Dear Cheap but good photographer: you are ruining my life and this industry

[catchlights]

Talking about photo booth business, some photographers told me that some other people are offering at $300, really? that is a crazy price!

and I know that a lot of wedding couples think this price is still very high, only need them for two hours mar? why must pay so much leh?
so instead of engage photo booth service, these wedding couples just borrow a few Fuji Instax cameras and ask their friends to help out.

so you see, whenever there is a good idea, some how some one have some way to cheapen it, and the best part is, these "customers" always have a way to outsmart the photographers.

so how, try come out another new idea again, si boh?

 

[Agetan]

I think the key is finding the right "customers" that will pay your price at the same time, the price set should be "reasonable" to entice them to use the service itself.

People don't pay for service or photo, they pay for experience. Deliver the experience again and again over years, it will help to put your business with an edge.

Regards,

Hart

 

[keithwee]

$300 for 2 hours? People dare to offer I don't dare to take lol.

Wedding photography isn't just being there for 2 hours and spamming photos on that D4S, it goes down to spending many more hours scouting the venue, finding the right spots, choosing the right photos , even down to post-processing the photos so that any lady can look her best.

Anyway, I do prefer having a hardcopy Old time but yeap, it feels more personal.

 

[Nikonzen]

I talked with a nationally acclaimed high dollar wedding photographer and watched him in action during a wedding I attended a few years ago. What I realized is that it was way way more than just the album at the end of the process. It was the smoothness. Deftness. Unflinching confidence. Experience of I have done this ten thousand times. Everyone was at ease around this man he spoke soft directed folks as needed. It was all already choreographed in advance. The whole thing planned in advance. At lights camera action this dude already knew exactly what the album was going to look like basically. It was like breathing air. He made it look easy.

Then I understood why he was in national magazines, why he was getting paid what he was getting paid, and why he was worth every penny of it.

I haven't seen a wedding shoot by a $500 or $1000 person yet but I would like to...might be interesting or maybe about as fun as listening to nails dragged across a blackboard. :faint:

 

[Ralf Winston]

Talking about photo booth business, some photographers told me that some other people are offering at $300, really? that is a crazy price!

and I know that a lot of wedding couples think this price is still very high, only need them for two hours mar? why must pay so much leh?
so instead of engage photo booth service, these wedding couples just borrow a few Fuji Instax cameras and ask their friends to help out.

so you see, whenever there is a good idea, some how some one have some way to cheapen it, and the best part is, these "customers" always have a way to outsmart the photographers.

so how, try come out another new idea again, si boh?

if you want to survive in an industry that has low entry barriers and ideas are easily copied, yes, you have to come out with another new idea unfortunately. otherwise you have to find your niche and stand out from the crowd.

not everyone will pay for the cheapest. for those who are willing to pay premium, there must be a reason for them to do so.

 

[huatman]

Talking about photo booth business, some photographers told me that some other people are offering at $300, really? that is a crazy price!

and I know that a lot of wedding couples think this price is still very high, only need them for two hours mar? why must pay so much leh?
so instead of engage photo booth service, these wedding couples just borrow a few Fuji Instax cameras and ask their friends to help out.

Now even better, there is a standalone instax printer which print directly from smartphone using an apps. So few friends go around taking photos, retake if needed. Then go near the printer, use bluetooth and print the instax photos.
There are also quite a nos of people offering the service of printing instax photos for others. Saw a few in carousell.

 

[catchlights]

$300 for 2 hours? People dare to offer I don't dare to take lol.

Wedding photography isn't just being there for 2 hours and spamming photos on that D4S, it goes down to spending many more hours scouting the venue, finding the right spots, choosing the right photos , even down to post-processing the photos so that any lady can look her best.

Anyway, I do prefer having a hardcopy Old time but yeap, it feels more personal.

bro, I'm talking about photo booth service.

this one D3300 also can, don't need D4s.

 

[catchlights]

will post more in the afternoon.



here is a teaser, consumer base photography service like portrait, wedding, personal event coverage etc is a luxury item.........

 

[Nikonzen]

Case study

Last summer my school aged cousin worked along with two other young gentlemen setting up a prop..in this case the Tardis from Dr. Who...at comic book conventions across America. $10 a portrait with the Tardis. Cameras set on auto. He said they shots hundreds per event. That is not adapt and overcome that is kick @ss and take names! haha

 

[catchlights]

teaser 2,


Hart is right, people is buy an experience when spending big money on luxury items.

think about this, what kind experience you will get when you walking into a high end boutique and buy some luxury goods?

and what kind of experience you will have when you buy 3 T-shirts for $20 at Bugis Street Market?

 

[alfie]

This is kind of souvenir photos that existing since very long ago, back in the film days, I saw photographers using medium format cameras shooting guests in the clubs before shows (live musical performance), than they rush the prints and ready to sell to the guests once the show ended. now in digital age, instead of lab prints, just replace it with dye sub prints.

