Exploitation of Photographers...

Because of our passion for photography, we are vulnerable to many scams and schemes that take advantage of our skills and our equipment. Many Marketing firms filled with "slick-willies", are out there promising to get you the experience you need to make it into this field. These marketing firms are there to do dirty work for you such as the paper-work, sales and editing, however they rarely contribute to the deterioration of your equipment. No matter how good it sounds, you are basically dependent on the assignments you get and/or the skills of the marketing team.

 

These marketing teams usually down-play your skills considering them minimal and highly replaceable, whereas their marketing skills is what seals the deal. This is highly arguable since you can market yourself just as well as they do, usually at a lower price because there is no over-head involved. Of course this is not so easy and is one of the most negative aspects of being on your own.

 

The same thing is going on in the IT industry, where many and I mean many Marketing companies have taken advantage of the large pool of Programmers, to start up businesses mainly consisting of contractors who are more like hired servants and a few recruiters, accountants and sales people who do the dirty work.

 

The good thing about this business model is they can get your foot in the door. The bad thing is that these people are making HUGE profits based on you efforts and only give a damn as long as you don't rock-the-boat, or upset the Client. You are basically a hired servant often without any legal rights, regardless of the rights that are in the book for regular employees.

What/who exactly are you talking about?

Because of our passion for photography, we are vulnerable to many scams and schemes that take advantage of our skills and our equipment. Many Marketing firms filled with "slick-willies", are out there promising to get you the experience you need to make it into this field. These marketing firms are there to do dirty work for you such as the paper-work, sales and editing, however they rarely contribute to the deterioration of your equipment. No matter how good it sounds, you are basically dependent on the assignments you get and/or the skills of the marketing team.

 

These marketing teams usually down-play your skills considering them minimal and highly replaceable, whereas their marketing skills is what seals the deal. This is highly arguable since you can market yourself just as well as they do, usually at a lower price because there is no over-head involved. Of course this is not so easy and is one of the most negative aspects of being on your own.

 

The same thing is going on in the IT industry, where many and I mean many Marketing companies have taken advantage of the large pool of Programmers, to start up businesses mainly consisting of contractors who are more like hired servants and a few recruiters, accountants and sales people who do the dirty work.

 

The good thing about this business model is they can get your foot in the door. The bad thing is that these people are making HUGE profits based on you efforts and only give a damn as long as you don't rock-the-boat, or upset the Client. You are basically a hired servant often without any legal rights, regardless of the rights that are in the book for regular employees.

Welcome to globalization and commoditization.

Because of our passion for photography, we are vulnerable to many scams and schemes

Because we are humans ...

 

Latin recognized human vulnerability centuries ago, with the phrase caveat emptor. Still applies.

Hmm... I give Vincent all

my photo copyrights, and

he gives me some bananas...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Take a deep breath. Watch a couple of Hallmark movies, and have a short nap. It's not as dire as it seems...

I get amazing offers daily, just last week I got instructions on how to get my share of £18.5 millions. No regrets on deleting!

Perhaps the most important tool in your bag is an effective bullshit detector?

The new way of doing business this is just the top tip of the ice burg in the IT industry:

 

 

 

 

First of all, it is easy to spot these scams and say no. Or quote your real price that a business has to charge to make a profit after covering expenses--that will get rid of almost all of these people. Second, the ease of entry into the photography business was vastly increased when digital imaging became cheap and ubiquitous, and that won't change. A lot of basic documentation that required skill and knowledge 30 years ago simply doesn't any more and that won't change either. What to do? Pick a specialized area of photography where you either invest in the equipment and the knowledge of how to do the work efficiently and well, or you can't compete. Then you can make a reasonable living. Anything that ordinary people can do reasonably well with their phones or a base level DSLR or mirrorless and kit lens isn't going to pay very well, and lamenting that fact won'r make it go away. The whole history of photography is one of increasing ease for photographers in making images, along with established photographers complaining about the young upstarts taking away their livelihood. I'm sorry to be harsh, but this is the society that we live in, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

