How do these fauxs get so much business?!?!

[EyeDocPhotog]

As usual, CC hit it right on the head.

Perception is reality. Marketing 101.

When the perceived value of the money requested for a service / product is equal to or LESS THAN the perceived value of the service / product, you will buy it. Which explains why some persons speak of  obtaining “good value for the money” for a BMW yet others scoff at such a “waste of good money.” My dad always said One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

[pril]

I think the fauxs get so much business in comparison to the other is passion and the fun. Some people are very passionate about making money quickly. verse others who are just passionate about the work they do. none is wrong.

 

 

[anonymoususer]

Are you at liberty or have the desire to say what you do, what kind of photography you require (portrait, product, wedding, etc.) what you look for, whether you work with photographers directly and on site creatively. And if so what qualities do you look for in a photographer and their photography. Your typical end use. What you require in a contract as far as licensing, etc. And maybe even some success/failure annecdotes?

What kind of photography do I require? This one is easy mostly just family photos and photos of my son that I have taken as often as a good opportunity presents itself with someone who meets my standards. I actually have several photographer friends some of which are very skilled others of which who may at some time be featured on this page but, I have learned through their photographs as well as some that I have had taken myself that you can not always go for the “cheaper” deal because it can cost you a precious moment. As far as things I look for in signs that the photography is not up to par I look for things to be in focus, no dutch angles, not too much exposure or too little exposure, I look to see if indoor pics are too grainy, I know a lot of photographers are huge fans of vignette but I absolutely hate it, I look at the tones and colors of things to see if they feel right, and I hate selective coloring. Over all I just go by the feel of the picture. What I require in a licensing agreement is basically printing rights I don’t want the copyright I would still like them to be able to use it for advertising their business or showing the quality of work of their business even if it is not good work. When I post the finished product on my profile on facebook I make sure to tag the original photographer for 2 reasons one because I want people to know who took the picture and two if the work is not up to my standards I do not want someone else to be ripped off. I have found one photographer in my area that I like and a few that make me feel like I was ripped off but, at the end of the day we live, we learn, and then we do more research. As far as what I do I am a stay at home mom of a beautiful baby boy other than that I just support my husband and make sure the house is clean and dinner is on the table when he gets home

[Trainwreck]

I apologize anon.

I was under the obvious mistaken impression that you might be a professional buyer for websites, maybe an ad consultant, media/art director, or anything else that didn’t include a stay at home mom only looking to get shots of the kids. And I wondered what that calibre of buyer would have to say. I listened to Doc and won’t make that mistake again (I hope).

I do, however, admire that you are here and have a good eye for what you want.

Thank you for responding to my question anonymoususer.

[anonymoususer]

I apologize anon.

I was under the obvious mistaken impression that you might be a professional buyer for websites, maybe an ad consultant, media/art director, or anything else that didn’t include a stay at home mom only looking to get shots of the kids. And I wondered what that calibre of buyer would have to say. I listened to Doc and won’t make that mistake again (I hope).

I do, however, admire that you are here and have a good eye for what you want.

Thank you for responding to my question anonymoususer.

Not a problem. Usually my input isn’t asked for lol so I figured I would answer. As a stay at home mom pretty much the only adult contact I get every day is through the internet and when days are filled with a screaming baby sometimes you hit the brink of your sanity, lose your mind and some times use potty words. Most of the time people think bad language=uneducated and that is a perfectly fine thought though in this case pretty untrue. I am sure I make several grammatical errors but, don’t we all? I mean this is the internet right?

[Trainwreck]

Not a problem. Usually my input isn’t asked for lol so I figured I would answer.

My kind of gal anon! I really do appreciate your take here.

I think your take on this is very important, crucial even. The “fauxtogs” cannot do business if there are discriminating clients such as yourself. Seems like every post I see slamming “fauxtogs” is followed by “I can’t believe anyone would pay for this crap” or something close. But the reality is that they do pay and there is a market for it. Supply and demand at its most basic.

As a stay at home mom pretty much the only adult contact I get every day is through the internet and when days are filled with a screaming baby sometimes you hit the brink of your sanity, lose your mind and some times use potty words. Most of the time people think bad language=uneducated and that is a perfectly fine thought though in this case pretty untrue. I am sure I make several grammatical errors but, don’t we all? I mean this is the internet right?

How you choose to represent yourself is up to you. Internet or no.

But I admire what you do and I know it ain’t easy anon!

[fstopper89]

Don’t worry, of course I was kidding, I value myself/my work/my business so much more than taking the “easy way” out and being a shoot-and-burner.

I feel like most of the fauxs start their fauxtography business out of the desire to find something with (what they think has) relatively low overhead and low starting risk, for the desire to make a quick buck. “What job can I do to make quick money? Photography!”

For someone like me, my path was more like this- I’ve always enjoyed photography and it is my true passion (not trying to be cliche) so me starting a business was the desire to put my interests and talents toward a way to make me extra income. “How can I make money with my talents?”

[CoastalTog]

These $50 shoot and burn fauxtographers are catering to the Walmart crowd. These are people  who are in the bottom of the middle class/upper lower class. They don’t have the knowledge to understand what good photography is because they live on cheap, disposable products, and $0.59 ramen.  98% of the fauxtographers are not registered as a business nor do they pay taxes. Additionally, these Faux’s are generally spouses who don’t rely on their photography income to put Mac-n-cheese on the table. This is why they can afford to only charge $50.

If any photographer is concerned about their business being undercut then perhaps they should provide a better service and quality that moves them into an upper customer tier. I’m absolutely mind boggled that photographers are worried about their business because of a $50 fauxtographer.

