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fstopper89
ParticipantUgh, I was looking at and admiring the work of a photographer who is somewhat local to me. She does awesome work and I’m trying to coordinate all my cousins to have a session done as a gift for our grandma. Anyways, I saw she had a 4.5 star rating so I had to look at the reviews, in disbelief that she’d have anything but 5 stars. Several people gave her a one-star review and a couple of those appeared to be fauxtographers. (Yes, it’s possible to accidentally rate someone on your phone, but I don’t think that is the case here at least with a couple of them!) It looks like it was out of jealousy because these were from the same town as her.
This fauxtographer gave her one-star: https://www.facebook.com/AcePhotographyFreelance
ParticipantStilson was a big load of WTF… if she was shooting since before I was born, it certainly makes me feel good… I guess I feel my work is comparable and at times better than what I saw on her website. No her stuff on her website isn’t fauxtography, but she kind of comes off as one on her Facebook page and that crazy bio.
As for Tiffany Mann… I Cannot even think A person is a Professional When they capitalize Random words In their Sentences for no Reason. That one is a train wreck!
ParticipantSomeone I know posted a handful of family photos on Facebook. I am not sure if they were taken by a supposed “professional” as there are no watermarks, but in all the photos, including the large groups and individual families, everyone is color-coordinated and posed in specific ways. But, whoever took these may not be charging money so therefore may not be a fauxtographer. Not only were the photos horrible- shot haphazardly in full-sun, yellow/green color casts, just overall terrible, but upon noticing something weird I looked closer. In all of the photos, her daughter is obviously ‘shopped in! She has shared custody with her ex, and I think the daughter was on a vacation with dad, so that could explain why she wasn’t present for this photo-taking. But she is cut-and-pasted into all of the photos. Different light pattern, different white balance, and a really bad chop job of the layer masking.
<a href=”http://tinypic.com?ref=vooqxc” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i59.tinypic.com/vooqxc.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Image and video hosting by TinyPic”></a>
ParticipantInterestingly enough, the model deleted the original post after I had told her this stuff. A few hours later she re-posted. And, two other photogs commented that being on the tracks was illegal. She again replied “Yes but we were totally safe, but thanks for looking out for me, it was very kind of you!”
Sigh. I didn’t even comment again. Deaf ears…
ParticipantI’ve picked up a couple of them at Best Buy before. It sure looked fancy, but I kind of had the same feelings as you. It seems like with more of it being electronic, there is more that could go wrong… maybe I’m wrong. Plus, I like the heftier feel of a “real” DSLR to balance the weight of a larger lens. Even when I occasionally use my Canon Rebel (usually when I want a decent camera for a riskier setting, like on a kayak) it feels like a chintzy toy to me.
ParticipantCheck out the group Fstop Frenzy on FB. It has professionals, amateurs, and hobbyists, and people are generally pretty respectful. The moderators try to put a nix on people being jerks toward each other especially when people ask for CC on an image.
ParticipantAnother Craigslist post was a Canon Rebel XT for sale. I think the guy must be older. He said he bought this setup after he had already retired.
“Hi, I am a retired Professional Portrait and Fine Art photographer. . . I am one of Wisconsin’s winningest photographers of many awards over the years.
I have for sale my excellent condition CANON Rebel XT camera body with a Canon 50mm F1.8 EF lens. . . ALSO with it are THREE lens filters, UV, Haze and Polar. . .AND you get a Canon BG-E3 battery grip. . Plus the two types of battery holders, one for the Canon Li-ion battery Pack and the holder for 6 AA batteries. . . I bought this grip because mainly it makes you “look” more professional AND it gives you a CHOICE in batteries to use, and the AA batteries are a very good choice IF you are on a job and you need a battery change and have run out.”Lol, the battery grip makes you “look” more professional.
ParticipantCraigslist find – “established, award-winning, professional wedding photographer.”
http://www.aesthetic-photo.com/index.php?splash=1#/gallery-1/1
I could only find a handful of photo in her wedding gallery that were in sharp focus. Lighting issues, poor composition, brides on train tracks, wonky editing.
Not to mention the website is poorly made and slow to navigate.
ParticipantSharra, your response does make more sense, and was written respectfully. So I do appreciate that.
I guess this is just one of those sites that, well, obviously is made to mock bad photography (and the things that go along with it, as one example, taking a client to a place where they are trespassing).
