Time to do some thinking...

Spare a little time for some thought...

With the new financial year looming, and Crooning Joe´s extreme austerity budget delivered, and its real terror beginning to become apparent, I have been reviewing my fees and prices structure for the next year or so.

It has also proven a great opportunity to check out the ¨opposition¨ as their websites, or more accurately their Facebook ¨Business¨ pages are totally unavoidable.

These newly set up FauxPro businesses all seem to have the same things in common, including almost identical photographs, mainly consisting of low/no budget weddings, pregnant bellies, babies, kids, and family goups; graceless girls awkwardly posed, while dreams of making it as a supermodel dance behind meaningless stares; miles of oversaturated landscapes and sunsets, and subjectless panographs ..

Apart from lowering the value of photography for everyone, and acclimatising the general public to the belief that ¨Professional¨ photography is nothing but artless snapshots, are these newcomers really ¨competition¨ in any way, shape or form?

Navigating Facebook pages are a challenge at the best of times, and It is quite a feat to first of all wade through the plethora of self designed ¨Discount Vouchers¨, but eventually you can find what they actually seem to charge.

Judging from these published rates and fees, viewed beside the photographic examples, the majority seem to be squarely targetting the lowest rung of the market, that is the people who do not own a smartphone and are therefore unable to better the efforts of these ¨professionals¨ by taking a selfie.

After due consideration and evaluation of their business practices I am sure, (???) the magic and mystical number they arrive at ...almost universally without exception...seems to be $50 for a three hour session.

Extrapolating from this figure, and assuming that:

• the long accepted professional practice that for each hour of shooting an equal time is spent on pre and postproduction work,

• and allowing for the maximum number of shoots that can be physically fitted within the limited time of one week;

it works out they they will be able to gross (Gross, without any of the overheads and maintainance of running a photography business)

LESS that the current Newstart Allowance or similar govt. provided dole options....(Current not future)

Well, the artist starving in their garrett is an important part of the mythology after all!

¨But I´ll easily make it up with print sales¨ ... Can´t you just hear all those sheep bleating.

• Given the ever declining lack of interest in prints since the digital era began,

• the infinitismal markup which can be added to even the lowest quality printing costs to maintain any sales at all,

• and the fact  that they give away any number between five and twenty full resolution digital files with every sales package they offer.

Yes I repeat Give away: so whether restricted by a usage license or not, customers are free to print off as many copies of each pic as they want. 

These free digital files in hand , a quick trip to the local variety store photo booth will get them 10 x 8´s at the phenomenal price of : ...wait for it....$2.50 each.

Doh!


So not only are these FauxPros devaluing the work of all photographers in general, they place absolutely no value whatsoever on their own work.

Which in many cases seems quite appropriate.

However amongst the mileu there is an occassional tyro and all too often misguided photographer who shows enough talent and determination to place them above all those others who think that calling themselves a ¨Professional Photographer ¨would be a lot more ¨fun¨ than getting themselves a ¨real job¨.

To those occassional few the best advice would be to forget photography for at least three months:
- do even the most basic of business courses,
- research, and evaluate your skills, interests and strengths
- learn how to market those attributes effectively to the right audience,
- actively pursue a photographic niche
- formulate a business plan which would ensure that your business was actually able to maintain itself (and you) as a business...
- make an actual effort at improving yourself and your photography,


and then instead of aspiring to the already bulging ranks of the FauxPro

... I am sure you would be welcomed into the fold of Professional Photographer



Remember, that all photographs accompanying this blog are Copyright (All Rights Reserved) and may not be used for any purpose whatsoever without written permission from the photographer.

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