[emf]

. These are people  who are in the bottom of the middle class/upper lower class. They don’t have the knowledge to understand what good photography is because they live on cheap, disposable products, and $0.59 ramen.

 

Your financial and/or social status has faff all to do your ability to understand art.

[CoastalTog]

I disagree.  Sure there are anecdotes supporting your argument but the reality is, if you’re someone who thinks WalMart is your “go-to” store, or if you call WalMart “Wally World”, you’re not the client I’m targeting.  You don’t shop at WalMart for quality, you shop there because it’s cheap.  Plain and simple.

[emf]

I disagree.  Sure there are anecdotes supporting your argument but the reality is, if you’re someone who thinks WalMart is your “go-to” store, or if you call WalMart “Wally World”, you’re not the client I’m targeting.  You don’t shop at WalMart for quality, you shop there because it’s cheap.  Plain and simple.

 

There are many many photographers/artists from very humble backgrounds. Your assertion implies that poorer people don’t understand what constitutes good art. That isn’t any reality, simply your perception; we’ve already seen a Lord on here who knew nothing of photography whilst there are photographers like David Bailey who have worked their way up from nothing.

Just because some can’t afford decent photography doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate the difference between good and bad.

[nesgran]

Photography is a luxury service to buy and has been for a very long time. The walmart (asda) crowd generally don’t have the means to buy the services of “real” photographers hence they turn to the fauxtographers. Sweeping generalisation but they also tend to think the faux community provides them with a good enough service and don’t see the added value you get from quality photography as opposed to fauxtography. These are people who often don’t have any photo albums at home and quite often didn’t have a camera at all until the smart phones came about. The shoot and burn fauxes are filling that gap, unfortunately the consequences of not running your business legally aren’t severe and known about enough to dissuade them from starting up their businesses. Buying a camera, especially these days is cheap. You can pick up a good enough camera and lens to start learning for £150. This has been true for some time which has meant that photographers can now come from any background rather than those who had enough money to buy and maintain their 4×5 or 8×10 cameras in the olden days. There isn’t a lack of creativity in the lower classes but in my experience from Britain at least there is less interest in photography, especially good photography.

I think my attitude to the fauxes has mellowed a bit, apart from the ones that shoot weddings and don’t have a clue. If you price yourself at a level to match your skills there is nothing wrong with that. I can’t remember which one of the big names in wedding photography who admits to starting out as one of the $500 shoot and burn togs. These people have their place and if you find yourself competing with them your service isn’t good enough or your are not targeting the right group. There was a recent thread on another photography forum with someone lamenting all the hobbyists out competing him. A brief look through his portfolio it was obvious why, his stuff just wasn’t up to scratch but since he charged like an average good tog his business was failing. Also let’s face it, the average enthusiast these days are producing better work than most photographers dreamt of 30 years ago. This means anyone who want to make a living of photography needs to step their game up and to be good business people. Just have a look through the images at the first few pages on flickr explore or 500px.

What I think lots of people easily forget is that fauxes are actually pretty good business people in a way. They are enthusiastic, offer a service at an attractive price and they also promote themselves in an effective way. They obviously suck at business not realising that flipping burgers would pay more per hour but that is a different matter. Also lets not forget that some of the people with the widest audience any photographers has ever had have sometimes never held a camera before they signed up to instagram and started snapping.

What this ultimately means is that photographers have to adapt and overcome. It was the same thing in the late 80’s, early 90’s when cheap consumer SLRs came out and people started charging for pictures taken with their rebel they got for Christmas. The large middle class living in the suburbs aren’t going to stop buying photography. If you can show why your photography is worth its cost you are going to be successful provided you can promote yourself enough to get enough clients. It is also likely that you will need to learn new skills, be it portrait togs doing commercial work for local businesses or learning to do video. If you don’t adapt your business will fail, just look at these people who where the dogs bollocks back in the 80’s but haven’t changed one bit since then. My local photo studio shut down three months ago which I suspect was down to him not having changed for 20 years. I briefly considered popping around to see if he needed someone to assist to learn from him (everyone should do this I think, even if they are seasoned pros) but frankly I don’t think I could learn anything from him. I’m honestly not too sad to see him go other than him now probably being ruined financially.

[emf]

This has been true for some time which has meant that photographers can now come from any background rather than those who had enough money to buy and maintain their 4×5 or 8×10 cameras in the olden days.

I see your point nesgran but am not so sure. I get that ‘pro’ camera’s are much more readily available and attainable nowadays. But in the past it wasn’t just the well off who could maintain photography as a hobby or profession. My dad was a photographer and was definitely not from a well off back ground. He scrimped and saved for all his gear. His darkroom was a cupboard under the stairs for a long time. I think those who had real passion for the subject found a way to practice it.

I understand photography is a luxury item, most art is. But that doesn’t mean it’s practitioners have to be from a well off background.

[nesgran]

I see your point nesgran but am not so sure. I get that ‘pro’ camera’s are much more readily available and attainable nowadays. But in the past it wasn’t just the well off who could maintain photography as a hobby or profession. My dad was a photographer and was definitely not from a well off back ground.

But the barriers for entry are much lower now. I just sold a canon 400D with a decent sigma lens for £132 posted. This combo would produce better photos than high end film cameras (in 35mm format obviously) did not that long ago. I’m sure your dad’s old film camera cost a lot more than that when taking into account the inflation. Then every time he loaded it with film it cost more money.

I think I shot somewhere between five and ten thousand photos in the five years before I got a DSLR. Now I shoot that amount in a busy week, obviously with more duplicates but still. Practicing is easier and you get better much quicker, at least if you want to learn from it.

[EyeDocPhotog]

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/13/death-of-photography-camera-phones

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