Just Add “PHOTOGRAPHY”
The demise of a professional photographer…
The word is freely available in the English language, a term taken without consequence of meaning. It has a meaning obviously. But what is meaning without knowing by practice…
Here is the Story of Joe Soap
Joe Soap is a nice enough guy, he helps out in his community, works in IT or graphic design. He buys his milk from the farmer down the road and keeps it all local. He pays his taxes and gets taxed off his salary to provide cars and fancy parties for our president. Joe loves to take images, he has a passion for light. Joe has a computer at home with an internet connection and has the applied knowledge of how to process his images, add his name to them and upload them to social media for the world to see. Joe is a nice guy. Joe does what Joe needs to do to get by in life. Be like Joe.
But then Joe decides not to be like Joe and expand. Now this is good and bad for Joe, let’s see why:
Joe has a friend who is getting married, and knows about Joe’s love for the art of capturing light. With keen interest he decides he is going to do this! Sure his talents lie in the art of landscapes and perhaps wildlife, but he feels he can do this. And maybe he can.
So off Joe goes and photographs this wedding. As a novice he smacks out 2000 frames, hanging off curtain rails and jumping through fishponds to get the shots. Joe gave it his all. Joe spent 6 hours or more doing this. Then he went home, broken and tired and crashed for 12 straight hours. Over the course of the next 3-5 weeks Joe spent sleepless nights mastering his Lightroom and Photoshop skills and processed the crap out of his wedding images, handed over the final collection to his mate and got given his R1500.00. His reward for maybe 20-30 hours or more of his life.
Now Joe likes this. He realizes he has a talent that allows him to pick up a camera, aim it and fire it. And get some greenbacks. This is good for him, he has a few extra bucks in his pocket to go out and get that new filter or memory card or whatever pleases him.
Joe decides this is awesome and starts advertising to do more weddings, couple shoots or even a screaming few shots of a new born baby of his second cousin twice removed. Joe gets the work. Joe is cheap. Joe charges next to nothing, because Joe has his daytime job to pay the bills. Joe is one happy fellow.
Joe is wrong. Don’t be like Joe. Just don’t.
So what Joe does is first he makes a Facebook page, and perhaps even a free do-it-yourself website. Joe makes a fancy template name with his mad Photoshop and graphic design skills and slaps it on every image he posts on the internet, well because that is what people do right? JOE SOAP PHOTOGRAPHY is all his friends see when they browse the timeline of the inevitable Facebook.
Joe is wrong. Don’t be like Joe. Just don’t.
I see a page, or branding on an image that says the word “PHOTOGRAPHY”, I expect this to be a company. One where the person has the skills, knowledge and know how to run it as a company and not some sad excuse for marketing. PHOTOGRAPHY at the end of your name does not make you a professional photographer in any way. The word professional is one that is earned and also basically describes that you are a working class hero that makes his bread and butter from the words that follow it as a title.
This is also the dictionary definition just out of interest.
Now sure Joe has the mad skills to shoot an awesome wedding, perhaps better than some working class shooters. But does Joe have what it takes. Firstly equipment, I am never one to go and say the best gear will make your images better, however having the right gear does. Joe has the latest NONAMEBRAND DSLR camera and 2-3 lenses, a flash and maybe a spare battery. Joe has spent around 20 grand on his gear, as have most.
Just don’t be like Joe please.
I can rock up to a wedding with maybe 130k of gear and not even take half of it out my bag ever. Sounds like a pretty big waste of time hey? But, it will happen to Joe at one point or another, he is focused in on the exchange of vows, that moment before the magic. Joe’s heart is pounding and the sweat on his brow shows his concentration. And then nothing. Joes NONAMEBRAND DSLR says cheers. Goodbye. OVER. For whatever reason, or maybe the lens decides it has had enough and is due retirement. Joe is stuffed. Joe takes out his fancy iPhone and finishes the job.
Joe gets fired, sued and disgraced.
Joe is an unhappy person and a failure and he knows it. Having backup gear is so essential for this type of photography. I travel with normally about 8k worth of batteries alone to a wedding, a bag full of extra lenses and a spare body. Memory cards galore and every trick up my sleeve to make sure I can use this word effectively when I market myself. GUARANTEE. A strong and powerful word.
Joe is taking chances.
Joe decides to charge a client R650 for an hour shooting, and a couple dozen prints, maybe more. He needs to get his name back out there. Joe takes market value of what he does and cuts it down massively. Joe thinks he is going to coin the market. Don’t be like Joe.
Just Don’t.
Undercharging is a serious offense. Sure, make a deal here and there, barter and give the friends and family a nice rate. SURE.
What has Joe actually done? Joe has become one of the sheep that take the market value of what professionals do, drop it down to silly low prices and become part of a group of many many many wool bearers that sell their coat with their soul. Joe just added to the death of a profession. Joe is bad.
Don’t be like Joe.
Joe and his friends in the “weekend warrior” industry and charging peanuts, and giving the full package. Well mostly they are. Joe does not know the rules. Joe does not know about copyright and legal image legislation. Joe is at risk, but, does not even know. Joe takes his second cousin once removed out for another shoot. A pregnancy shoot with artistic proportions. Joe makes magic with his camera. Joe is a legend. He does some implied nude work and makes this pregnant momma look like the gift of creation. Joe is a happy man. So is the client. Joe slaps his “JOE SOAP PHOTOGRAPHY” logo on a bunch of the images and hits the upload to social media button and smiles, puts his legs up and has a glass of celebratory pineapple juice and his mom’s homemade cookies.
Be like Joe, he is a hero.
Please don’t. Just don’t…
Joe’s second cousin twice removed has a husband who works in the law department of some fancy pansy firm in Sandton or wherever and notices there is a bit of nipple in one of the images and gets his Angry Bird anger on. And he knows the law, there was never a contract that says hey, Joe soap can use these images he ultimately paid for, as his own marketing and personal gain. Joe does need second cousin twice removed husbands permission to even use these images to market with. This is a fact. Joe made a mistake and will now be made accountable.
This goes for all sorts of various types of photography you provide to a client. It is a necessity in a lot of areas to protect yourself as a person or a business.
But wait, we added the word “PHOTOGRAPHY” to our name so we should be ok right? WRONG!!!!
So here we are, looking at this wonderful word we can add next our name, and what does it mean? Adding that word does not make you a photographer. It makes you a marketer of false pretense. You want to be honest??? Change the name to “The Photography of Joe Soap” so people don’t confuse you as being a professional. Want to act like a professional, charge the price that is worth. Don’t kill an industry that is older than your grandmother and her cookie recipes. Do the right thing.
Don’t be like Joe. And if you do, well I hope you read this. I would hate to have been the guy that designed the braking system on your car because of my love for vehicles and the hopeful fact that my opinion on the design got taken seriously because of my charm. But seriously, I can design braking systems, I have seen one or two, how hard can it be right?
Safe Travels and brake safely
Warren Fleming
Photographer at Large
(yes, a working professional)