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November 18, 2014 at 11:03 pm in reply to: you're not a real photographer because your camera is too small/ not full frame #23188
fstopper89
ParticipantHere’s my take on it.
Most full-frame/high-end/professional bodies will offer you more potential in more types of lighting/situations than crop bodies or beginner bodies/lenses. While a good photographer who knows what they’re doing will 9 times out of 10 be able to get a GREAT photo using a Canon Rebel, there are always those situations they will just simply be limited due to the equipment. This is the reason I upgraded from a T2i to the 40D (that was more of a lateral move/had both at once) then to the 5D Mark II and then last year upgraded that to the 5D Mark III. I did this in an educated manner- I outgrew the previous and needed the features of the better camera for what I was shooting. Yes the 5D Mark III blows the others out of the water in most respects. I still kept the T2i as I have found great uses for it- it’s good for when I want to hand it off to a friend who isn’t really a photographer who wants to shoot some pictures and wants to learn and also is more my “knock around” camera that I’m willing to take hiking or on a canoe etc. since if it does break I’m not really out any money. Reasons I went to the 5D Mark III were: exceptional autofocus system/ more AF points with 41 being cross-type points, dual card slots (I save to two cards simultaneously for peace of mind against card corruption which several friends have experienced), the weather sealing/strong build quality, and the phenomenal sensor where I can often shoot over 2000 ISO still relatively noise-free. All of these were important to me and my previous cameras did not offer them. Yes, when I started I did shoot some paid sessions with the T2i and 40D. I even shot three paid sessions using the kit lenses with the T2i… gasp… but I knew what I was doing and the photos still turned out good. By my standards now they were more mediocre, but I wouldn’t have even called myself a fauxtographer at that point. I was shooting in manual and knew a lot about how to use the camera though I know plenty more now. But I quickly outgrew that after getting my feet wet trying out a full-frame camera. I 2nd shot a wedding and got to use the primary’s 5D Mark II and had to get one for myself shortly after, after I realized how much better images were turning out. I wouldn’t call someone not a real photographer just by their equipment alone. If they are producing awesome work with a Rebel, they’re still a real photographer. Everyone knows those people who have the best and most expensive equipment out there and are still producing boring and mediocre photos.
Point is a good photographer will produce good photos regardless of the equipment but will potentially be limited in what they can do with entry-level equipment. A bad photographer is still a bad photographer even with the best equipment. A good photographer will recognize why they need better equipment.
ParticipantHa, Bill, I had to give that one a second look myself! I definitely saw “He raped me” at first glance. Kind of a cute idea but poorly executed and a tad cliche.
Here’s one I found tonight: https://www.facebook.com/fotografybyricki?pnref=story
I saw her page was suggested by someone on FB as being “great and reasonable.” Fist pic I see is a family standing in full-sun on railroad tracks. Just your typical fauxtog.
Scrolling down there are a few non-people shots that are somewhat interesting.
She uses her “cute” play on words, “Fotografy” in other places like “I fotografed his senior pictures!”
Participanthttps://www.facebook.com/RachaelWinterPhotography/timeline
Yikes, found this gem! I’m not sure if English is her 2nd language or if she just has no concept of grammar/spelling. She is from Australia. I can’t even understand what many of her posts are saying. She commented in a photography forum asking something about if Photoshop is a program that will make her photos better. I found her personal FB page with lots of distorted and horrible photos and a small advertisement for a photo shoot. I searched for her photography page and found it. Holy moly. She claims it is “just a hobby so at your own risk for danger” yet she is advertising pregnancy and baby shoots for $80??? So this is her way of saying she’s not in business but you still have to pay her. She posted too that her boyfriend bought her a 700D (T5i) with three kit lenses and she is so happy.
ParticipantFor those of you who remember Justine (Sweet Monkeying Around Photography) looks like she’s still at it- now with “new equipment.” https://www.facebook.com/483534371731386/photos/pb.483534371731386.-2207520000.1415754753./615275875223901/?type=3&theater
She’s not shooting on auto, but she is shooting on “portrait” mode. Sigh.
