy Barry Kirsch started a cool project called Murder City Photography to raise awareness of the growing murder rate in Orlando Florida, where he lives. Collaborating with him sparked my creativity and jump started a few projects I had gathering dust.
Everyone has a story, whats yours?
Write a short personal experience of an event that actually happen to you that supports your view on this article. Good or bad, everyone has a story.
*Feature image Sergio Martnez / Dollar Photo Club
LOL! Well said. Would have loved to be there and witness the conversation with the coach.
During the season, I built a good rapport with him. He laugh later after realizing what he said.
Really great article! I love the bowling ball analogy, and reaction of the coach.
Also refreshing to hear someone who doesn’t complain bitterly about all “losing jobs” to startup photogs, and who actually offers a realistic explanation of what professional is.
Was photographing an event (for free, indoors) for a group I work with. Showed a shot on the camera back to two women, who loved it and asked if I would take a photo with their iPhone. I obliged, and as I walked away they looked at their phone photo and said “This doesn’t look as good as yours. Could you take one that looks as good as yours only with my phone?”. Tried to think of a diplomatic way of answering and wound up with “No. But my camera can’t make phone calls!”. :)
Thank you for a great article. I’ve had similar experiences where people have complimented my camera rather than my work.
I enjoyed your article tremendously! I strive to always improve my photography, have only attended a couple of classes, and learned a great deal, just because I shoot! I post many of my photos on my web page and have struggled at times attempting to define who I am photographically. ( It changes from season to season) I also travel with my special needs daughter, which challenges me to choose wisely while allowing her to be with me. The article reaches out to me, because I have learned to be who I am. I don’t have to be rude or… Read more »
Well said
I always respond with, “I buy my camera at the same place Picasso bought his paint brushes at.”
Great read V!
I love it!
As always, a relevant and interesting article. Your headline got me straight away & made me chuckle. I consider myself new to photography and very much a novice but a friend asked if I would be a second shooter at their wedding. I made it clear that I am not a wedding photographer (Who’d want all that stress?!) and really would not like them to rely on my photos. They insisted they like my shots and wanted me to capture very informal and relaxed images of them, their families and the guests. One of the guests posed with his wife… Read more »
I have to tell you my story – not nearly that talented as a photographer, but I am the go-to for a lot of the school events, and have even helped shoot a wedding. I have a friend who’s a very nice illustrator, and one day his wife was admiring my photos and commented that I have such a nice camera. To which I asked her, “when someone looks at her husband’s work do they say what a nice pencil he has?” She definitely laughed and understood exactly what was meant.
That’s classic.
I totally agree with this article. But I’d like to add something to it. What you are not mentioning is that the new people in photography that really want to become professionals, they are never taught by anyone how much a professional gets.. This results in asking ridiculously low prices from clients while their skills are medium to pretty good….. And a client seriously can’t understand why in the world should he pay this much for a pro when he can’t see the difference… (not really the client’s fault…) I think that is what some people mean by saying that… Read more »
I think this issue is much more multi-faceted that it is perceived to be by professional photographers. I will say first that I do agree with the major points in the article. Except that the reaction by people the article is based on is taken in too narrow of an aspect. What a perfect photograph means to them and what it means to the professional shooting it and to the model looking at his/her photo afterwards are vastly different things. Most people react to photos that create emotions for them and would like to keep them through the years. Sure… Read more »