Interesting analogy for those do-it-yourselfers

kd2

I was visiting an online forum for (mostly) stay-at-home moms who have an interest in photography. One woman posted that she (a non-professional) intended to take her daughter's senior portraits this year and save herself some money. She said that last year she paid over $1000 for her other child's senior portraits and she said she didn't even get that many. So this year she planned to do it herself and she figured that she could take hundreds of shots and probably get at least a few she would like, especally since her daughter is very picky. Her other comment was that she thinks she owns the same equipment as the photographer she used last year, so she feels she should be able to do the job.

As I was relating this story to another photographer friend of mine, he commented that it was sort of like someone picking up a scalpel and deciding they can do open-heart surgery.

Another person said it's like saying you've always wanted to write a book and asking a best-selling author which pen he/she uses.

While I totally understand the money-saving thought process, I just thought this was all kind of interesting.

johng

In general I hear what you're saying. But I also have 2 nieces who never ended up ordering senior photos from a couple popular 'pros'. Oftentimes the 'pro' does what he/she wants and doesn't do a good job of soliciting feedback from the subject. Said subject, being young and intimidated by the photographer doesn't speak up. So, while all the technical aspects turn out well, the photos are still a bust because the girl doesn't like the way she looks in them. And with more pros requiring sitting fees, you end up paying money whether you like proofs or not.

Last spring I did a senior shoot for a friend's son - worked out good because we went where he wanted and did some photos he wanted to do. So he was happy. Much happier than if he and mom had paid $1000. My fee was reasonable but more importantly I listened to my client and HIS vision, not mine.

snaptie2002

Comparing a senior photo shoot to heart surgery or writing a best selling novel is a bit over the top. Anyone with even the most fundamental photography skills should be able to produce an acceptable senior portrait.

I see one of two things happening in the scenario you describe.
1. The lady spends time with her daughter and comes away with satisfactory results or......
2. She realizes she is in over her head and hires the pro.

Either way I don't see anything to get too worked up about.

Marty

kd2

Nope, this is not a subject to get worked up about. I just thought it was interesting. Not trying to belittle anyone for wanting to save some money and am not trying to ridicule anyone's skills. I just thought it was some interesting perspectives. And the open-heart analogy was a bit "tongue-in-cheek" from the originator, he obviously wasn't being serious!

Cygnus Studios

kd2 wrote:

So this year she planned to do it herself and she figured that she could take hundreds of shots and probably get at least a few she would like, especally since her daughter is very picky.

She is probably right. Given enough shots, most amateurs will get lucky and have some keepers. That is what separates the amateurs from the pros.
Will they be as good? Maybe, maybe not. Will they be acceptable? Maybe, maybe not. Will she save money? Absolutely.

I see this differently than most. If the photographer from last year had completely blown her away with the images and package, she may not be doing it herself this year.

emeraldrose

I haven't considered this particular analogy, but I have seen SOOOO many photographers offering up their digital negatives and saying that photographers aren't changing with the times and there's no need to pay for prints anymore and you don't work as hard on a print as they used to. For me that's ridiculous and i spend more time working on a digital print than i ever did on a silver print. My analogy for that is it's like a florist giving you the flowers and telling you to arrange it yourself. Could you do it? Yup, would it be the same professional quality as if the florist had done it? NOPE.

kd2

emeraldrose wrote:

I haven't considered this particular analogy, but I have seen SOOOO many photographers offering up their digital negatives and saying that photographers aren't changing with the times and there's no need to pay for prints anymore and you don't work as hard on a print as they used to. For me that's ridiculous and i spend more time working on a digital print than i ever did on a silver print. My analogy for that is it's like a florist giving you the flowers and telling you to arrange it yourself. Could you do it? Yup, would it be the same professional quality as if the florist had done it? NOPE.

So true! And I like your analogy about the flowers, that's a good one!

kd2

Cygnus Studios wrote:

If the photographer from last year had completely blown her away with the images and package, she may not be doing it herself this year.

That was something that came to my mind, too. A very valid point.

mbellot

Cygnus Studios wrote:

If the photographer from last year had completely blown her away with the images and package, she may not be doing it herself this year.

Bingo!

snaptie2002

kd2 wrote:

Not trying to belittle anyone for wanting to save some money and am not trying to ridicule anyone's skills.

And the open-heart analogy was a bit "tongue-in-cheek" from the originator, he obviously wasn't being serious!

I didn't mean to imply any of that......sorry. Sometimes what I write doesn't come out like it would if I said it out loud

The heart surgeon type analogy comes up so often it's getting hard to tell who's joking and who isn't. I just saw one comparing wedding photography to brain surgery.......sometimes I just feel like saying, Get a grip!!!!! It's a camera not the space shuttle:D

Marty

Scott McLeod Photo

Many people are trying to save money in this economy, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that someone who spent $1000 dollars on something that they didn't feel was worth the price, may want to save money some way. At the time they felt it could be worth it. Depending on their photo and computer skills she may get decent results.

bham

Anybody can take a picture, make a image that is timeless and extremely memorable requires a good bit of skill. Almost ever cell phone now sold is a camera.

I think a good analogy is in my signature.

Cygnus Studios

kd2 wrote:

She said that last year she paid over $1000 for her other child's senior portraits and she said she didn't even get that many.

This is the key statement. This is where the photographer failed. She did not believe that she got value for her dollar. The amount of prints are not the key factor. You can blow someone away with 1 image or fail with 100 images.

bham wrote:

Anybody can take a picture, make a image that is timeless and extremely memorable requires a good bit of skill. Almost ever cell phone now sold is a camera.

I think a good analogy is in my signature.

There will always be some who believe that a camera makes them a photographer. Every so often I have people ask me what I think about them buying a good camera so that they can take good pictures.

My response to those who think the like this has always been "I can install a toilet, but that does not make me a plumber"