ParticipantMy take on Pink Blossom: She seems to have a handle on her equipment and for the most part in posing and composition. Definitely not a faux, but I think she is not consistent in her editing style and using actions a bit too much. when I first started I was like “Ooooh! Actions! Everyone is doing this!” and I fell into doing too much trendy editing. Don’t get me wrong I like the look still quite a bit, but considering it is a trend and it doesn’t work with every kind of photo, I do it more sparingly and ALWAYS provide a clean/classic edit of everything with different style edits as an additional photo. Would I hire Pink Blossom? Prob not- at least yet. I think she has a lot of potential if she is willing to work and learn more.
Here’s one I found in my state. https://www.facebook.com/eve.photo.graphy2012
She had a “cutest kid contest” with the winner receiving a cash prize, trophy, and a free shoot. Ok, so losing money??!! And her “shoots” are $15-$20! She is surprisingly slightly better than the local lady in my town who offers blurry $20 mini sessions, but this girl’s photos all seem really noisy like they were taken with a cheap point and shoot. I don’t know what she is thinking.
ParticipantKind of a coincidence that Altered Reality was brought up again. She is local to me, and seemingly a nice lady (I don’t know her personally). In the past few years her work went from really bad to still pretty bad but now “enhanced” with wonky over-editing. Anyways, just yesterday she posted on our local buy/sell site that her vehicle was broken into at the park in town and her camera (in camera bag), external flash, and daughter’s iPhone were stolen. She posted what kind of camera it was and it is a Sony Cybershot something. I looked it up and it’s one of those “super zoom” compacts (also known as bridge cameras?) not a DSLR but an oversized point-and-shoot. If that is her only camera (not sure) that may partially explain the lack of quality in a lot of her shots. I do not think it’s fair that someone advertise as a professional without decent gear. Now I don’t want to make any concrete assumptions, as it’s possible she had a DSLR camera with her while at the park and the Cybershot is just a backup or something. Of course it’s unfortunate her stuff was stolen. I doubt insurance will cover the loss if they find out she is doing photography for money (I have my doubts that she has a real business or insurance on her gear).
ParticipantMarvin West has no idea how to operate a camera, let alone Photoshop. 30 years of experience????
ParticipantToday a photographer was asking in a photography group for advice on how to deal with a crazy client, well actually the friend of the paying client who was criticizing the photos and how the session went and threatening to sure her. We were offering advice such as still talking to her and speak with the actual paying client, and parent of the senior who the photogs were taken of. Myself and others asked her to show examples of what this woman was calling horrible photos. The girl messaged me the gallery link. First off, there were only about a dozen photos she gave them from the entire session. The senior boy was posed awkwardly in most and everything had a terrible yellow green cast. She asked me to critique them. First I told her about the green color cast and asked if she had a color-calibrated monitor. She said she didn’t know what that was and was defending herself saying she’s never had problems with color in the past. Then I viewed each photo at 100% and all but three were unacceptably out of focus and had the worst color noise I’ve seen. I told her this in nicer terms. I said that if those photos were printed larger than a 4×6 it would be unacceptable. I asked what camera and lens she has and she said a T1i and 18-55 lens and made excuses as to why she can’t afford better gear right now. I asked a rhetorical question, “are the clients expecting to be able to make large prints?” and she said “we never talked about their expectations. ” Doh. I told get that from a client’s perspective, if I were paying for photography, I would expect the quality to be able to make very large prints. She kept dodging the real issues and was so hung up on this crazy lady who was messaging her. Ugh.
ParticipantPicstop, you hit the nail on the head. It’s frustrating when these fauxs just open up shop and have no idea what they’re doing. All they care about is a quick buck. It sounds extremely cliche, but photography is my passion. It has been a hobby since I was old enough to operate a disposable camera and even when I was a little kid I said I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up. I learned this from nothing and worked my way up to where I am now and still keep learning. Photography makes me happy, like painting makes a painter happy. So when I see the faux basically disgracing the thing that I love in the name of double-digit money it angers me. Then I have to take deep breaths. And the sad part is many of these continue for years taking crappy photos. You’d think if they actually cared, they would improve within a few months. but the don’t. Then their clients love the photos and praise them because they have emotional attachment to the photos.
Anyways, my contribution for the night: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=783978401660581&set=pcb.882836301734491&type=1&theater
This was from a statewide model/photographer page. This entire shoot is just WEIRD. Bad photography and bad styling for the model.
ParticipantThis woman announced on a local photography group that she re-opened her page. Apparently she took it down because people were bashing her photography. I see why – these are horrid!
I swear, I see half of a nipple under her wedding dress in this one.
