Business hurting due to non-professionals.

[jkderby]

This is a topic that I am sure that has been discussed on and off this forum. Do you think that the photography industry is being hurt by all the amateur photographers that go out and buy a digital camera and turn around and call themselves professional photographers? Granted, there are those that are good and this is the way some have started in the business. It seems the general population is accepting this in the photography industry and are willing to pay for "snapshot" results. Your thoughts.

[dryicerx]

Indeed it is.

But... it's not because people are simply calling themselves professional photographers out of the blue. It's because the gap of technology accessibly by everyday joe and ability-required between a professional and a non-professional is getting smaller and smaller. What I mean by that is, most non-photography people care only about their photos is well exposed, sharp, and not expensive... and a lot of times, they don't really care about the expensive lighting setups, composition, backdrops, perfect while balancing, etc.

Camera technology is advancing rapidly as well as their prices are falling like crazy. Entry level DSLRs are very affordable now, and even the most basic P&S's in full auto can take well exposed, focused and sharp photos... and for majority of the people, that's all they care about. Given that situation, why should a normal person spend a huge amount more to get a so called 'true professional', when someone with a simple dslr can get the same job done for fraction of the price (obviously their composition, lighting, quality of service, etc would all be in the gutter... but at the end of the day, all that matters to the customer is if their satisfied with their results).

If the "true professional" crowd don't want to get screwed by this trend, then they really have to set them selves apart somehow (and right now, a lot of them aren't, except for wedding/sports/etc photographers). It used to be professional photographers thrived because they had labs to develop film and people had no choice. Then when DSLRs came out, P&S massively sucked... so regular folks still had no choice but to go to professional photographers to get good photos taken. But now, that's not the case.

Just my 2 cents.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Of course Jim this is hurting the industry nation wide and here's a crappy CD, please take it to WalMart for your prints and don't bother me anymore because I have to move on to my next $50 Bucks.

[dmarty78]

Originally Posted by dryicerx

If the "true professional" crowd don't want to get screwed by this trend, then they really have to set them selves apart somehow (and right now, a lot of them aren't, except for wedding/sports/etc photographers).

J summed it up with this statement.

[spluloacle]

I tend to think it probably is sort of. I think the industry is mainly just changing. I do however disagree with the attitude of a CD being crappy. I also don't get pro pics printed at walmart. I use Mpix. I know it is NOT the BEST of the BEST but it is better then snapshots. So like ALL things I think there is a place for true pros like a lot of people on here and there is a place for the CD pros too. I know several that REALLY do know what they are doing and some I think that don't.

I also think that the negative attitude towards the CD photogs that some people express can totally put potential customers completely off. As a person who has had pictures taken professionally and hopes I never do it for a living...I would hate to hearthat type of attitude towards someone when POTENTIALLY there could be a cooperative effort to work together some how.

Just my thoughts.

[brad]

I think its hurting the industry.

And not because there are a bunch of people offering their services at unsustainably low prices.

I think its hurting the industry because so many of those people are calling themselves Professional Photographers and delivering a crappy product. Poor image quality, poor customer service, poor deliverable, and poor follow through.

In other words, those people are giving us all a bad name... and making people who might be willing to pay extra for quality wary of all photographers. They don't want to hire the next photographer who's going to appear on the evening news because they still haven't gotten their wedding pictures a year after the wedding.

[texpic]

Photography isn't the only industry where non-professionals are taking business away from professional by undercutting price and delivering less than professional quality ... and of course, folks love those iPhone pics.

[texpic]

Here is an analogy. My wife wants to remove the wallpaper in the guest bath and have it textured and painted. We got a quote and it was $600. This is a small bathroom.

I understand why it is $600 ... and was not surprised. Explained to my wife, so it is near $1000 of earnings to pay for this (after taxes). My wife said, "that is why so many people do it themselves."

Exactly ... and it is a heck of a lot easier to take a picture than remodel a bathroom.

I have no intention of doing this myself, just making a point.

[JohnT]

Yes, it is easy to take a picture—a monkey can do it. However, it is painstakingly difficult to make a photograph that exceeds, in all aspects, the average snapshot of the weekend novice.

+1 what Brad said.

[KdLaneJr]

Business hurting due to non-professionals..?

To answer your question; No. I don't believe the professional photography business is being hurt by "non-professionals" taking business away from professionals. The clients that are going to use these "non-professionals" would never have committed to use the services of a professional in the first place. There has always been and will always be a way to not utilize the services of a professional photographer.

To go beyond that would be to engage in a discussion of why there are so many "non-professionals" that believe they can buy a digital camera and instantly be a professional.

Both Nikon and Canon have entered into advertising campaigns that conveys the concept of "the camera takes the picture" instead of "the photographer maximizes the use of his/her tools to take the picture". It's simply not profitable to a camera company to tell its potential customers that quality photography requires education, practice, experience and dedication, not to mention a memory. There is, after all, a tremendous amount of information to learn, process, practice and remember instantly when needed.

We also have a cottage industry that is preying on photographers.

You call them training seminars, webinars, photography workshops, etc. Many of the educators in these programs don't have a background as a instructor, educator or even as a mentor, yet they want you to attend their program so you can go forth and conquer the business of photography. In some cases, the personal success of these "educators" is why they are able to prey on aspiring photographers (that would be photographers with aspirations, both amatuer and professional)

But in order to maximize the money they make and the numbers of people they can reach, they have to convince you, the person they hope has disposable cash on hand, to spend your resources on them in the hopes of instantly finding the answer to getting perspective clients to suddenly want to spend their discretionary/disposable cash on your photographic services.

A lot more can be said on this, but I'll leave it to the rest of you to contemplate and discuss.

[SCone]

"Fast Track Photographer" by Dane Sanders... it will change the way you see your photography

[texpic]

Took some sports pics and the mother said, have to get the camera you shot that with (she didnt see me shooting). Shot with, Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 400mm f/2.8 IS. Told her I used an iPhone, LOL.

[Colyn]

No doubt...

We see it where I work. People are always asking why we charge more than Joe's budget cut-rate we do all sorts of photography services...they don't understand that we are a professional lab service company that provides services to photographers around the country. We also provide true professional photography service. We don't sell you a "crappy" CD so you can take it to some low rate photo printer that will probably print it on ink-jet printers..

[ChrisTX]

I can call myself a professional piano player if I want. I don't know how to play one, but if there are people out there that would pay me $50 to play 'Mary had a little lamb' to the preset jazz beats for their event, then why not? You get what you pay for.

[andyz]

It is true. Now deal with it, or perish.

Some photographers may say digital made it to easy, and then digital photographers say entry-level cameras spoil the environment. But quality, as noted above, is what will make you a good professional photographer. I look at some images folks here took and the images are amazing. Sure, I could do that. All I need is the same equipment, and to be in the same place, but the good pro realizes that an eye and talent is what makes that image so different. JeffKohn and Leslie (lscottpht) are two prominent examples of quality images.

Small retailers have to deal with mega retailers cutting prices, big box stores have to contend with internet retailers offering discounts and no sales tax. Everyone has a problem. Some people call it "progress."

Personally I recently sought out a local sports photographer who had taken shots of my son and his football team. I spent a few bucks with him to support his business and gave many of the photos as Christmas gifts. Recognizing quality is a good thing consumers need to see. Perhaps a PPA type organization should be doing more to promote this.