Yes the name change was purely for fun. I saw that it had changed across other comments I had made in other forum topics. Some people in these threads have created multiple accounts- I’ve only ever had one. My login name is still the same, just the display named changed. I honestly don’t even go on these boards much anymore, as most of the photography discussions I participate in are on some of the Facebook groups I’m part of.
For what it’s worth (if anything here), I have always been more level-headed than my peers and not a part of that “out of control” group you mentioned.
Your earlier comment came off as accusatory and assumptive. But not the next comment.
The reason I told that girl “nevermind” was because she kept bantering with me saying it was fine because they were just near a railroad crossing, and she wasn’t getting it that it didn’t matter. I think she could have responded with “Ok, thanks for the info, I wasn’t aware that it was illegal.” That was really all I was going for as the group had a lot of amateur models and photographers who probably don’t know that either.
As far as the railroad thing, another death just occurred to a photographer because of it. Although, his situation he was clearly being extra stupid- he was on a rail bridge over a highway and the tracks took a blind curve just past the bridge. He was apparently taking photos of a model. I guess the model was fine but the photog died. There are definitely railroad tracks that are pretty foolproof and safe if you DID want to shoot on them, like straight tracks where you can see a mile in either direction. But after thinking about it more I’ve realized that it’s over-used and cliche. I get the leading line thing, but there are other settings that can create the same leading lines. Just the threat of a fine for being on the tracks is enough to keep me away. In some other discussions I have heard that the rail industry has used photos they found on the internet as evidence to fine someone, so they don’t even need to catch you at the time you are on the tracks.
ParticipantSharra, only reason I changed my name is because it sounded more interesting to a photography subject. Just did that on a whim. My comments still show up under the new name in all the threads.
What exactly is wrong with my statement on not making a large portion of my yearly income on photography yet still being a professional photographer? Is there something indicating that the work I do is not professional? I have a business and provide professional work, but I work M-F as well.
And me starting a “bullying” thread- this is a site based around crappy photography. I wasn’t bullying them. I posted some more links to crappy photography and others did the same.
The reason I posted a comment on her photos in that group regarding railroad tracks was to try to educate not only her, but anyone else viewing the page/photos. I didn’t bring up that the photos were bad because she was not the photographer. The subject was on photographing on railroad tracks. I even told her that I once shot some photos of a friend (not a paying client!) a few years ago on some railroad tracks before I knew it was illegal or that hefty fines could be involved. When another photographer saw the photos he informed me of this and I removed the images from the internet because my friend is a police officer (he didn’t even realize how being on the tracks was illegal; they were behind his wooded property) and I didn’t want to do something to inadvertently jeopardize his job, or get myself in trouble.
Sheesh.
ParticipantI’ve been mentoring the secretary at my work over the last year. She had an interest in photography but not a lot of skill. She is now shooting in full manual, RAW, and starting to invest in some better lenses! she loves what she can do with her camera now. she doesn’t want to shoot portraits besides of her grandkids and such.
ParticipantSorry, my last post didn’t make sense. I was on my phone not paying attention.
The lady who runs “$20 Mini Sessions” or “$20 Memories” used to work with/for the lady who runs “Fantasy Memoria” about two years ago, in some kind of “partnership.” They were both horrid. They had some kind of falling-out. $20 lady started her new page earlier this spring and has been heavily advertising on the buy/sell sites and people are flocking to her.
June 19, 2014 at 7:48 pm in reply to: At what point do you consider yourself/others as a professional photographer? #19380ParticipantIf you are making some sort of income from doing hired photography gigs, whether you are working for someone as an employee or you have your own business, you are considered a professional. Professional doesn’t always mean quality. Generally they go hand-in-hand, but like the others have said, some people who own a legitimate photography business still absolutely suck at it. When I first started out I was doing some paid shoots though I did not yet have a tax ID or anything, but it didn’t amount to much money. Even though I have a legitimate business now I still shoot for fun as a hobby as well. I don’t make a large portion of my yearly income on photography (I have a full-time job besides) but I am also a professional photographer.
I guess as long as a professional photographer isn’t trying to make themselves out as more than what they really are (fauxtographers shooting weddings), they are on the right track. You don’t have to do a ton of photography work to be a professional.
ParticipantDon’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?”
ParticipantYeah most consumers are just ignorant… until they see good photography compared with fauxtography. I always try to educate people. One time, a post on a buy/sell group I made a comment like “just make sure if you hire a photographer, make sure they are professional and know what they are doing” etc. got me backlash from a handful of local fauxs! lol.
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