Equipment Supplier

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When marketing their business, many photographers will talk about their camera equipment. On their web site, some photographers list the makes and models of all their gear. Some even display pictures of their camera equipment. Why?

When shopping for a contractor to renovate your kitchen, do you care what brand of tools they own? When your car needs servicing, do you ask the mechanic what brand of tools they use? At a restaurant, do you check what brand of kitchen appliances they have?

Customers don’t care about the brand of camera equipment that a photographer uses. They do not care nor should they.
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Choosing a professional photographer

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Best reasons for choosing an experienced photographer:

1. Has both creative and technical skills.
2. Has professional editing skills.
3. Reliable, consistent and efficient.
4. Insured.
5. Grace under pressure.
6. Always has backup equipment just in case.
7. Can offer advice to help make pictures more successful.
8. Knows photo reproduction requirements and how editors select photos.
9. Understands copyright law and knows that proper licensing is always required.
10. Knows when releases and permits may be needed.

Best reasons for choosing a cheap photographer:

1. Low price.
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The Cheap Risk

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When you get a haircut, do you choose the cheapest hairstylist? Probably not. Why? The risk that the lowest priced haircut might make you look bad.

When you shop for clothes, do you buy the cheapest? Probably not. Why? The risk that the lowest priced clothes might not be as well made or they might make you look bad.

When deciding on a restaurant, do you choose the cheapest? Probably not. Why? The risk that the lowest priced food might make you feel bad.

So why do some customers choose the cheapest photographer when similar risks apply? Cheap pictures might not be as well made and they might make you look bad.
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$900 Headshot

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Many professional photographers do business headshots. A quick web search shows:

• One Toronto photographer charges $29 for business headshots. One wonders why he even bothers to charge anything at all. In the end, $29 is the same as $0 to his business.

 

• Another Toronto photographer, who claims 18 years in the business, charges $60 for headshots – cash only, please. Many of the sample photos on his site were stolen from other photographers. Using Google, it’s easy to trace the pictures back to the original sites. In this case, buyer beware.

 

• A Toronto-area photographer, charges $1,000 for “unlimited” business headshots. The fine print says that, for $1,000, he will come to your office and shoot as many portraits as you want in three hours.

This guy states that he once did 84 headshots in three hours. He even brags on his web site: “that’s one headshot every two minutes!” If you do the math, that’s about $12 per portrait.

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Make me an offer I can refuse

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Earlier today, I received an offer to photograph a sports event next month. A US photography company is seeking a few photographers to cover an all-day athletic event. The photographers just take pictures and no editing is required. Does this sound like a good assignment?

The job pays $225.

Does this still sound like a good assignment?
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Take the long way

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About two years ago, a US survey asked kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. One of the most common answers was “a celebrity”. When asked what they wanted to be famous for, the kids said they did’t know or it didn’t matter – they just wanted to be famous. (Here’s a British news article about a similar but unrelated UK study.)

In the old days, someone had to work to accomplish something and then, maybe, they might earn a degree of fame for their achievements.

Today, it seems many people want to take a shortcut. They want the fame but without achieving anything first. Popular shortcut attempts are: appearing on a reality TV show, releasing a scandalous video or tweeting provocative pictures of themselves.

Photographers are not exempt from taking shortcuts.
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Pots, pans and pictures

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Everyone owns some pots and pans yet restaurants don’t view this as competition. Restaurants know that people will still dine out. Eating at a restaurant is about more than just the food.

Everyone owns a camera and some professional photographers view this as competition. Why? Hiring a professional photographer should be about more than just the pictures.

A commercial photographer has to offer something more than what a camera’s “Auto” setting can do. Otherwise, they will have no choice but to compete on price, (always a losing situation), and their photo career may be nothing more than a flash in the pan.

 

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