[Notaphotographer]

I do not need to look at your photos to know that you are a fauxtographer. This line in your about sums it up.

“I don’t believe in charging double what I pay (ie 15$ for a 5×7) I don’t like the idea of it. So you will get a disc, and you will have free reign to do what you want with them and get them printed where you want. (If you do need help on where to go for specialty prints, I am more than happy to help)  ”

You also will never be able to do this for a living with this mindset. When a photogrpaher charges $ 15.00 for a 5×7 the customer is not paying for the printing charge. They are paying for an image, a memory, a moment that was captured. The time it took to learn the skill to capture it. The time it took to edit it correctly to have the best print possible. The equipment to capture the image. To me that seems a small price to pay.  You are the very epitome of a fuaxtographer. You think your skill, knowledge, time and equiment cost bring no value to the customer. So when you save enough for better equipment and have to recover the thousands of dollars invested, I guess you will feel the same. Every Click of the shutter is also one click closer to the death of the camera and a costly repair… Still thinking that $ 15.00 for a 5 x 7 is to much to pay?

[Notaphotographer]

I have to agree with IHF.. Neither of you need to be doing photos for people who want good photos. I do not meant to be harsh but it is the reality.

[Notaphotographer]

Batgirl, since you asked about landscapes I thought I would share this link for you.  This photogpapher is a master.  I first found him several years ago and his techinical skills are amazing with a camera. Most of the landscape shots are done with an old film technique using a black card. It is tough to master. These images have almost no work done to them. He is a master retoucher but he is very honest and will label a photo manipulated. This is what can be accomplished when you understand your gear and light.

http://www.facebook.com/fuphotography#!/fuphotography

[Notaphotographer]

No reason to defend yourself. You asked. You also validated my point. I think it is great that you volunteer to take photos of special needs children and families and do it at no charge. I take no exception to that at all. However when other people ask you to do other things you do have the option to say no. Photography is great. It records moments in time. However everytime you say yes to doing dirt cheap photography or any other person does,  it cheapens it for everyone. I have been in this industry a very long time. Seen lots of changes. As long as the current trend conitnues, photography as a business is dead. Some people may make enough to by a lens or a new body, and there will always be a select few photographers, but as whole it is dead. Want proof look at Nat Geo. And SI now compared to 10-20 years ago. They had staff photographers. Now almost all of their stuff is freelance and pulled from sites. There are hundreds of thousands of photos now that publications can use. Tell the photographer they will get a by-line and that is enough for them.

On another note you do have pretty good gear expecially if your 24-70 is the canon lens. Surprised a drop broke it.  But I would still invest in a strobe for off camera.  

Also I do not have the time or inclination to give you a serious critique on each photo. I look at thousands of photos a week.  You probably know which ones are good and bad. The trick is to make them all good. 🙂 I truly wish you and your family the best in life.

[Notaphotographer]

Unless I am missing something I have no issue with this person at all. It looks like he is taking photos and trying to sell them. If you think it is art you will by them. I see nothing on his site where he is trying to market himself as a photographer for hire.  That is the difference between most on here, and what makes a fauxtographer imo .  I actually think he shows some skill on a couple of his shots. Not particular my taste, but as art I bet there is a market. Seen worse things sell.

[Notaphotographer]

I am afraid right now I would consider you a fauxtog. You have a good start but I will adress a few things. First you are correct and using later or earlier hours on the outside shots but you still have some crazy shadows. Could have easily been fixed with refelctors or off camera strobe. Look up strobist. Next stay away from the heavy vignetting. It does not fixed a poorly composed shot. Pay attention to your backgrounds. I could go on but you probably get the idea. I am going to tell you what really makes you a fauxtog in my book, and so many others on here that are competent that are still fauxtogs. You complain about the Craiglist photographers as do many on here. Then you say you hardly charge anything. What is the difference? Because you do not advertise on Craigslist? No difference. You then talk about it being a war on facebook with other photographers. Well duh! It is because of people like you and on this site who basically are fairly competent but still give away their service. Look through all of these post and see how many do that. It is a great time for photography but I am afraid we are seeing the end of photography as a business. I am lucky. My job is to look at the photos from people like you, who will give away a great photo for a byline. I am not meaning to pick on you. Most on here fall under the same category. But I do get frustrated seeing all these so called photographers who do have some skill doing it part time for little to next to nothing. Then they want to start charging and cannot understand why they cannot make a living at it. It is because there is another MWAC or GWAC  down the street who will do it for nothing or next to nothing.  I have friends who have invested their lives into photography, money, time, and heart and soul 100%. You will not even pay $ 25.00 a month for a website so I doubt you have 30k or more invested in lenses and gear.  I do apoogize if this seems harsh at you. It is not intended. You are not doing anything different than the other thousands and thousands out there. But to me unless, you are just doing it for your own, or committed 100% you are taking away from those who are and puts everyone into the faux category. They have cheapened photography to the point where good photography has no value to the public. They will just get from the next guy for free. I apologize for the rant, but when I see friends who have been doing this for 20 years completely full time and now struggling, yes it is personal.

