Opinions on Craigslist (worth it? Safety?)

cdifoto wrote in post #16277511
I'd rather struggle to get strangers than book friends easily. Friends (and family) tend to expect the shoot to be free when you "don't need the money because you already have a day job." That, and you're a friend: what are friends for?!?

Oh and by the way, even if they're just work colleagues, they'll not hesitate to call you a friend when they think it'll get them free photos. They may only see you in passing once a week at work but they're your buddy when they think they can squeeze you. Any kind of "connection" they can think of, they'll work it.

If they actually pay, it'll be a pittance and life will be miserable. If you do it for free, do it on your terms and tell them it's ONLY for portfolio.

Total strangers and friends of clients? Never a problem. They already know there are going to be costs.

Yeah, it's a Catch-22. Need work for referrals, need referrals for work. Gotta start somewhere, etc. But trust me - you don't want to work for friends or family or co-workers.

Hm, interesting. I guess it depends on the situation & the "friends" as I have never done a free or discounted shoots for friends from my kids schools, etc. I have charged everyone full price (and my sessions are not cheap - mid price range) & no one has asked for a discount because they believe in supporting me and my business.

This is a tough thing but they are right. I read in a book something that my grandmother taught me long ago. There are things that are cheap and there are things that are inexpensive. You want to avoid cheap.

1. Build a decent to good website

2. Sign up for Google ad words

3. Watch the clientele inquiries roll in

My old business used Google ad words and it was amazing. 99% of our new business came from it. Great service and knowledgeable associates too. Sorry for the super plug but it works!

Biffbradford wrote in post #16277471
As far as transactions in general on Craigslist, I've had good luck on there and met some very nice people. Some traveled over an hour to buy things from me and were quite happy with the purchase. My .02.

same for me...

there are some real crazies on there, especially since I am in Los Angeles, but the few that I have met more than made up for the few random weirdos...

i sold an old tripod on CL earlier this year and the guy who bought turned out to be a talented up and coming DP... i gave him a good price and even threw in an extra item... 2 months later, i found myself in a color correction problem and he hooked me up big time and saved me a week of extra work on a video project...

last year i landed a wholesale clothing company that anonymously posts on CL for product photographers every year... i took a chance on the post and it turned out to be a $500/day gig once a month for 6 months... just too bad they like to switch out photogs every season...

earlier this year, when i shot for Wet Seal, we posted ads on CL for models and found a couple girls who worked out...

other clothing retailers like Revolve Clothing, Tillys, and HauteLook.com post their photography jobs on CL... they don't always say who they are, but I have found out by taking a chance on the postings...

right now, this posting in the Cerritos area of L.A.
http://losangeles.crai​gslist.org/lgb/med/405​1040148.html

has a strong possibility of being Revolve Clothing from what i hear from my network...

anywho.. my point to all this.. if you are freelancing full time, you gotta take the plunge... you gotta take the risk... you gotta go into it blindly and run the risk of falling flat on your face when it comes to CL...

if you still don't think CL is worth the trouble, then it's all good... you are just making room for those of us who will fill the spot...

in this industry, it's not what you know, it's who you know, and there is no point to losing on any networking opportunity... every person you come across on a daily basis, could be the one to help you get through some real doors of opportunity...

I've seen a lot of photography ads on CL, but none from guys that were charging enough to make a living. A whole lot of freebies and cheapies.

michaelanthony wrote in post #16280525
same for me...

there are some real crazies on there, especially since I am in Los Angeles, but the few that I have met more than made up for the few random weirdos...

i sold an old tripod on CL earlier this year and the guy who bought turned out to be a talented up and coming DP... i gave him a good price and even threw in an extra item... 2 months later, i found myself in a color correction problem and he hooked me up big time and saved me a week of extra work on a video project...

last year i landed a wholesale clothing company that anonymously posts on CL for product photographers every year... i took a chance on the post and it turned out to be a $500/day gig once a month for 6 months... just too bad they like to switch out photogs every season...

earlier this year, when i shot for Wet Seal, we posted ads on CL for models and found a couple girls who worked out...

other clothing retailers like Revolve Clothing, Tillys, and HauteLook.com post their photography jobs on CL... they don't always say who they are, but I have found out by taking a chance on the postings...

right now, this posting in the Cerritos area of L.A.
http://losangeles.crai​gslist.org/lgb/med/405​1040148.html

has a strong possibility of being Revolve Clothing from what i hear from my network...

anywho.. my point to all this.. if you are freelancing full time, you gotta take the plunge... you gotta take the risk... you gotta go into it blindly and run the risk of falling flat on your face when it comes to CL...

if you still don't think CL is worth the trouble, then it's all good... you are just making room for those of us who will fill the spot...

in this industry, it's not what you know, it's who you know, and there is no point to losing on any networking opportunity... every person you come across on a daily basis, could be the one to help you get through some real doors of opportunity...

That's fine and dandy for a large American urban center but for where I am in Northern Canada our craigslist is brutal. For every 1 good listing there are at least 10 scammer listings and 10 escort listings.

I have never placed an ad on SEA-TAC Craigslist offering services for money, but I assume it would be about as useful as when I have posted looking for models (portfolio building TFP sessions). I usually get one or two seemingly legit responses that 9 times out of ten are simply e-mail farming. My local CL (Skagit) is too small to seem worth it (look at the gigs section of Skagit CL and you'll see why).

I have met up with and had fantastic shoots with models that I have met on SEA CL. Safety is a concern with any shoot, but being aware of the area before hand is always preferred. i.e. know your SEA neighborhoods...

A word of advice for Craiglist transactions - try to do it in public place and have direct phone number to the other party. If someone is using Google Voice that could be a sign that the person is trying to hide their real phone number. I heard a story in the past where a studio photographer had clients come in from Craiglist and when they showed up he got robbed and almost killed.

Here is another Craiglist (un-armed) robbery story that offers a lot of good tips:

http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=39216

We are very part time , mainly weekends....have been for 4 years and we have gotten some of our best customers, many of them local & repeat from Craigslist. I would say there have been a handful that are very wealthy and found us there, spent 5 or $600 (when our average customer is about $2-300 , so we've been pleasantly surprised.

I guess it depends on the area?

To the OP you have to remember that you are talking about 160 miles round trip if the live in Seattle proper, if they are on the far side of Seattle from you that could be 200 miles.

If you have to account for the time and costs of 200 miles of travel then its really hard for you to be competitive on Craigslist.

meet in a public place (i usually go to a restaurant), let someone know where you're going before hand, and you should be fine.