First of all, it is easy to spot these scams and say no. Or quote your real price that a business has to charge to make a profit after covering expenses--that will get rid of almost all of these people. Second, the ease of entry into the photography business was vastly increased when digital imaging became cheap and ubiquitous, and that won't change. A lot of basic documentation that required skill and knowledge 30 years ago simply doesn't any more and that won't change either. What to do? Pick a specialized area of photography where you either invest in the equipment and the knowledge of how to do the work efficiently and well, or you can't compete. Then you can make a reasonable living. Anything that ordinary people can do reasonably well with their phones or a base level DSLR or mirrorless and kit lens isn't going to pay very well, and lamenting that fact won'r make it go away. The whole history of photography is one of increasing ease for photographers in making images, along with established photographers complaining about the young upstarts taking away their livelihood. I'm sorry to be harsh, but this is the society that we live in, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

 

Thanks AjG , the reason why I posted this is because I'm thinking about signing a contract with a wedding Photography agency that is requiring "exceptional" skills while they do the dirty work behind the scenes(sales, editing, paper-work), There are NO educational requirements involved . A GED, or HS diploma is all that is needed with proof of shooting 5+ weddings .

 

Now 10-15-20 years ago I would have jumped at the chance like "eager/beaver" , but now that I am semi-retired I'm very skeptical. Having worked for various of these agencies in the past, I got the impression that squeezing as much money as they could from your skills was their main objective. Not only that, your equipment or car took a hammering from the abuse. Not to mention your confidence and integrity.

 

The good thing is they allowed you to build your portfolio so that you could go on your own if you wished. I'm not even going to go into the "Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein" episodes but they do come to mind. IMHO maybe going at it on your own might be more beneficial tour psyche and mental well being ???

Ever hear of self-exploitation? This is an age-old grift, mostly pivoting on "flattery will get you anywhere." No one legit works this way, OK? Pour a drink and forget about it. Edited February 21, 2021 by c_watson|1

Ever hear of self-exploitation? This is an age-old grift, mostly pivoting on "flattery will get you anywhere." No one legit works this way, OK? Pour a drink and forget about it.

 

C-watson demons like you is why i'm glad i'm retired see you in hell my brother , although I might not be there, I will send you kisses...

Edited February 21, 2021 by hjoseph7

I fear you don't even need to wear a camera to make all the experiences you are describing in the field of temporary employment agencies. Working for somebody's subcontractor seems a secure way to avoid making fortunes.

C-watson demons like you is why i'm glad i'm retired see you in hell my brother , although I might not be there, I will send you kisses...

 

Jeesh! Better pour yourself a double, pal.

Maybe a triple, hee hee !

Then again there are other options:

 

U.S. Virgin Islands 2021: Best of U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism - Tripadvisor

 

Panama travel

 

Tanzania - Wikitravel

 

Abuja | Geography, Development, & Population

 

Martinique | France in the Caribbean | CARIBBEANTRAVEL.COM

 

Overview | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration

I am surprised that this turkey has lurched along as much as it has.

 

My suggestion is that the OP Google "Capitalism." The entire premise of capitalism is to exploit the labor of others to accrue wealth to the director of that labor and their collaborators. There's no surprise here, and whether one falls prey to the game has more to do with their own situation and critical thinking skills than whether something is legitimate or fraud.

Another name for it is alienation. Alas, not only is the surplus product of photographers appropriated, but photographers themselves often do it to their subjects.

I get amazing offers daily, just last week I got instructions on how to get my share of £18.5 millions. No regrets on deleting!

Too late. I already made a deal with them.

