Finding the Right Indie Photographer and Other Tips for Consumers

...... finding the right PHOTOGRAPHER ...... •... ...... & ΟΠ HER ΤΙPS FOR0 NS UMERS Why Buy Indie? CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMIC BASE OF THE COMMUNITY Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned chain businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Yypes of photographers thatshould have you alhning the othen wat! THE FAUXTOGRAPHER "I JUST GOT A CAMERA. YAYI THIS MAKES ME A PROFESSIONAL." May have the Best Intentions But . .. • Unintentionally breaks of promises due to inexperience. • Premium editing and retouching are not available. • No liability insurance if they pose you right into a cast. • Minimal/subpar equipment means lower quality images. • Worst case is blurry pictures, unflattering poses, awkward expressions, gray/green skin tones and lots of bright flashes. •Expect a longer than normal processing time while they figure the whole photography thing out. WARNING SIGNS: USES A SITE LIKE BLOGGER FOR A WEBSITE & GMAIL INSTEAD OF USING A DOT COM. SAMPLE WORK SHOWS STRANGE SKIN COLORS. AGENTOGRAPHER "IM LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES 3OU NEVER KNOV VHAT YOURE GONNA GET.") %3D Has A Great Portfolio But . .. • You are fooled into thinking you hired a good photographer, only to have a less experienced photography do your event. • When calling to complain you learn the photographer yoU hired isn't actually a photographer but a booking agent that outsources events to lots of photographers for a commission. • Your contract confirms you agreed to an alternate to the bait and switch in writing are not eligible for a possible refund or any legal remedies. WARNING SIGNS: THE WEBSITE MAY HAVE A LARGE RANGE OF INCONSISTENT PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE. CHECK THE LANGUAGE OF THE CONTRACT. THE FRAUDTOGRAPHER "NY VORK ISNT REALY MINE. I STOLE IT." Appears to Be an Camera Expert But... • Uses other photographer's online portfolio images as previous work examples to lure in new unsuspecting clients in. • This person is a criminal and is very likely to schedule an appointment, keep your money and never deliver or some . • You will not receive what you paid for, because they lack the equipment or the "know how" to recreate the style of photographs they have stolen from other photographers. • Is without references you can speak to via telephone to verify a positive experience with him or her from real life clients. WARNING SIGNS: PORTFOLIO HAS NO SIMILARITIES IN POSING, LIGHTING OR STYLE. THE REFUSE TO GIVE YOU PHONE NUMBERS FOR PREVIOUS CLIENTS. THE FANTOGRAPHER "M THE PERIECT EXAMPLE OF THOSE THAT CANT DO..TEACH" Is a Fantastic Teacherpenuer But . . . • Main source of income comes from offering less experienced photographers overpriced workshops, goods and services. • You're treated like they are doing you a favor. Your shoot is not important because it's not as profitable as a workshop. • Teaching is often an excuse for flimsy work or shady business practices. You may be only needed for students to practice. • Just because they are super awesome on the internet and have a ton of photographer twitter followers doesn't mean they have good business practices and customer service. WARNING SIGNS: HAS A LINK ON THEIR SITE TITLED 'PHOTOGRAPHERS’ OR “WORKSHOPS". CUSHIONS FACEBOOK PAGE WITH FAUXTOGRAPHER FANS. POP-UP-TOGRAPHER "HAT FEE, A FREE HEADACHE 4LL BLAME YOUR LAB VHEN IT PRINTS BADLYI" May Seem Like You're Getting a Deal But . .. • This photographer has no experience with lab printing. You're forced to buy digital files that print poorly. •No value, sells cheap plastic discs, USB drives & downloads. •Costs you additional time & money to get help with resizing, color correction and resolution for acceptable prints. •Don't over estimate the service quality of a pop-up business, with little knowledge, you will pay someone else for the stuff not provided. Would you go to a food truck for a five star meal? WARNING SIGNS: CHARGES A FLAT FEE FOR TIME. DOESN’T HAVE PROPER PERMITS AND LỊCENSES. still YOU'MAY BE IN DANGER "WE ARE IN DANGER OF HAVING A WHOLE GENERATION THAT HAS NO FAMILY ALBUMS, BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST LEAVE THEM ON THEIR COMPUTER 4 THEY WILL BE D ELET ED. MARTIN PARR QUESTIONS 4 ANSWERS HOV MUCH SHOUD I PLAN TO SPEND ON A PHOTOGRAPHERO IT DEPENDS ON SKILL LEVEL, WHAT KEEPSAKES YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER WILL SPEND ON YOUR PORTRAITS. THE AVERAGE C OST FOR A WED DING PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE uS IS TWENTY-FOUR HUNDRED USD. THE AVERAGE COST FOR A PORTRAIT SESSION IS AROUND TW0 HUNDRED-FIFTY USD WITH ARCHIVAL ALBUMS COSTING AROUND