Does anything else matter besides a good portfolio?

[Sharra]

When photographers post an ad on local classifieds and supply a link to their websites, I’ll often go to the site and look at their portfolio, first and foremost. Then I’ll look at other sections, like the About page, services provided, and a blog if it exists and not too long in reading. Even though the majority of photos in the portfolio look decent (at least to their clients, other YANAP members, or the infrequent shooter whose name we’ll all recognize), the other sections are sometimes filled with spelling and grammatical errors, some more so than others. Does this matter to anyone or am I a group of one? To me, that just means poor attention to detail. If the photographer can’t spend the time to ensure everything beyond their imagery is the best it can be, then are they just in it for the money and conning the average Joe that they are God’s gift to photography?

[EyeDocPhotog]

the position of Fauxtography Police doesn’t pay very well. Seek a new career. 🙂

[cameraclicker]

Obvious spelling and grammar errors bug me too!

I suppose it is about knowing your customers.  If the customer has poor language skills and can’t tell the difference between a poor photo and a good one, then almost any photographer will be fine, and price is a determining factor.   If the customer can see the difference and has a healthy budget, price is less of a factor and the photographer’s work, photos, web page, printed material and personality, all become more important.  As a practical matter, if you are hiring a photographer, the photos are the product.  While we may laugh, or cringe, at bad grammar, customers may be completely satisfied if the photos are excellent.

 

[Sharra]

EyeDocPhotog:

I’m not all that surprised that recent threads I’ve started here have been responded to first by you and every one has been a smart ass comment. It’s not hard to extrapolate from those comments that your website (if it exists, please post a link if it does) likely suffers from the same flaws but you simply don’t care. For all I know, you’re the one who’s been posting all the spam just to get your rocks off (or something else if you’re of the fair sex). If you want to further display your immaturity, arrogance and be more of a disgrace to your profession, you can certainly respond to this, but as far as I’m concerned, this ends here.

CameraClicker:

Your response is more like what I was expecting and I appreciate that. I was just curious to see if anyone else thought an online presence beyond a portfolio meant anything. Your response is insightful and makes perfect sense. Yes, this is a photography bashing site and I agree with almost everyone’s comments on the images and links that appears on here. But you are one of the few posters here I have any respect for when you take the time to post (sometimes lengthy!) comments on things like white balance and lighting for those that ask for it. I never knew what keystoning was until I saw it in one of your posts and looked it up, but I doubt very few on here would admit to learning something on here because they’re all experts behind the lens. So for that I thank you and it doesn’t hurt that you’re also Canadian, eh? 🙂

[picstop]

Well, when you’re hiring a photographer, the thought is that the photos and the abilities to take them are of paramount importance. At least in my mind, if your product or service is abysmal, then what does price matter? Of course, price is important and to me that would be the next part of the equation along with what particular services are provided.

That all said, poor spelling and poor grammar skills turn me right off. There is very little excuse for either. To me that just displays your laziness and/or inattention to detail and those are both qualities not needed by a photographer. If you can’t communicate with all the time in the world in which to gather your thoughts, how well do you perform when you have dozens of people needing guidance on the wedding day? Of course that does not apply to anyone for whom English is not their primary language but has presented their website in English as a courtesy to what might probably be their primary clientele. In that case though, seeking a little help to ensure that everything is in good shape won’t hurt.

Would I hire someone who made one spelling mistake? Sure. Would I hire someone who didn’t know the difference between “you’re” and “your”? I’d have to meet them in person and think about it. The rest of the world probably wouldn’t notice or care but I’m obviously an extreme stickler. To me it says a lot about someone when they can’t communicate precisely.

[Sharra]

Picstop, you think a lot like I do! For the photographer with the one spelling mistake, I would mention it politely to them and hope they don’t get bent all out of shape over it. I’m glad I’m not the only extreme stickler out there! 🙂

[Bill]

I think I have the same reasons as picstop and CC is also on the money [as usual].

If I was a person looking to hire a  photographer and basing my decision on their portfolio, it may not be a total deal breaker for me if I had noticed several spelling and grammatical errors on their website.  But, with that saying, I would investigate further if I felt that their work was decent enough for my standards to hire.

There really os no reason for spelling mistakes with all the available technology for word processing.  I think that many, including myself, are sometimes too quick to get content online before really proofreading it thoroughly.  I typically find that I may type into something, like this forum, then copy and paste the text into an app for checking before posting, but not always.  The good thing about this forum, at least in my browser, it supports spell-check as you type.

My reasonings for checking out ones work if it appears decent enough for hire is that there are several photographers that outsource their work to re-touching services and they themselves will mitigate the online content.  I know several couples that are a photographer/re-toucher team, it works, but if you are the one uploading the content to your website, then you really should check the spelling and most important, READ it to see if what you typed, makes sense.

So in a sense, they may not be as good as you think they are as a photographer, may be great re-touching services and they really suck at spelling and grammar.

So I ask this question Sharra – What do you do if you find that your photographer that you are going to hire is not as good as you thought they were, but the re-toucher appears to be a miracle worker?   I mean there has to be some good content to re-touch, right?  Just a question, just looking for opinions, no smart ass-ness intended.

[EyeDocPhotog]

It has been said that those who pen disparaging comments are screaming their envy at others.

Awe, don’t be jealous Sharra. People CAN develop a sense of wit. Practice makes perfect. I’ll be rooting for you!!  🙂

[Sharra]

Bill, your browser let you down in your post! 🙂 All kidding aside, you make some good points and I don’t see you as a smart ass. Almost 100% of photos that are deemed acceptable and ultimately part of the package that the client pays for are post-processed in some form or another. The client must have confidence that the one behind the camera and the one in front of the screen know what they are doing. We all know there is a multitude of wannabe “professionals” out there offering their services for less than optimal results. This site is certainly proof of that!

To answer your question, if the photographer and the retoucher are one and the same, they will certainly select the best in-camera settings so that retouching is kept to a minimum and they can serve other clients or have a decent life outside of their business.

If they are not the same, camera settings still matter for pretty much the same reasons. If the photographer and retoucher are totally independent of each other, the client can ask the retoucher if they work with any other photographers where the combination of the two will simply blow the client away. However, this extra overhead likely means a higher price structure that the client will need to decide if the results are worth the extra money as opposed to the client’s brother and sister-in-law who can shoot their wedding and provide less-than-stellar photos for substantially less.

Of course, we all know this. What really gets me is the photographer that produces images that are worthy of being on the cover of Vogue but doesn’t take the time (either themselves or someone who might have an expert command of the language) to ensure their online presence is worthy of the calibre as the images they may have on the same page! Therein lies the danger—this to me is the epitome of the photographer who’s simply in it for the money and not for the love of their craft. This is applicable to ANY profession, not just photography.

[cameraclicker]

What really gets me is the photographer that produces images that are worthy of being on the cover of Vogue but doesn’t take the time (either themselves or someone who might have an expert command of the language) to ensure their online presence is worthy of the calibre as the images they may have on the same page! Therein lies the danger—this to me is the epitome of the photographer who’s simply in it for the money and not for the love of their craft.

I wonder if that’s true.  I think it may be the other way around.  That is, the one who takes Vogue worthy photos but has, beyond the photos, poor marketing materials, may be doing it for the imagery.  The converse, someone who has brilliant marketing materials but has trouble taking a good photo, may be the one who is in it for the money.  There is a third group, one with many constituents that appear featured on this site; they exhibit difficulty taking and/or processing photos, and their marketing materials are full of errors.   I suspect they are in it for the money, too.

[Author]

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