ParticipantOh. My. Gosh Eagleman- that poor bride/bridesmaid/wedding guest. He made them look 25 when they’re clearly not that young. I would be livid! It’s one thing to do some slight liquify to the point no one can tell (I do it occasionally) but to post the before and after??????
Here are some gems.
ParticipantThis was suggested by someone for wedding photography. https://www.facebook.com/BudgetBridalPartyServices
It’s all crap. Then I found the “wedding photos not taken by me but edited by me” album. One of those photos was used in her advertising collage piece. Um, hello… copyright infringement….
ParticipantAgain with the adventures of my local buy/sell group. This time a young woman posted looking for a photographer for her child. A few people commented and then this guy David wrote something about all those cheap photographers who don’t really know what they’re doing and he has many years experience, etc. I kind of chimed in with “I agree” and then the entire thing turned into a huge discussion. I maintained respectability by not calling out any photographer in particular or criticizing the plethora of horrible fauxtography people were posting as examples of “great but cheap photos they took.” It was downright hilarious. One of the best is this girl saying how she is a great photographer and knows what she’s doing and shoots in RAW. I looked at her work and while it looks like she does have an idea about it, it was all very underexposed, bad white balance (everything was sort of green), major focusing issues like focusing on the tree instead of the kid’s face who was sitting in it, way to shallow DOF for a family shot, and distracting/blah backgrounds. She kept agreeing with all my posts though so I didn’t personally call her out. One woman posted that professionals just get really posed shots and fake smiles. She then posted this “amazing” photo of her kid that a local fauxtog took, and said it was so awesome and the editing was the best. A few people criticized it for the neon green grass and heavy black vignette. The kid’s face was way over-softened too. It was funny because some of the fauxtographers kept liking my comments and others that were basically bashing fauxtographers. I guess they don’t realize they’re fauxtographers.
Some examples:
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=15eyce0″ target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i58.tinypic.com/15eyce0.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
Quote: “Just cuz ppl r cheap doesnt mean they do not have good quality photos. For instance this one.” ^
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=vrvc61″ target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i61.tinypic.com/vrvc61.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=29zc6za” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i60.tinypic.com/29zc6za.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
^ This girl shoots in RAW and was talking about how great she is… nothing to back it up though.
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=23tgzg3″ target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i57.tinypic.com/23tgzg3.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
^ This one said she can do the session for $15.
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=259bgvn” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i61.tinypic.com/259bgvn.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
^ A grandma was raving about these “amazing” photos the $20 session lady took. Yes, all her shots seem to be green in color like this.
ParticipantThe fauxtog in my town rated this fauxtog 5 stars, so I had to take a look.
ParticipantI almost would say no, don’t do it, because if you are doing this as a work-for-hire gig, the fauxtographer will get the copyright to the photos you take for them, and may or may not let you even use them in your portfolio (depending on if there is a contract, which there should be, and what the terms are). How this person even got this gig is beyond me I guess. Your photos are better, though not amazing, but definitely better considering their awful work. If you can use the photos in your portfolio when all is said and done it may be beneficial, but if this fauxtographer is suddenly going to get lots of business based on the photos YOU shot for them, people are not going to get what they expect.
I 2nd shoot weddings here and there. I also did two on my own and one that I hired a 2nd shooter for. As for the ones I 2nd shoot, the photographer owns the copyright. They have allowed me to use the images in my portfolio after the couple received the photos, with proper copyright given and a statement that I took the photo and used it with permission. Pretty typical for a work-for-hire arrangement. It’s not a requirement for the hiring photographer to allow the 2nd shooter use of the images, but sure is a nice courtesy. That being said, I would never 2nd shoot for a fauxtographer. It would just make them look good and get them business based on my work. The photographers I have shot for have more experience with weddings than I do however I have the same skill level/similar results/similar shooting style so it all kind of blends in in the end. The one I just recently shot for hired me with a week’s notice when his usual assistant had a health issue. He was so impressed with my work and even commented that a lot of my photos were better than his. He does really nice work so that was a huge compliment to me, and from seeing some of his first dance photos compared to mine, I think mine were better. I also threw in some pose ideas he never tried that turned out amazing. Not tooting my own horn, but I think having a good working relationship with other photographers is always a good thing, but I don’t think it’ll be possible for you to ever have a working relationship with a fauxtographer. When you can each benefit from each other equally it’s a good thing.
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