[PNF]

I feel like many good photographers gets unappreciated and only the top-top photographers gets recognized, especially among friends/families.


I feel this is more common among serious, real good, amateur photographers.


If you eat dinner at your friend's restaurants, it is natural that you pay for your meal.

If you buy groceries at your friend's supermarket, it is natural that you pay for your groceries.

If you buy clothes from your friend's store, it is natural that you pay for your clothes.

If you ask your friend to photograph a few shots for you and he charges you, people would think "what a cheap bastard".

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If you eat dinner at your friend's restaurants and if he gives you a discount, you would go, wow, what a nice friend.

If you buy groceries at your friend's supermarket and if he gives you a discount, you would go, wow, what a nice friend.

If you buy clothes from your friend's store and if he gives you a discount, you would go, wow, what a nice friend.

If you ask your friend to photograph a few shots for you and he gives you a discount, you would go, "what kind of a friend is this".

Restauranteur's sells food to get paid.

Grocers sell groceries to get paid.

Clothing store owners sell clothes to get paid.

Photographers sell photos to get paid. People often think, hey, its just photos, use your nice camera and click.

But people should know that the hours, the effort, the talent it needs to shoot real good photographs.


Have you guys ever encountered this?

Sure, a lot of people shoot for fun, for hobby and would love to just shoot for people. However, i think they should get appreciated as well, for what they do.

Before I started taking photography more serious, i know i used to think, just some photos and as long as you have a nice camera, you can do it.. but thats not true....

Anyway, just a topic for discussion.

[radiantm3]

You can keep it simple. If a friend wants you to take photos of him/her for free, use your phone camera and email him/her the photos after shooting. Using the DSLR = cleaning/prepping gear, carrying gear around, and then there's hours of post processing. Time = Money.

[M_Six]

You think it's bad as a photographer, try being the local/family IT guy.

[PNF]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Depends if the guy was a pro or not. If my friend was a hobbyist I wouldnt except to pay any more then I would expect to get paid if I helped him out. But if he makes his living off photography like the restaurant or grocery store owners do, then it would make sense to pay.

What I am getting at is that,

if the photography has a day job (whatever it is), and he's also a serious moonlighting or produce professional images, should you pay this friend?

I guess we all have different definition of "professional" photographer.


How do you tell your friends that you need to charge due to the time/effort?

If using a camera phone, i'd think, man, i asked you to help us taking photos of this graduation event and you bring your iPhone?

Originally Posted by M_Six

You think it's bad as a photographer, try being the local/family IT guy.

ha, I havent thought about that. True to IT guys too, or even worse, maybe?

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by M_Six

You think it's bad as a photographer, try being the local/family IT guy.

Fckin A right on on that! I'm not even one, but I totally see that happening. I am a burgeoning photographer and I would ultimately like to be paid for it, and I constantly have people asking me to shoot stuff. I've been doing it for the experience and practice, but how do you draw the line?

[oneintheory]

if it's a good friend, i'll usually do it for the experience/practice/portfolio expansion, whatever. only if it's something relatively small though.
i'll do anything for family.

but everyone else pays.