[Notaphotographer]

Would that be 3 that think you are a dbag.  I think the count is actually higher at this point.

[Notaphotographer]

Jared shows all the signs of having a Napoleon complex and probably also latent homosexuality. Jason it is ok to come out of the closet. It is the 21st century. His avatar is of a blue muscular man who runs around naked. That tells you something. He also seems obsessed with weight and uses the word fatties. So he probably spends a good deal of time in the gym trying to compensate for his height. Willing to bet he even takes photos of himself in the mirror with his shirt off. His attempt to make himself feel superior comes from all those years in school where he was probably the smallest one in class. He has had girlfriends but never can really keep them. Probably thinks it is the girls, but we all know different. This site is suppose to be about photography and several people on here seem sincere in asking for critique. Jason unfortunately feels the need to belittle and be an all around ass most of the time. He is not funny nor amusing. The critiques on his photogrpahy are spot on..

[Notaphotographer]

Jetpix is right as far as being officially registered. I selected a poor chocie of words.

[Notaphotographer]

Oh, one other part about the registering copyrights. By law the image is the photographers. Images do not have to be registered. In may cases the EXIF data will show copyright and a name. That is plenty. Plus many sites when you upload photos to them they are considered registered. Always do contracts, and please tell your friend to spend more than $ 200.00 on an important event like a wedding. Even the best wedding photographers still have images retouched:) $200.00 would not even cover my time, much less the photographers.

[Notaphotographer]

From what you are saying, your friend paid a wedding photographer $ 100.00 dollars and they are not happy..Well DUH!!!!  That is the problem and why fauxtographers exist. People want perfection but do not want to pay for it, but that is another issue. But to answer your long question with a short answer. You do not have any copyrights as a retoucher. The photogrpaher is correct if you are showing © on the photo. The other question is did the photographer grant a license or give the copyrights to the bride? Is it in writing? If there is nothing formal, technically the photographer would still own all rights.  I doubt they get a lawyer, but why would you want all the aggrevation.

[Notaphotographer]

I am glad someone else mentioned the printing. I am not a photographer but I do edit lots of photos. I have 3 printers set up that I sample print. Even though both of my monitors are calibrated I need to see how the photos will print, the print version is what matters to me.

[Notaphotographer]

In my opinion you need some work.  I can see where you had a couple of good concepts but the execution of them is not quite there. I also know FB compression can ruin a sharp photo but lots of these do not look sharp at all. Not sure what lens you are shooting with but that may be a good investment after you get some more basics down. I see you use post vignetting a good deal. This is not a substitute for a badly composed shot. Keep working at it. Shoot thousands of photos a week and learn what works. Also visit some other sites and other photographers. If you have the skills to duplicate a shot you like then that will better enable you to create your own. Best of luck.

[Notaphotographer]

It is literally impossible under many circumstances, actually. Other times it’s not worth worrying about. My clients are thrilled with my work.

That statement is why this web site exist. They are thrilled, because people will except subpar as good. You are not as bad as some, but no way are you at the level to have the attitude that you do. And yes people produce straight walls all the time in photos. Look at any Better Homes and Gardens. Putting a wide angle on a DSLR and shooting a room and then leaving the lens distortion in the final image, well that takes true genius.

I am not a photographer, I do not claim to be. But look at Flickr, Model Mayhem or pick a site.. You will see the same type shots over and over. Oh this is an early morning or late evening golden haze, let’s shoot model right. Now model left. Oh wait now lying down. hey train tracks and a sign.  We must get this shot. No one has ever shot that from an eye level before. Hey there is a bridge. Lets stand a girl in the middle and shoot it.. I bet no one has ever done that before. But hey, look I can blur my background. Look a plate of food. I will shoot down at it and just have the one part in focus. I bet that has never been done before. Maybe try shooting some fat people. At least they could be interesting and would take some creativity.

[Notaphotographer]

Well for starters you can get your focus correct. Then you can actually get you settings correct. On your real estate photos you can see obvious lens distortion with the wide angle. On one of the shots of the room it looks like the wall is leaning. Sure lets call that professional. This is an easy fix in PS. In addition, try to get your horizons straight on your real estate  shots. Your model shots would be nice to know if they have a complete head every so often. Also the sun glare works on a few shots..Not every single one.  Get some credentials. Let’s see the awards and publications to back up the attitude. By the way, I am not a photographer but I do edit thousands of photos weekly.  I see nothing in your port that I have not seen a thousand times before. Nothing at all special or sparks any interest. You do not have to be a great photographer to recognize what is bad… I guess you could always call it art and that is subjective. But come on, on the real easte site.. How hard is it to shoot a room and make the walls look straight.

[Author]

Posts