How do I differentiate?

private

I have been on a few photo shoots lately and I was told by some of the moms that they also want to take photos for a living b/c their husbands just bought them a "nice" camera. How should I respond to that without putting them off? I don't want to tell that that the camera is a tool. If you give ME a hammer and some blueprints I assure you I cannot build a house...:D

Pittspilot

private wrote:

I have been on a few photo shoots lately and I was told by some of the moms that they also want to take photos for a living b/c their husbands just bought them a "nice" camera. How should I respond to that without putting them off? I don't want to tell that that the camera is a tool. If you give ME a hammer and some blueprints I assure you I cannot build a house...:D

I always, always, always encourage them to just go and take pictures. Whatever takes their fancy. The more the better.

Few will stick at it, fewer still will want to know a bit more. To those, I try to get them to think about what it was that they saw, why the photo appeals, what works and what doesn't.

But in short, encourage them!

private

I have been doing that - telling to call me if they need any tips, but I wonder if there is a way to market myself to the folks who have the "good" cameras or knows someone who does.

Pittspilot

private wrote:

I have been doing that - telling to call me if they need any tips, but I wonder if there is a way to market myself to the folks who have the "good" cameras or knows someone who does.

Here is how I advertise

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/lss/956361004.html

Snowgirl

Pittspilot wrote:

Here is how I advertise

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/lss/956361004.html

Brilliant way to turn a negative into a positive! I'm always running into someone with a 'nice' camera who can't figure out why they should pay me to take their pictures.

yep - I have a full tool box - and the only thing my hammer gets used for is putting up picture hooks. Want me to build your house?

Nikolai

Pittspilot wrote:

Here is how I advertise
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/lss/956361004.html

If you don't mind my asking - how many responses do you get, and how many of those "materialize" into at least first lesson?

Cygnus Studios

private wrote:

I have been on a few photo shoots lately and I was told by some of the moms that they also want to take photos for a living b/c their husbands just bought them a "nice" camera.

I have heard this also. If you spend some time with them, you can determine if they want to simply take better photos or truly make the leap into the pro category.
For those who I have met that suggest they really want to go pro, I ask about their business sense. I also explain the perception of being a pro. I hear a lot of average people who see big cameras and believe that the person using it is a pro. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it is not. But that perception is important to some people.
If the average person would take the time to learn about cameras and photography they would understand the "tool" versus the end product, however we all know most will not.
So for the mommy or daddy who thinks that they want to go pro, I share the costs of my kit. That will stop most people in the tracks.
I try to explain that this isn't always necessary, but to get average people to pay for your skills, most will expect professional gear.
We have all dealt with someone's brother who thinks that they know cameras. It is just part of the job.
Once you get to what they really want, (to take better pictures), you can usually broach the teaching idea and get a few hits that way.

ChatKat

Laundry List
First, I don't sell prints you can buy at Wal-Mart or Costco or even the Smugmug unless I am doing an event.

I have found products that the Mom's can't buy. I mount, I frame now and I have a small studio. My lighting is different than they can get with on camera flash.I teach and show them why my images are better than theirs.

I don't sell things that they can go to Michael's and buy a frame to fit. They can't buy my frames in a store, they don't have my training. What I have been showing to my clients has been resulting in selling 30x40 images, composites, canvas and more. I am really excited about 2009...