You can also see this photography service in every cruise ships.
You also can find this at the flower dome of the Garden By The Bay too.

anyway, I don't think anyone can do this by himself, because he has to buy the exclusive rights from venue owner to operate a business there,
Usually these type of service are run by a company, so they just hire someone who know how to point a camera to take the photos, seriously, the quality of the photos is only passable most of the time.

btw, I happen to have chance to talk to the people who run the photo shop in a cruise ship, they try to take as many photos as possible, for an instant, during the captain dinner, if they come to a table has a family of four, the photographers will take individuals photos of FOUR, so they can sell FOUR photos instead of one. The photo shop will print out all the photos for display, but the guests have no obligation to buy these photos, when at the end of the cruise, those unsold photos will be destroy and disposed.

Nowadays every old uncles aunties all have smart photos and facebook, they also like to take selfie just like young people, who still want hard copy photos?

I just came back from a cruise and I tell you, these photos sell like hot cakes. After dinner, lots of passengers go down photo shopping..

They are priced USD20-30 per photo, but you can buy a cabin package.. USD399.. you get every photo taken of you and your family (within the cabin) including a digital copy ! (If you buy only one photo, no digital). Some will say, its a rip off.. but consider this, there's around 20+ photographers on the boat, there's photographers on the deck, on the beach, at the pool, at your dinner table, etc. Its like hiring a professional photographer (They shoot quite well)

Of course you can spend your whole holiday shooting photos of your family yourself, risking your iphone at the beach, and at the end of the day... get no photos of yourself and not enjoying your holiday

And yes, they don't force you to buy the photos, if anything they dun even push it to you (like how some attractions do...) the photoshop is on the lowest floor, very hidden.. And if you really wanna shoot your own photos - they sell nikon/canons dslr, point and shoots.. and the Leica M9 + 50cron too...

[I shot lots of photos of my family on the trip myself, and did buy the family portrait shot at the dinner table still]

 

[Nikonzen]

In many cases those folks are working as a big team too. They are wired and wifi'd to central lab for processing and then the results are presented for view and sales. Some of them enjoy quite a bit of latitude with their style. Others have to hack. I met a Russian chick on a cruise ship once that did this for a gig she was interesting to talk to...I'll try and dig out a photo I made of her.

 

[alfie]

In many cases those folks are working as a big team too. They are wired and wifi'd to central lab for processing and then the results are presented for view and sales. Some of them enjoy quite a bit of latitude with their style. Others have to hack. I met a Russian chick on a cruise ship once that did this for a gig she was interesting to talk to...I'll try and dig out a photo I made of her.

Yeah, huge team. I was on a royal carribean boat. They actually produce a customized cruise video, sold on a DVD at the end of the cruise. They got around 2-3 video camera crew that film all the event.. Its great when you got kids who are always joining the events.

 

[sjackal]

Isn't photo booth, instant printing, and instagram printing all so common with local weddings?

Even hotels are starting to offer by themselve, hotel staff pressing the photobooth button and directing guests for group shots, cutting out even the photo booth photographer.

 

[Miao]

Yeah, huge team. I was on a royal carribean boat. They actually produce a customized cruise video, sold on a DVD at the end of the cruise. They got around 2-3 video camera crew that film all the event.. Its great when you got kids who are always joining the events.

I dun mind paying for the video since in the first place I am there for a relax trip.

 

[saberlancer]

Yes there are photobooth <$300 for 2hrs unlimited prints with props frm Daiso..

 

[sjackal]

Yes there are photobooth <$300 for 2hrs unlimited prints with props frm Daiso..

Yah, and will people consider these people spoilt market?

2 persons, props, hiti printer, computer, camera, lights, transport, must do how many jobs to break even? In the process, took away how many jobs from other operators?

 

[unclejosh]

this topic escalated quite quick and i suppose we can argue till the cows come home and still not have an answer.
It has too many variable and well... some of you are living proofs that the society has room good photographers... and some has proven that price is not the way to go....

unfortunately, there's no room for those who couldn't adapt... it has proven time after time that this world would drown out those who couldn't perform while the stronger ones would thrive...

 

[Bart Tan]

This happen not only in photography industry.

Even in my gym, there r those half **** wanabe, after few months of training , they start to teach ppl how to train.

 

[sjackal]

This happen not only in photography industry.

Even in my gym, there r those half **** wanabe, after few months of training , they start to teach ppl how to train.

Lots, one person bench press with 2 helpers doing upright rows - using with the same bar simulantenously, 3 person teamwork on the same farking rep. And bar only goes down 3 inches, barely a quarter of the range of motion. All shirtless and screaming and grunting. Since history.