IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER:
“There is a girl in my office who offered to do a family photo shoot for next to nothing.
I LOVE your work, but I couldn’t pass up the offer this time around.”
You’re nodding your head, aren’t you? You’ve heard this from a client, or prospective client, probably more than once in recent years. In fact, a number of Professional Photographers have been forced out of business by just this sort of thing. The “girl in the office” probably isn’t running a legal business, likely has no idea how to work her camera (except to put it on AUTO and shoot shoot shoot), has no experience with posing families to assure everyone looks their best – and hasn’t a chance of producing a cohesive, technically correct family session containing a variety of images and showcasing the personalities of her subjects. She certainly has little or no experience with proper post-processing, doesn’t possess the knowledge or access to pro labs for correct printing, and can’t offer this client of yours any assistance in getting wall portraits on the wall or procuring specialty products.
This site is designed to help you by:
* providing education on what a Professional Photographer is. This will help prospective clients have a better understanding of the difference between you and “the girl in the office”.
* show examples and comparisons of professional and “girl in the office” work. This will help consumers identify a well-executed, technically correct image.
* providing a registry where informed clients can find your Professional Photography business.
The registry requires a few items of ‘proof’ that you are indeed a Professional Photographer. These items are not designed to be intrusive. They are simply a way to attempt to validate the type of business you’re running so that the registry is as accurate as possible, and therefore a better resource.
You’ve worked hard to create a legal, sustainable, professional photography business. The influx of ‘fauxtographers’, ushered in by the digital era, are seriously undermining businesses like ours. I do believe that clients want quality work from seasoned professionals, and will invest in that work whenever possible. But the chaos created by thousands of new photographers has caused confusion, and a loss of understanding of what quality work looks like. Education can make all the difference.