I Am A Craigslist Photographer

Lots of great information here. The best thing to do is become informed. Ask lots of questions. When you think your done? Ask some more questions. Weed out a lot of the negative comments (although they were said more to scare you straight rather than to encourage you). If someone accepts your rate for a wedding then i hope they understand what comes with it (this is what people here on POTN are trying to save you from in their own way). Keep shooting, keep getting better, keep growing that portfolio. In time you will get to where you want.

vipergts831 wrote in post #11121286
although they were said more to scare you straight rather than to encourage you

I would not use ''scare you'' but rather ''warn you''.

Wedding photography is the heck of a business. Have a read in their section here, it's something big. Lots of photographer who ''have been in the business'' for years and years would never do a wedding.

I guess I could refer the situation to : If you don't know there's danger, why be afraid of it? Jump and find out later why.

There are a few posts here that go something like, "You don't plan on being sued, that's just stupid!", as if they are 100% certain the original poster will be sued.

My question to all of you that have posted something similar to the above statement is:
How many times have you been sued?

And I'm just looking for a number, not an excuse or some type of rational for the number, whatever it may be.

Thanks,

While I proudly avoid weddings, if you google wedding photographer lawsuits you will find countless examples. In the day and age of litigation, best to be protected. Would you want a 17 y/o driving without insurance? Granted different extreme, but dealing with an unhappy bride or family when you ruined the one day they dreamed of, is not worth the risk of going into this venture uneducated or insured. Again, photographers are sued all the time, with many being of the Craigslist variety.

PS, cool shots from Dragon Con. Looks like it was a blast

Not read much after the first two pages simply because I couldn't believe the arrogance, bad attitude and ignorance of the OP.
Why can't some young folks listen to good advice when it's given?!
It sadly looks like the only way he'll learn is to get his ass sued.

Well here you go a video on this :

http://www.slrlounge.c​om …r-bad-wedding-photography

The OP is trolling everyone so hard.

Jimmer411 wrote in post #11248919
The OP is trolling everyone so hard.

Check out his other posts, I do not believe he is. You can interpret that anyway you want.

vipergts831 wrote in post #11248730
Well here you go a video on this :

http://www.slrlounge.c​om …r-bad-wedding-photography

Too bad Jude Joe Brown and other court type television shows don't depict real court cases. If you read the closing credits of any of those shows you'll read that what you are seeing is actually arbitration -- not quite the same as small claims court.

ImCBParker wrote in post #11247633
PS, cool shots from Dragon Con. Looks like it was a blast
... if you google wedding photographer lawsuits you will find countless examples.

Thanks, it was quite fun. And I realize that photographers DO get sued. I'm just wondering if anyone in the "you're going to get sued" party has actually been sued (as a photographer) or has even known (personally) a photographer that has been sued. People have sued McDonalds claiming the fast food made them fat. Doesn't mean it is common or that anyone should be dissuaded from opening a franchise.

rbakeratl wrote in post #11249316
Doesn't mean it is common or that anyone should be dissuaded from opening a franchise.

What about opening a francise without paying taxes or having a business license? Is that even possible?

Tealtele wrote in post #11249714
What about opening a francise without paying taxes or having a business license? Is that even possible?

A franchise, probably not, but a normal business, definitely. I worked for a company making $20M a year for two years before they obtained a business license. But taxes and licenses wasn't part of the question. I'll count you in the "never been sued" column.

This is a waste of time.

rackovanz wrote in post #11250165
This is a waste of time.

But posting your comment wasn't, gottcha.

I'll admit that I only read the first few pages of this thread, but I thought I may have something to contribute.

I'm 19. I run a successful Photography business. I have been professional since I was 15. Take it from me, find somebody to help you run your business, and treat them well! I don't know how different all this stuff is in America, but down here I had to get an ABN, Insurance, register everything, and probably a couple of more things that I didn't even pick up on. I'm struggling to pick it up, but god knows learning how to run a business, let alone a successful one, is bloody hard! I'm doing my best, but having a few learning disorders, it's proving especially complicated to me. This is where my mum come's in (ok, I must really sound like a kid right now, haha) - but she knows this stuff. She's good at this stuff, and she helps me whenever I have an issue. But it doesn't have to be a parent, it could be a friend, a teacher, a mates parent - anybody who you know well enough to ask for some help from. Maybe throw them a bit of coin in the process, so that they don't think that they're being used. But the simple truth of it is, that at this age, without dedicating the time and money to go do some classes in business school or wherever it is you learn this stuff, we can't be expected to know all the things that the older crew on this forum do.

I'm currently picking a lot of it up through watching my mum and reading up on it whenever I can, but i've been making an income from photography since I was 15 years old, and continue to do so successfully. I may not be the most business savvy person, but i'm good at what I do - and that is perform a photographic service. Now don't get the idea that I have everything done for me, trust me I don't - I merely have somebody on the sidelines to give me a push in the right direction when it comes to accounting or the legality of contracts etc. - thing's that I don't quite understand as well as I probably could. When it comes down to it, I deal with clients, I deal with the workload, I get myself work, and I sustain that work by providing quality photos. I don't think I could be where I am, though, without having somebody behind me occasionally yelling "What the **** are you doing? No, that's not how it works!".

So this is my advise to you, find somebody that you trust, who cares about you, who knows how accounting and business work. Ask them for help! It's the only way to get through without actually spending the time in some form of a school learning this stuff.