As far as my brother is concerned, I am “fixing” keepers that the wedding guests and I took & am salvaging what I can from what they do have, so they at least have a few to hang on the wall. There are NONE from the ceremony, because the “pro” made a bad move and announced on the “bride and grooms” behalf, that no one is to take pictures because they “paid” for a professional…. so sad! Hopefully my work will ease the disappointment and let them have good memories and not cry whenever someone mentions their wedding.

ThanX again!

DurbinDigital ~TYEs last blog post..Technorati & randomness on [site]

I don’t have a specific answer to your question, however, I find it surprising that the “pro” you spoke of is able to continue working if that’s how she treats her clients.

A lot of what we do as creatives grows from word of mouth. If this “pro” was shafting clients, specifically by misrepresentation during the sale, that would be a breach of contract.

I can’t imagine someone like that lasting very long here in Dallas/Fort Worth. And big money people talk.

As you know someone who was personally affected, you may encourage them to seek a refund, or report her to the BBB.

I agree with this topic discussion whole heartedly!

My question, comes from reading all of the blogs on professionalism and quality (and personal experience) that have been popping up lately … HOW do you educate a self proclaimed “pro” and the public that is suckered into purchasing their crap?

I know a “photogrpher” who charges more than some of the “pros” I know, who is making a reputation of being the photographer that makes brides CRY (not because they are happy either) whenever their wedding day is brought up in conversation. She has all of the right tools, but NONE of the right attitude or talent. She has no desire to get better, because people pay her what she asks (because she somehow knows how to sell herself), but with the worst possible outcome of the product, NO ONE will stand up to her and pitch a fit about the CRAP they ended up with. If I had paid that much $$, and ended up with CRAP for my wedding pictures, there would be a serious court case.

So how do you educate the unwilling? I made friendly comments about professional dress and conduct (she showed up to my brothers wedding in sweats and sat with the guests through 98% of the event), quality of the images (she shows lab printed photos in her very limited portfolio and gives the customer home printed inkjets), and the prices she is charging (suggested hooking her up with a few Pro’s so that she could gain insight, learn process and quality, while still making $$ while learning and getting better)… etc.

I always ALWAYS tell my students that cameras, computers and Photoshop are just tools, and that like anything else it takes loads of time and practice to make things come out looking great and the way we want them to, so practice, practice, practice and if you can’t get it to look quite right ASK for help, because there are hundreds of people online and in the community that will gladly give crits and suggestions.

Cheers and keep up the great work! I apologize for the rant, the unprofessionals really irk me!

DurbinDigital ~TYEs last blog post..Technorati & randomness on [site]

I agree with your points that if Joe Bored really wants to be in the mix, then he should study like the rest of us. I also think plenty of folks are content to take their own digital picture, or do their own touchups, not as art, but simply because it’s good enough for them.

Nancy – That’s awesome. Glad you liked the dedication to my wife.

Janines last blog post..The Fascinating Mr. Flipper on [site]

I think this is really a marketing problem. Marketing is not showing your work to the world randomly, it’s finding a need and filling it. The people who don’t appreciate the quality of your work are not your target customers. They don’t care how much experience you have or how many hours of hard work you put it. They won’t pay you what you’re worth.

The customers you’re looking for appreciate quality and creativity and are willing to pay for it. So how do you find them? By getting your work shown as much as possible, to the right people. One photog I know gives each client a stack of her business cards, with their photo on it. Genius. Her already-satisfied clients are glad to pass out the cards with their photo. I know Janine does volunteer photo restoration for disaster victims, maybe she could get that story in the local paper, with examples of her work. Joining professional associations or online forums can help.

But I think everyone is agreed that the most important thing is to do the very best work you can do.

Yes. It is ~supremely~ frustrating but yes, eventually, the cream ~does~ rise to the top… but boy oh boy, the waiting truly is the hardest part.

… and BTW – That beautiful post you wrote about your wife ~did~ make me tear up. =)

NAPP_Newss last blog post..NAPP_News: @sonatacreative Aww! Well, Thank you for tweeting about the awesomeness that is Photoshop World! Funny that it’s still a secret to most, eh? on [site]

I wasn’t saying Janine’s statement was without merit. Really my point is that as frustrating as those “artists” and customers can be, they will always be around. You can’t define yourself simply by outside influences.

I know plenty of untalented SOBs that are doing really well, and it is teeth-grinding to think, “Why isn’t that me?” The fact is you can’t control other people. You can only take what you see, what you learn, and try to be the best that YOU can be.

Everything else will fall into place once you get your energy focused on the right task.