Why never a thank you ????

I love photography, I like to make people happy.

At many events folks ask me to take their photo especially when they see the 70-200 f2.8 lens ("must be a pro photographer"). Also, when I just do street photography people ask if I can send them an image. I usually do e-mail out the photos - small, low-res, but still ideal for on-line (e.g Facebook, etc.) use.

Very seldom, if ever, I get the courtesy of a simple thank you. Still, I love people photos and still e-mail them out. Now I am at the point of saying No, or quoting a fee, but just now I sent out 8 great images from a festival....for free.

Am I insane to do this?
Would YOU do the same?
Would you sermonize them, call them rude yahoos, tell them how ungrateful they are whether they like the photos or not?
Ask them to steer business your way?

Any comments will be appreciated....TIA

And I always thought Canadians were polite. Or are you encountering this south of the border?

Just don't waist your time. If someone sees me and my camera and they decide they want me to take their picture, they better have a camera with them. Sometimes people are drunk and a bit pushy so I'll take the shot and then delete it when I walk away.
I've made exceptions a few times, but usually when the person had something to offer in exchange.

Because less and less these days do people value service and time.

On the flip side it seems to be an overall mentality. There have been many times I've tried to do business with someone and offered $ for something and a business has refused to return calls timely, etc. In addition I have businesses that I've been loyal to for years, who simply blow me off at the drop of a hat. For example. One business I spent $14,000 in merchandise with in a year. They pissed me off and although I never expressed it I simply stopped ordering. No phone call, no nothing. You'd think people would see it as a loss (it was about 15% of their gross I know this) and make a call "hey is everything ok, I noticed you havent ordered in awhile is there something we can do to help you...do you need anything?" No, instead nothing. Nothing at all.

Don't you know yet? You owe it to them.

Actually, I think I've gotten at least a thank you every time I've sent someone a picture of them that I've taken. I do a decent amount of street photography as well, so I've sent out at least 30-40 pictures of random people I've taken in the past. When someone actually asks to have their picture taken, I think they're generally assuming I'm shooting for a newspaper, so I usually indulge them, but don't bother giving them my card.

But you should probably ask yourself why you're doing it. For me, I don't think the thank you would matter, because I'm out there to take pictures. If I'm on contract and getting paid to shoot, then I don't have time to take pictures of random people wanting their photo taken, so I either ignore them or politely tell them I'm busy. If I'm just out shooting, then I'm more than happy to share the pictues I take, because I wasn't going to sell them anyway. If you take good pictures, however, I think most people will be appreciative whether or not you get an actual thank you.

snapppy wrote in post #16124090
Would you sermonize them, call them rude yahoos, tell them how ungrateful they are whether they like the photos or not?

why waste any more time with them?

you should set up a site where people can pay for a print and point them there. 5 bucks a print. Otherwise you're either doing it for fun, and don't care about a stranger's gratitude or you're just wasting time.

either treat it like a business or don't. the choice is yours.

I am in the same boat as you , I often take pics for fun and of my sons during sports with the 70-200. Then get the request fo r pictures, never an offer, rarely a thanks

It sounds trite, but do what you feel comfortable with. If it bothers you that you may not receive the gratification of a thank-you, then don't do it. On the other hand, if they don't say thanks it doesn't necessarily mean they didn't appreciate your effort; it just may mean that they weren't taught good manners or were lazy or got caught up in the day-to-day "whirlwind". Do you need their feedback to feel good about giving them the gift of a photo? You choose.

I guess cuz nobody has written a 'thank you' app yet.

One thought: Are you sure most are receiving the mail. lately I've had a lot of problems with our mail being considered spam even just from our regular email address. Im wondering if its a godaddy issue but anyway, try putting something like "please let me know you got this" and see if they say anything then.

I've never NOT gotten a sincere thank you.

In the vein of rude businesses, more than once I've dropped into a café or diner wearing my black suit and Roman collar, only to be addresses by the (usually "Rubenesque") waitress as "Honey" or "Sweety." I find that rude in the extreme, and I never return to or recommend them.

Their loss, not mine.

I would think that some of that thank you comes in the form of them allowing you to photograph them. This is being over-thought, imo. If you need those emotional strokes then I think maybe you are in it for that and not the photography. We all love feedback and I get my fair share of thank you's but by far the number of people that say nothing is the overwhelming majority, I think it is a byproduct of our society these days. I don't do much in the way of street photography other than a few street festivals and do get asked for images. I send them because when I shoot these they are for me and I am not on the clock, so to speak. I don't care if people send me a thank you note. I would bet that if you set up a site to charge people for these that your requests for photos would drop off a great deal. It's been my experience that people won't pay for Facebook type of photos unless you are going to charge a nominal fee which I still doubt it would be successful. So is it better to get asked for these freebies (which it seems you don't mind sending) or ask for money and get next to nothing in return.

I was at a farmers market a few weeks ago and shot a young lady and child that were enjoying themselves under a tree. I sent her 4 or 5 low res images and she went to the trouble of finding my mailing address and I received a very nice thank you card in the mail. Now that is Canadian........

snapppy wrote in post #16124090
At many events folks ask me to take their photo especially when they see the 70-200 f2.8 lens ("must be a pro photographer"). Also, when I just do street photography people ask if I can send them an image. I usually do e-mail out the photos . . .

Very seldom, if ever, I get the courtesy of a simple thank you.

Well, my understanding is, many people neglect to value others' time and effort, especially when they want something. Another way of putting it: there isn't enough empathy to go around.