Photography somewhat Thankless?

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Gordon

.... Change your friends ;)

Hehehe...I know, Right?
Actually, I did get a nice $100 gift card for the last free shoot, but nothing for the 2 before that.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by thejakestir

What I've found is, PAYING customers thank me. When I do freebies for friends, I get nothing.

Yeah, my friends suck.

I have this one really good friend for whom I've done three family sessions with prints at cost. He's in bad financial straits so I do it as a favor, plus it's good practice for me and I get to add more to my portfolio. Works well for us both.

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by thejakestir

What I've found is, PAYING customers thank me. When I do freebies for friends, I get nothing.

Yeah, my friends suck.

Jake

I find this remark totally and utterly astounding.

I didn't know you had any friends !!! ???

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Originally Posted by grammiejo

Would you say Photography is a somewhat "thankless" career. I'm only part-time but find that people just don't take time to say thank you or even acknowledge receipt of prints. Like you send them a complimentary print and you never hear thanks. You might hear that they told their friends how great the pictures are but they don't tell you. Is this just a society thing? I haven't been doing this long and am getting where I am starting to just expect this.

This actually sounds like a basic courtesy issue.

And as far as it being nice to hear how good your pictures are, unless it's from a photographer better than you are (or anyone whos opinion you respect), don't you find it to be a little mute in point?

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by Joe_Lorenzini

don't you find it to be a little mute in point?

that'll be why nobody is saying anything... :)

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Originally Posted by Gordon

that'll be why nobody is saying anything... :)

Ah heck. How do you spell that?

I gotta stop using big words (grin).

[CaptainTom]

It's spelt moot.. like " if you dont moot yur fat butt, i'll axe your momma to slap ya side yer head "

[brad]

My sister had me do pictures of my niece the last time she was here... she asked me while we were working how much I usually got paid for a session like this... didn't think anything of the question really... later that night, she handed me an envelope with cash in it equal to what I had told her.

[adirty1]

Thankless
I used to do old style neg and print retouching and would even do heavy oils. I was doing this for people that paid a good price for the images and never question it. Then when you dropped the image off at their house and waited to get your final check you would sometimes see them just open a draw or cabinet and put the image inside. OH that just killed me. I was given faded, torn, and just ugly images to restore and they where then placed in a draw.

From then on I started only doing heavy oils for older people 60-80's range. I would give them a great discount because most of them where on fixed incomes. The best joy was when those clients would ask me to hang that image on the wall for them. That was so much better then watching some one stuff it in a drawer or cabinet.

[bondarnes]

My clients almost always thank me in two ways. First they give me a nice order then they tell their friends about me. That's all the thanks I could ever want.

If you would like to receive thank you notes start a "Brag Book". Order a blank album and put one of the clients images on one page and their thank you note on the facing page. If you show this to other clients they may get the idea and send you a thank you note. That reminds me that I have not updated my brag book in over a year.

[NathanJK]

If you think photography is thankless, clearly you've NEVER waited tables! You'll never meet more thankless people than restaurant customers. If you are lucky MAYBE 1 in 30 tables will compliment you on a job well done. On the flip side...I just got a 20 dollar tip on a PORTRAIT SESSION. Maybe its just me, but I'd never considered the possibility of being tipped for portraits, so I was ecstatic! My photography customers have been a joy to work with compared to customers in other jobs I've done!

[J Eddington]

Warning this is a rant! I have thought on this since the day it was posted. Thought I could keep my mouth shut. But I guess not! ANY job can be a thankless job, but if it is, it may be your own fault, maybe not. I CHOOSE to be a photographer. I do not believe that my clients should thank me for doing the job that I am hired to do. Hello, that is why they hired me! But if my clients aren’t excited, then maybe the question may be, “Did I do a good job”? Did I give them what they wanted? When you take the photos are you giving comments to them? Oh, I love that look. You look so____. At the end of the shoot, do you indicate that YOU are excited to “develop” their photos? When you deliver them, or maybe in an email a few days before you deliver them “I am so excited for you to see your photos. I think you are really going to like them.” Do you tell them what a great time you had working with them? If you are excited about their photos it is easier for them to be excited. Tell them. Then they tell the neighbor, because they can’t wait to see the photos. And the greatest thank-you is when they come back for more or send their friends. Do you give them any incentive for sending their friends to you? I know that when I receive extraordinary service, I am excited to tell others...

AND THEN, remember that some of your clients wouldn’t know a great photo if it hit them in the head! They may have done it only because Grandma won’t leave them alone!

I know that as I watch some of our more successful photographers on this board this is what I am seeing that they are doing. AND THEY are the ones who are getting the Thank-you’s. OK Rant over.

[carrbowl]

Janice...good reminder that we should love what we do...and if we dont'...find something else...that's why I don't rely on this as income. I don't want a studio and sit there looking at the same thing all day...doing the same thing,. I want something diferent and a challenge. And trust me, everytime I shoot, I have it!!!!!

[iCe]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

LOL - Work in most other industries and it's WORSE.

I find my photo biz is my creative outlet, social outlet and warm-fuzzy creator. My IT biz is just the opposite. Talk about thankless.. Do a great job, you keep your job...do a bad job, they fire you... Do a great job, and they outsource you to India... For me, I have been lucky...but I can't say that for many I know in the industry.

As far as receiving a thank you.. It comes and goes in the photo biz for me... Mostly, I get my thanks in person...not after the fact. Doesn't bother me at all.. At least it's a thanks and people genuinely are happy to work with you.

Double ditto. Especially the bold-faced part.

On the "real job" side of things it worked the same way Andrew stated when I "existed" in the corporate environment. Out here in contract employee land I don't feel that way. The customer listens to us and seems to appreciate what we have to offer.