This Pro photographer "status" is getting humorously out of hand.

A few weeks ago I lost a job to not one but 2 so called pros......, I used to shoot a local dance schools pics and I was told that my prices and work was overpriced and that a couple of the moms are now doing photos so my services are no longer needed.

I am ok with this cause I never felt that this was an area I could really excel at being they only wanted what was done by the guy that used to do the shots in the past , His work was good but in no way what I could do.

Anyway today I get a frantic call about how one girl broke her camera and can not come and how the other girl lost her memory card at walmart when she was getting dressed rehearsal pics processed ......

I am not able to do them as I am busy installing a lift on my jeep

I am now getting calls from parents asking me to just shoot 1 or 2 kids and as bad as I feel for them I have to decline.

Funny thing is both the moms are professional photographers and have facebook groups to prove it!

lol

as great as it would be to decline and piss them off for replacing you, i'd take the job. as a great man once said, "mo money. mo money. MO MONEY"

but seriously, charge over your usual "over priced" rate for the short notice and being jerked around

(This is an "I'm shaking my head in disbelief" smilie.) Am.

^! agree, That is funny.

You would think as "pro's" they might have back up gear!

I have to agree with Jcarp though - take the gig and get paid! Money is too tight these days to turn down imho.

shayneyasinski wrote in post #10137147
the other girl lost her memory card at walmart when she was getting dressed rehearsal pics processed ......

Sorry people suck....

Depending on how you look at it a) They screwed you over b) Money is tight so they decided to cut costs like any business would try to do c) They underestimated the value of a real "pro".

I would say:
a) They screwed you over so screw them over. Eye for an eye.
b) Understand that money is tight for any business, so try to work with them.
c) It wasn't worth it anyways, so politely move on.

If you need to money, I would say b). If not c). No sense in trying to rub it in their faces. You bring yourself to their level when you do that. Be a "pro" about it...

Is this a business you are running here? If you want money, get the gear out and go shoot. if you want to feal smug about your customers failings, congratulations, enjoy this while it lasts. they probably won't be calling you next time, so this is your dose of smug.

I'm one that always wants ALL details involved to make a decision...so...are you over priced, is your work not worth the price? Are you not doing what they want, what the last photographer did? Have to realize the customer is right and it's your job to educate them on any differences from what they want, show them the difference and let them decide. No offense here but you're a newbie yourself from looking at your posts, so have to wonder if they thought they could get the same quality at a cheaper price from PWC's, which would be a very bad thing for you if they can.

As for the PWC's having a "business", well it's common - all you need to do is buy a camera to be in business nowadays. I know of many who have taken that mentality.

MJPhotos24 wrote in post #10138798
I'm one that always wants ALL details involved to make a decision...so...are you over priced, is your work not worth the price? Are you not doing what they want, what the last photographer did? Have to realize the customer is right and it's your job to educate them on any differences from what they want, show them the difference and let them decide. No offense here but you're a newbie yourself from looking at your posts, so have to wonder if they thought they could get the same quality at a cheaper price from PWC's, which would be a very bad thing for you if they can.

As for the PWC's having a "business", well it's common - all you need to do is buy a camera to be in business nowadays. I know of many who have taken that mentality.

I have all the gear to do a very good job and the knowledge to shoot a technically good pic , any of my shortcomings get fixed by the 2 friends that I have that are real pros that have been shooting pics as an only source of income for 30 combined years .

I have been taken under there wings so to say so my work is worth every penny .

What I do not need to deal with are the people like you mentioned that simply buy a kit from walmart or best buy along with a 100 pack of printable business cards and use the only tool they have which is price to push me out of a gig.

I am very busy with my main businesses right now that I do not need the money and I do have photo gigs booked with people and clubs that enjoy working with me and love my work and the price I charge for it.

I may go watch my friends daughter tonight and see who they got to fill in

Put your photos where your typing is...it's the best I could do on the slogan money where mouth is. I.e., let's see - head to head - one of yours vs. one of theirs. I mean I try to study from some greats but don't associate it with what I produce. So post a photo, I tried to find some in old posts but don't see one ever posted.

Telling the parents you are busy and then showing up to see who they got doesn't seem very smart business wise to me. Reputations go fast.

It COULD be that the parents absolutely DO see that the quality of the new photographers is no way as high or good as yours, but in this economy, quality for price is the tradeoff they have to make. so don't assume that they are thinking that they are comparing apples to apples and your apples are overpriced. They may not hire those people to do their annual family portrait, but to give them a memento of their kid's dancing, it's good enough. It's a piss off though, for sure. Just don't assume that they are thinking everyone's work is equal.

It's a classic case of getting what you paid for.
Good thing you have other work to take over the loss of the dance group.

You know, life is too short, just move on and live long and prosper.

I've had a cousin of a co-worker ask if she could borrow my gear (ALL my gear) for a wedding because her XT broke and didn't have money to buy another camera. I had never met the chick before. I found out some time later that she got mad that I wouldn't loan her my gear for the wedding. Come to find out that she charged $200 for the wedding and gave all the pics on a CD. Oh, the wedding was shot on a P&S.

I'm not saying that I am ready for the Trump wedding or anything, but I know what I am doing.