Home Forums Am I a Fauxtog? My favorite local fauxtog Reply To: My favorite local fauxtog

#10547
iliketag
Participant

The real problem here is clients that don’t know better.
They think “Ok, this is cheap and I want pictures done.”, they see the least expensive photographer that takes a “nice picture” (again, they don’t necessarily know any better) and they roll with it.

There are clients who do research and those who don’t. The client doing the research with an understanding of value, is not the same as those who are just looking for cheap (in every sense of the word) pictures.
The client doing research may be lucky enough to stumble upon a talented up-and-comer looking to portfolio build for a really small holding fee (when I see these it’s normally to cover gas – so it’s like, 20 dollars) or even free… but the client who foregoes the research hears either by word of mouth, or minimal searching online to find their photographer.
In small towns, word of mouth is a powerful tool. There’s always someone out there with a relationship with the fauxtog talking them up, it’s the whole I-love-the-photos-because-I-love-*name* situation. It will often yield poor results.

Educating clients is not always easy. Those who are used to the walmart/kiddie candids/montgomery wards photo studios will not necessarily understand the value of “Custom Photography” when they see what the price tag is. It’s the same kind of thing I’ve encountered in retail – a customer doesn’t know what they don’t know. It’s a very simple sounding problem but it creates a lot of confusion. A client doesn’t understand the difference unless you break it down into laymens terms. This can be pretty difficult at times… and showing your photo vs. a photo from joe-down-the-street may come off as catty if taken out of context. We understand value because we’ve studied it, so it can be hard to convey that when the budget walls go up.

I feel kind of bad for the fauxtographers… they don’t necesarily know that they’re as bad as they are! With all the facebook likes and words of praise from friends and family, it’s hard to see where you need to improve. I’m sure more than a handful become complacent.