people are just dumb...

The woman in question could also have split up with her boyfriend...

Classes, clubs and practice. As for the business side of things their are countless threads on here full of sound advice.

cdifoto wrote in post #11807489
I'm not being a jerk.

Nobody called you a jerk.
I said that (and this is my opinion) anyone else adding more comments about grammar, could be labelled "a jerk".

100% agree with you.
And it's clear that the OP will have to work VERY hard to improve his communication skills if he wants to make any kind of photo business a success.

I think the OP understands this...
His communication skills could easily damage his business potential.

Also true.
And so, assuming the OP becomes proficient at English, how can he more easily convert a prospect into a customer?
Being a Brit, living and working in Japan I have my methods/views, but I've no experience in the USA (that's your area!), so please give the OP some more nuggets of wisdom.
Cheers for now, and goodnight!

I'll add this much and you can take it or leave it..

Deaf children go to school in the US, it's the law just like it is for another child. It is required that they follow the same learning guide lines as the hearing.
-They push grammar as hard as they do in any school.. In fact they push spelling, grammar and structure harder, as it is there main form of communication, with those who do not understand SIGN.

Chat room jargon and short word abbreviations, mixed with lazy typing skills, is no excuse.

Well, I did. And if you want them to book a shoot for "just want have a cute pictures of them (as couples portraits)", then THAT'S what you should have on the site instead of all that other stuff that she doesn't give a crap about? Show what you want to sell.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #11807419
I'll say this much...

As the OP is deaf I would imagine that this would probably inhibit some means of communication with potential clients... Say for example over the telephone.

Entirely to true, at the company I used to work with we occasionally got phone calls from relay systems. Before I started they would just hang up immediately.

I have several friends who are deaf ed teachers, and I knew what the calls were, but I was still intimidated when taking them. It's something different that many people haven't heard of, which makes it uncomfortable. We have no social norms to fall back on.

This isn't strictly true, (I qualify this with an as I understand it) sign language is aptly named. It's a different language, and individuals enrolled in deaf ed, are learning in that language, they don't use the same structuring for sentences, any more than the Japanese language does.

True but they learn both written and sign. They have to be able to take and pass the same Test's.

I have a deaf aunt and niece. I'm not much good at sign. My aunt is the one who taught me to type, years and years ago. My niece when young had no problem getting her point across and by her 7th birthday could out type most of us. She has a text pad now that can speak for her ( the faster she types on it the fatter it speaks for her ) and she's good at reading lips. The schools she went too pulled no slack just because she could not hear. They are taught how to survive and get ahead of the real world.

When an Asian learns English they learn what we learned and then some.

I know exactly how you feel. I gave someone a very very reasonable price and she wanted me to match Jcpenny's studio prices. Honestly its not worth getting out of bed for that cheap, let alone setting up lights and post processing etc so of course I declined to shoot her.

Most people can afford to pay a decent rate, they just dont value what we do and would rather spend their money on other things.

ddaayynnee wrote in post #11802480
so, i was getting emails or facebook message about getting photo shoot from me

most of time i asked them to pay me little bit like, a girl asked me to take pictures of her with her long distance boyfriends, just want have a cute pictures of them (as couples portraits), all i ask her for $40 with CD and two prints. after that she never reply since i think she dont wanna pay for it but yet i charged them low prices and thought its a good deal. i just need to take more pictures to show people my work since i dont have much of work.

u guys can check my work on my flickr

lemme know if u have any suggest for me to have more photo shoot for people

thanks


i think it worthless thread but i need help lol

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're going to write a screed about how dumb other people are,

1: Learn about punctuation.
2: Learn about capitalization.
3. Learn about tense.
4. Learn to type "you". "u" does not equal "you".

I'm not saying your problem isn't legit -- just that you come off like a 14 year old girl texting us about how stupid other people are, which I don't think is quite what you were going for.

NeoSoulPhoto wrote in post #11810783
I know exactly how you feel. I gave someone a very very reasonable price and she wanted me to match Jcpenny's studio prices. Honestly its not worth getting out of bed for that cheap, let alone setting up lights and post processing etc so of course I declined to shoot her.

Most people can afford to pay a decent rate, they just dont value what we do and would rather spend their money on other things.

But that is the common marketing problem for all products, especially non-essentials like photography, gold jewelry, and iPads.

Since the OP is completely absent, I'm not sure this thread has any value anymore...
....maybe we all scared him off?
So, one last comment from me:

TopHatMoments wrote in post #11810594
...When an Asian learns English they learn what we learned and then some.

Which Asians are you talking about?
"Asians" here, learn almost nothing "we" learn (ie, how to speak English) and a LOT MORE than we bother to learn (ie, grammar constructions so convoluted it makes your head spin!)
And if the OP pops his head in here again, hope he realises the challenge he has ahead in - let's face it - every aspect of photography.

The Asians that choose to learn English. Many learn in there land, so they can attend universities here in the states. I did not want to pick one regional group and have it sound like others could not.

TopHatMoments wrote in post #11813666
The Asians that choose to learn English. Many learn in there land, so they can attend universities here in the states. I did not want to pick one regional group and have it sound like others could not.

They're from their land, which is over there.

There from there land, we'er from our land, your point is what man.

Asia is a large area made up of many countries and cultures.

http://www.transitions​abroad.com/images/maps​/asia_map.jpg

And if you hold me to English at 1 am in the morning, your going to get a head ache.

OK, I should chime in myself, since I too, am a deaf photographer. The one thing most people seem to misunderstand is that ASL is Signed English. That is NOT the case. ASL (American Sign Language) has different grammatical rules, different syntax, and there are words that ASL has that English has no written or verbal equivalent to.

Now, the analogy of Asian (or any other ethnic group) people who come over to the U.S. and learn English in our schools do not fit or apply to Deaf people. Deaf people have one BIG disadvantage to learning English - they cannot hear. English is inherently a spoken language, and as thus, must be heard. A lot of language acquisition for the English language MUST be heard to be understood - if you don't believe this, and honestly think simply reading English will help you learn the language, you are mistaken. Deaf people - surprise! - can't hear, and as such, probably miss out on the subtle nuances and grammatical/syntax errors of the English language.

Now, our schools don't address this properly - they try to force a lot of deaf kids to be something they're not - hearing children. Sending them through speech therapy to learn to speak a language that they can't hear in the first place, giving them hearing equipment that does a marginal job of amplifying sounds to even give a smidgen of comprehension simply doesn't help. As a result, a lot of Deaf kids get turned off, feel self conscious, and I'm willing to bet that's one of the reasons the OP has yet to respond to this thread.

I was actually very amused by watching one Deaf child communicate with her parent - her mom was asking why she was having so much trouble learning English (my wife teaches English at Texas School for the Deaf), and the girl replied in very clear ASL - "Why do you have so much trouble learning ASL??" Mom's ASL skills were definitely lacking, but we didn't ridicule her efforts at communicating with her daughter, and you shouldn't ridicule the OP's efforts to communicate with you on a public forum.

And you're probably asking to yourself, "Wait, if he's deaf, why is his English skills so good?" I grew up reading books, encouraged to ask questions, and wasn't made to feel like I was somehow a failure for not being able to pick up something as readily as someone who could hear the language could. The teachers I had, USED my native language to help me learn English, and I was all the better for it.