A THOUSAND USD. VHAT IS THE ONE THING I SHOUD BUY IROM NY PHOTOGRAPHER? IF YOU COULD PURCHASE ONLY ONE THING FROM YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER, EX- PERTS AGREE, INVESTING IN A COLLECTION OF IMAGES ENCLOSED IN AN IMAGE BOX, A HANDERAFTED ALBUM ENSURES YOU HAVE A KEEPSAKE THAT CAN BE SHARED FOR GENERATIONS OR A LARGE WALL PORTRAIT KEEPSAKE. HOV LONG SHOUD I EXPECT TO WAIT FOR MU PORTRATS. | D EPENDS WHAT YOU GET AND HOW MUCH TIME THEY DEDICATE TO YOU. WAIT TIME VARIES DEP ENDING ON THE SERVICE LEVEL THE PHOTOGRAPHER PROVIDES. A PREMIUM LEV EL SERVICE PHOTOGRAPHER CAN TAKE UP TO FOUR HOURS TO EDIT A SINGLE PORTRAIT. WHILE SOME PHOTOGRA PHERS WON'T O FFER EDITING. ACCEP TA BLE WAIT TIMES ARE NO LONGER THEN THREE WEEKS FOR FULL EDITS AND NO LONGER THEN A COUPLE DAYS FOR N0 EDITS. PRINTS CAN TAKE A COUPLE WEEKS FOR DELIVERY WHILE CUSTOM ITEMS, LIKE EMBOSS ED ALBUMS, AND LARGE WALL PORTRAITS CAN TAKE UPWARDS OF SIX WEEKS. Whatis Copyright COPYRIGHT IS A PROPERTY RIGHT. ACCORDING TO THE m FEDERAL COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 A PHOTOGRAPHS ARE A PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT FROM THE MOMENT OF CAPTURE. PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO MØREPRODUCE THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS. JUST BECAUSE YOU BUY A PRINT DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE O PURCHASED THE COPYRIGHT. YOU CAN ONLY DISPLAY, SHARE, COPY,OSCAN, EDIT OR/CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS IF YOU HAVE THE PHOTOGRAPHERS PERMISSION. REPRODUCING PHOTOS CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES. WITHOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS PERMISSION CAN RESULT IN VS PHOTOGRAPHERS YOUR RIGHI OF COPYRIG HT PUBLICITY CAN A PHOTOGRAPHER USE PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOU TO PROMOTE THEIR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS WITHOUT A RELEASE SIGNED BY YOU? yes In the US, through federal copyright laws, a photogra- pher is entitled distribution of media for the purpose of selling it. The photographer's website, portfolio, and any media used to see art or photography services is considered "Vehicle of Information" and is not a form of publication that requires any consent from you. Although copyright allows the photographer use of your images and 1st and 14th ammendment prevents any claim you have based on your right of publicity. If the photos were taken inside of your private residence, there are privacy laws that would require your permission to be shared. no ANYONE OTHER THEN THE PHOTOGRAPHER WOULD BE LIABLE WITHOUT A RELEASE FROM BOTH YOU AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER. What about this logo? PPA DO: KNOW IT MEANS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS OF AMERICA DON’T; HIRE A PHOTOGRAPHER WITH OUT A CURRENT MEMBERSHIP DO: TRUST THE PPA IS A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION DON'T: BE FOOLED BY OTHER TRIVIAL ORGANIZATION LOGOS DO: RELAX, PPA MEMBERS AGREE TO A CODE OF ETHICS UPON JOINING DON’T: ACCEPΤΑPHΟΤO GRAPHER WITH ΝΟ ΟΝE ΤΟ ΑSWER ΤΟ DO: LOOK FOR THIS LOGO TO HELP NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICES DON’T: LET THIS LOGO MAKE YOUR CHOICE FOR YOU THERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPHERS OUT THERE WITHOUT IT. sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal/why I/www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/38280 nttp://www.phaidon.com/edit/photography/articles/2010/september/04/martin-pars-photography-tips/ http://www.ppa.com/about/content.cfm?ltemNumber=1720&navltemNumber=2997 http://www.ppa.com/about/content.cfm?ltemNumber=1574&navitemNumber=2297 http://www.ppa.com/findaphotographer/ http://www.danheller.com/model-release-copyrights.html http://danheller.blogspot.com/2011/09/busting-myths-about-model-releases.html http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2007/1stDistrict/August/1060870.pdf http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/images/searchbyimage.html http://tifinbox.org/gary-fong-wonders-lf-photo-workshop-instructors-can-handle-the-truth/ http://www.the-studio-j.com/2012/12/20/dear-scarlett-lilian-and-stephen-knuth/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yomUCBQa80k (four hour edit) http://www.xogroupinc.com/press-releases-home/2014-press-re- leases/2014-03-27-real-weddings-study-average-cost-of-wedding.aspx http://petapixel.com/2013/05/05/survey-reveals-the-average-day-rates-o https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=1218609089048story_fbid=10152543940613905 http://www.danoksnevadphotography.com/notes/truth-disclosure-professional-photographers-questionnaire/ f-us-and-uk-photographers/ SOURCES 津