Well-Established Pro in my town… sucks!

[fstopper89]

Yuck, I never realized it until now but this photographer is very well-established, and has been in business for YEARS. I would never hire them! My photographer friend just told me that she worked for this guy when she was in high school and she hated it, because after clients would leave, he’d make fun of them for acne or being overweight. So I had to take a look. He uses so much spot color it’s ridiculous, his composition lacks any creativity, he does weird superimposing or editing of backgrounds, and he doesn’t isolate the subject from the background. I KNOW I’m already better than him! Maybe I don’t have as much nice equipment he does, and I don’t yet have studio space, but I’ll never be like this.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flohrs-Photography/114489081917568?ref=ts&fref=ts

What do you think?

[cameraclicker]

I think the link is bad.  Clicking on it, I ended up on my Facebook page, which is scary since there is nothing there!

[fstopper89]

Huh, weird, when I click on it, it goes to the right place.

Her’s their website, try this link. I clicked on the “weddings” section. Terrible photos imo! http://www.flohrsphotography.com/weddings.html

[fstopper89]

http://www.flohrsphotography.com/seniors.html

Seriously?

[cameraclicker]

On a different computer the first link still takes me to my Facebook page.  The new links work.

I see mixed quality.  I have a train track photo or two in my collection, but I don’t have a guy sitting at a drum kit, in the middle of the track.  The girl in the grey top that looks photoshopped into a scene with a partial brick wall and lots of mould does not appeal to me.  The girl in a dark brown outfit in front of a swirly brownish red backdrop is a good example of a portrait although I would have removed the white dot from the middle of her upper arm.  When I first saw the background, I thought “what the heck” but I think it grows on you.

The wedding set is a similar mixed bag.  The rings in their box with white roses might be better without the fade treatment on the right side but I have seen much worse close-up wedding photos.   The B&W of the bride and groom in the park with bouquet on the edge of her dress has most of the dress blown out.   The blond bride that comes up next, with her bouquet by her chin has a “get on with it, I have to go and pee” look in her eyes, but it may just be the stress of the day.  I have no idea what is going on with the bride and groom in front of the wall with the little metallic looking tiles.  She seems to be reclining, and pregnant?  And, she’s showing the pot end of her bouquet.  I don’t think that should have made the portfolio.  A couple of others have a streaky border effect applied, I don’t think it would make the front page here, but I am not fond of the effect.

When we were in China, one of our tour bus companions was a wedding photographer.  He said that to be successful at it, you just have to take acceptable photos, but you need people skills.

 

[fstopper89]

I’m sure part of it is that he knows how to run a business. The website says 35+ years experience as a professional.

[EvilDaystar]

Couple of Ok shots in there but the post work is horendous!

For example … why the hell is the LIGHT IN THE BACKGROUND the only thing in color in this shot?
http://www.flohrsphotography.com/images/weddings/DSC_0386A.jpg

I mean seriously … you are supposed to use (well, your not supposed to use selectinve color periode but when you do use it …) selective color to help draw attention to an element in the scene so why, in a portrait, would you pull the attention AWAY FROM THE BRIDE?

Being sucessfull as a PROFESIONAL photographerhas more to do with business skill than actual photographic skill … of course you need to be at least COMPETNENT as a photographer but good business skills will help get you clients … maybe not repeat clients but clients none the less.

[pinkimina]

I feel the same about the well established ‘pro’ in my town. The man should go out of business for just the website.

http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/zionphotography (make sure to jam to the music)

He is not that bad and the people in town like him, I just know much better amateur and pro photographers in the area.

[pinkimina]

and also
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=469884349711371&set=pb.114489081917568.-2207520000.1354476859&type=3&theater

Really????

 

[theflyingkitty]

The photos actually look better than many I see on high school friend’s facebook walls taken in my home town.

[Mrs Woo]

Some really poor choices about what is selectively colored (and for that matter, it is seriously overused, but maybe clients still want it a lot?), but usually everyone who is supposed to be in focus is in focus, there is no camera shake blur, etc.

Too much trendy post-processing.  A pro friend of mine was thrilled to have a customer come to him because she liked classic poses and looks and recognized that the trendy stuff would look as bad/silly as mullets do to most of us today.  She said he was the only photographer in his area that she could find that had portfolios that didn’t include actions on every image, dutch angles, etc.  He’s a very experienced guy who has been doing this for decades as well.  It is frustrating to be constantly undersold by people who have neither the experience, equipment or ability that he has.

Still, it is obvious from his site and some of what you said that he knows how to market, even if he has grown to resent (apparently) his customer base.  🙁

[Author]

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