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photon · 12-16-2008, 06:46 PM

Whatever you do don't take one course and then start charging and acting like you're a bit shot photographer.

We just had a photographer come take some family photos, and while we knew she was pretty new to the industry, we didn't know she was a complete hack. She had a camera model one above mine, nothing special for lenses, and used the built in flash for all the photographs (hello razor sharp shadows behind everyone).

The pictures are harshly lit, off centre, and in some cases aren't even level!

Though I will say she had a good manner with the kids, and only one picture was with eyes closed; she had a good sense of timing.

But she charged a huge amount, and even though she said verbally she'd return our money if we weren't satisfied, she tried to keep most of it. When I asked her what for she started going on and on about how she had to educate the client about what the photographer does for their time, and said she'd spent 18 hours so far and $200 in materials... She has a digital camera!! What 18 hours, importing to a computer and resizing to give proofs should take 1/2 an hour tops, unless she's manually resizing each one in which case I'm not paying for her time because she can't use her tools properly. And what materials, they were DIGITAL!

Apparently she said she went out and bought frames, an album, and was talking about the time it takes to make prints.. we hadn't chosen any of that stuff, and hadn't chosen any proofs to make prints of.

I couldn't tell if she was outright lying, or just so inept and inexperienced she was over her head (the latter I think, or a combination maybe). She had no contract to sign, the only thing she had to sign was something that said she could use the photos for whatever she wanted to (promotion, resell, etc). When we all crossed out the appropriate paragraphs on that page and rewrote them saying we wanted the photos 100% private, she was at a total loss for words lol.

Anyway, sorry for the slightly OT rant, it was a terrible experience. Please if you take courses don't jump into business and be like this person.

12-16-2008, 06:46 PM	#8
photon The new goggles also do nothing. Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Calgary Exp:	Whatever you do don't take one course and then start charging and acting like you're a bit shot photographer. We just had a photographer come take some family photos, and while we knew she was pretty new to the industry, we didn't know she was a complete hack. She had a camera model one above mine, nothing special for lenses, and used the built in flash for all the photographs (hello razor sharp shadows behind everyone). The pictures are harshly lit, off centre, and in some cases aren't even level! Though I will say she had a good manner with the kids, and only one picture was with eyes closed; she had a good sense of timing. But she charged a huge amount, and even though she said verbally she'd return our money if we weren't satisfied, she tried to keep most of it. When I asked her what for she started going on and on about how she had to educate the client about what the photographer does for their time, and said she'd spent 18 hours so far and $200 in materials... She has a digital camera!! What 18 hours, importing to a computer and resizing to give proofs should take 1/2 an hour tops, unless she's manually resizing each one in which case I'm not paying for her time because she can't use her tools properly. And what materials, they were DIGITAL! Apparently she said she went out and bought frames, an album, and was talking about the time it takes to make prints.. we hadn't chosen any of that stuff, and hadn't chosen any proofs to make prints of. I couldn't tell if she was outright lying, or just so inept and inexperienced she was over her head (the latter I think, or a combination maybe). She had no contract to sign, the only thing she had to sign was something that said she could use the photos for whatever she wanted to (promotion, resell, etc). When we all crossed out the appropriate paragraphs on that page and rewrote them saying we wanted the photos 100% private, she was at a total loss for words lol. Anyway, sorry for the slightly OT rant, it was a terrible experience. Please if you take courses don't jump into business and be like this person. __________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.