Reply To: Fauxtogs who should end up on the main page…

[momofmany]

I saw lots of people ask about prices on her page and then no response. Then I saw one ask and then that person replied telling Shelby that she got her friend request, but that she doesn’t accept people on Facebook if she doesn’t know them. She then said that if Shelby didn’t want to tell her prices on that page then to send her a private message. Shelby responded that she sent the lady a private message. So, I got curious and sent the lady a message asking what Shelby charged.

This is what the lady said:

“First of all, her friend request and her private message were from her personal account. I am not going to let some random business owner have access to my pictures and statuses because they want to be “friends.”  I wouldn’t let the local McDonald’s manager add me as a friend on Facebook.  We are in a business relationship, not a friendship.

Anyway, she told me the following: “I take a lot of pictures, edit them, & put then on disc. I’m not like the licensed photographer they only give u like 10 for $150.00. For family, I charge $50.00 because I’m working with a group and I take multiple pictures(:”

A few things bothered me about this initially. First, she said she was “not like the licensed photographer”. What is she then?  I still thought that if I ended up with one good shot, I’d be happy, but she merely said she takes “multiple pictures.”

So, I sent her a new message asking her about how many pictures for the $50. Then it got weird!  She replied “Exactly who are you if I don’t mind asking because Im having problems with someone right now and your profile..I just don’t know”. I think it’s reasonable to expect strangers to contact you if you are a photographer. She seemed hung up on the fact that I wasn’t going to be her friend on Facebook. I replied telling her that if someone was harassing her on Facebook then she needs to report them. I explained that I had seen her “business” advertised on a local community page. I went on to explain ” If the fact that I keep my page private for the protection of my children bothers you, I’m sorry. I can find someone else. Thanks.”. Then she replied that she was sorry and listed when she could book me. She ended with “& I take as many pictures as the customer wants”.  I thought that was odd. I mean, can I demand 1,000 pictures for that $50?  So, I went and explored her page a little more thoroughly.

I realized this was a teenager and kind of felt bad for being so firm and direct,  but my husband reminded me that this was a business relationship and I wasn’t being rude. I only wanted clarification on what she offered. I also saw posts by family members claiming she was being harassed, etc. I thought about the safety of my children. What if we were near one of these wooded areas during a photo session and someone started harassing her? Then today I saw a message from what I think is her dad that said “i would like ask everyone if u book a shoot please give a phone number she can return ur call she is having problems with a grown wombn bookin under fake names because she said $20 was tomuch to pay ive notafied the sheiff department of the prob they said to post this and if it continues we can seek futher actions sorry for the enconvinace to the honest people”. Wait, why was I told $50 and this other person was told $20?

Between her age, lack of license (I guess she doesn’t file taxes with the IRS?), her thinking I was a stalker for not being her friend, her inability to pinpoint EXACTLY what I would get for the session and the fact she was charging me more, I decided it wasn’t worth it and already found and booked a session with another photographer that was clear in what was included with my fee, etc.

Sorry my reply was so long, it was hard to answer your questions without telling you the whole story!”

 

I told the lady a bit about fauxtographers and she said her new photographer told her that a lot of fauxs out there don’t have business licenses, etc and gave her some tips on what to look for, etc. I asked her for a link to the new photographer’s site, but she hasn’t replied yet. 🙂