Is it just me, or does it seem like with today’s advances in digital photography, everyone and their Uncle Bob seem to consider themselves a photographer, and in turn taking money out of the professional photographer’s pocket? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten calls from people who want some type of portrait photography who actually say things like “Well why would I pay you that much $, when my husband can take portraits with our Fuji Smart Pix and get 10 cent prints at Costco”.
In this day and age it is frustrating as a photographer trying to make a living to compete with uneducated people who don’t realize, or even dont care about the professional quality that comes along with hiring a professional, if it can save them $20.
The ones who say they want Portraits, but will just go to JC Penney or any other mass produced studio, are the best… Great, so your kids can look like everyone else’s kids in a very forced atmosphere, instead of a naturally relaxed environment. Don’t get me wrong… places like JC Penney and what not, for what you get it is a fair price, but if you want the type of photograph which is pre-set up where a college kid just pushes a button on a computer, than you probably shouldnt be calling around to professional photographers in the area…
I compare it to going to a Porsche dealership and saying “Why should I pay you so much $$$, when this Hyundai dealership will sell me a car for 4x less $$”.
It is all in the quality.
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long island photographer 
I’ve had other photographers make the same statement. Because every Tom, Dick and Harry has a digital camera now it’s hard to sell photographs as art anyway. A look at the photo sites like Flickr bares this out. OTOH, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve left silver halide crystals behind with no regrets.
Comment by paintapixel February 3, 2007 @ 9:04 pm