Curly thought about photography and friendship

<p>Do you have friends? Do you have good friends? Have you ever been disappointed by them or felt used? If the answer is yes to all these questions then maybe you're a photographer.<br>

Photographers have more friends than any people in the world. Just friends, good friends, old friends and fans.<br>

I thought of writing this article a few years ago but then thought "all right let it go". Since then I've been asked by friends many times to shoot some event or photo session with a big discount and I am not happy when they do that. Now I don't have so many cases like that because I have doubled my prices - my average wedding photo collection is around £3,333 or $5,500, and I'm very busy with my dear clients. I meet colleagues who have the same complaint all the time. That's why I'm writing this now and I would like for as many people as possible to read it and think about what real friendship is. If you like my curly thoughts just tweet or Facebook like them.<br>

What is friendship? It is give and take based on mutual respect.<br>

We photographers are big givers,we give all our money, sometimes, God forgive us, even the family budget :) We're ready to sacrifice our free time, vacations, Friday pub nights with friends and colleagues, a new car, etc. in order to buy that new lens which will make you my friend look amazing. My father used to say "you have lots of wheels in your bag that can't give you a ride".<br>

My ex wife used to call them toys. It was very sad for me because I love what I do and I am very happy when my clients are so excited and want to hug me and kiss me after seeing their photos (I was working in Moscow that time shooting more than 2 000 glamour, fashion, boudoir and erotic photo sessions). If I didn't do that, the client's reaction would be hmmmmmm good, thanks … But NO I don't want their hmmmmm! I want their WOW. People don't have photo sessions every day or every year, most of the people I've shot is for first time in their life.<br>

Now I shoot with photo gear worth more than $20,000 (excluding studio equipment) and I plan in near future to double my investment. I've sacrificed a lot. I really mean it, In order to get respect and exposure through the tough competition in Moscow (and later on in London) I had to work hard and save hard. I was shooting every single day for months, I mean 3-7 photo sessions a day. I was going on overnight location shots at least 2-3 nights a week, sacrificing my weekends. When my wife left me she said, don't worry you're not alone, you have your love. I said what the hell are you talking about … I've never cheating on you … She said, your love - the photography. I was complaining to my friend and one of the best erotic photographers I've ever meat - Nacho Kamenov about everything. He told me about his difficulties and said "if you want some easy job, don't become a photographer. If you wanna be a professional photographer, be ready to make sacrifices."<br>

Why do I mention all this? Because this is about love and devotion, and all photographers will be very offended if people take advantage of them. I visited Nacho Kamenovs studio few years ago and a businessman came with bottles of wine. The order was very very good. He said "Nacho, click some shots of the products". Nacho made a finger click and said "I did it, now go away … I don't click here, I do photography". The man said "why do you insult me?" Nacho answered "you started first". Like the Jewish joke: 2 Jewish friends occasionally meet in front of a bank in NY. "Heeeeeey Moshe I haven't seen you from ages … how is the business?" good … "how's your wife?" good … "how're the kids?" good … "how are your parents?" good … "would you gimme some money in credit?" … Abraham, would you scratch my back first? "Why your back?" Cause you started first :) It's said when people and especially friends think of photographers as clickers or hobbyists.<br>

clicl <a href="http://www.peterlanephotography.com/blog/wedding-photography/photography-and-friendship/">here</a> to continue with the article.</p>

 

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<p>We're ready to sacrifice our free time, vacations, Friday pub nights with friends and colleagues, a new car, etc.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>A sacrifice is going hungry yourself for a couple of days so you can feed someone who's hungrier than you, not giving up a vacation so you can choose to buy expensive equipment.</p>

<p>Stop whining and get your priorities straight and you might keep some of those friends you don't seem to understand.</p>

<p>+1 to Fred.</p>

<p> Also, if you want "wows" rather than "hmmmmmm's" you need to create WOW images, not HMMMMM ones. And that is NOT a price tag issue as far as gear is concerned. But, you must know that. Robert</p>

<p>Photo.net is not for re-posting of blog articles. While this may drive traffic, it's not an allowed use of photo.net. Expect this to disappear, and you have a few minutes left to absorb what Fred and Robert have said.</p>