First of all, it is easy to spot these scams and say no. Or quote your real price that a business has to charge to make a profit after covering expenses--that will get rid of almost all of these people. Second, the ease of entry into the photography business was vastly increased when digital imaging became cheap and ubiquitous, and that won't change. A lot of basic documentation that required skill and knowledge 30 years ago simply doesn't any more and that won't change either. What to do? Pick a specialized area of photography where you either invest in the equipment and the knowledge of how to do the work efficiently and well, or you can't compete. Then you can make a reasonable living. Anything that ordinary people can do reasonably well with their phones or a base level DSLR or mirrorless and kit lens isn't going to pay very well, and lamenting that fact won'r make it go away. The whole history of photography is one of increasing ease for photographers in making images, along with established photographers complaining about the young upstarts taking away their livelihood. I'm sorry to be harsh, but this is the society that we live in, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

That's good advice even for industries with less competition. Finding a niche to separate yourself from everyone else, ups the money you can make and available customers who need your skill. Often the main skill isn't photography-related. It's business-related. Like knowing how to make contacts and socializing better than others to help find clients. Learning how to handle cash flow. Take business courses. Learn on-line social marketing. The pictures will take care of themselves. It's the other aspects of the business that will separate you from the pack.

Perhaps the most important tool in your bag is an effective bullshit detector?

I think the expression is, A fool and his money are soon parted.

Here is an example: A few years ago, well more than a few years ago I worked for a company that shot Marathon Races. The way the company worked is that it had a map of all the marathon races going on around the country then it would bid for a contract to shoot the race. Depending on the size of the race the company would then hire the closest photographers to that location to shoot the race. it could be 2 photographers or 10 even 20. The idea was to shoot portraits of the runners that could sell. Then depending on how many portraits the company sold you would get a cut. Unfortunately you didn't get a percentage of the sales for your hard work, there were only 2 payment options: stages #1 $150, or stage #2 $250. So if they did really well, you they would cut you a check for $250 otherwise $150 ! Fine and dandy.

 

The thing is, I was so desperate to get my foot into the photography field that I fell for this scam hook-line -and-sinker. I didn't think about gas expenses meaning getting to the race in the first place, which sometimes was more that 100 miles away. I also didn't think about wear and tear on my equipment. The job required that you have at least a 70-200 mm lens, preferably f2.8 and 'preferably' a full frame camera.

 

I had just barely removed the styrofoam from my precious Canon 5D and my Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS, that I had to put them to work shooting 2000+ images per race. Keep in mind that 10(races) X 2000(clicks) = 20,000(Shutter count) . Some might say the 5D has a 150,000 shutter count limit so what ! So what , is when when you need to upgrade and the shutter count is so high on your camera that you have to lower the price. Is that a way to make a living ?

 

A few years later I had to sell my Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS for only $800 because the folks at KEH found condensation inside the lens elements ! Condensation was the result of shooting Marathon races in the rain. The lens cost me $2200 back then and was mostly used to take marathon races up till then.

 

There are a lot of scams going on like this where so-called photography companies want you to use you most treasured equipment to make a buck. One such company wanted me to take head-shots of couples you met in the street, then give the couples a business card with a link to a website where they could purchase the images NO EXPERIENCE necessary just a camera. That one sounded too Paparazzi for me so I turned it down.

 

Another such gig that I stayed on for about 3 months, wanted me to take individual, or group portraits at the Base Ball Game(NO EXPERIENCE necessary). The good thing about this job is that you got to see FREE baseball games. The bad is that you had to make a complete nuisance out of yourself, begging people to have their pictures taken. Some who didn't want their pictures taken because they were supposed to be at their job, some because they were not supposed to be with such and such a person....

 

Then there is the real-estate photographer gig. I'm not even going to get into that one.

 

Now is this what I spent years in school studying ? Buying books and equipment until my bank account was glowing red ? I'm not saying that the photography industry is corrupt. There are a lot of ways of making good money if you are lucky or talented, but sometimes you got to think twice before you jump head first into

something that is not going to be beneficial to your career, or your photography skills in the long run...

Edited March 10, 2021 by hjoseph7

There are a lot of ways of making good money if you are lucky or talented

Luck and talent only get you so far, though they're a good start. I think you also need common sense, business savvy, the intelligence to avoid obvious scams, confidence, and honed skill. Also, probably easier to succeed in many businesses if one doesn't adopt a victim mentality.