The Perils of Posing As a Professional

Because I had scouted out the location before I got there, I knew what sort of lighting to expect and how to balance my flash-lit foreground (yes, I used flash) to the ambient lighting of the background. It's probably not the sort of thing you would worry about if you were shooting for fun--and that could come back to haunt you when someone asks why the background has a sickly yellow color.

As soon as it becomes generally known that you’re a decent photographer, there will come a day when someone makes you “The Offer.” They will ask if you wouldn’t mind photographing their charitable event. Or school play. Or son’s bar mitzva. Maybe even their wedding.

When that day comes there may be a quiet voice inside your head that says “Run like hell and don’t look back.” Listen to this voice. It is the voice of sanity. Do not listen to the louder, more insistent voice that says, “This could be fun. I’ve always wanted to show off my photography skills. Why not?”

Here’s why not: First of all, there’s a big difference between taking pictures for your own enjoyment and taking pictures for someone else’s enjoyment. Clients, even if they tell you otherwise, have certain expectations. For example, they will expect you to show up. Some might even expect you to be on time.

It gets worse. Not only will they expect you to have all the equipment you need to get the job done, they will expect you to know how to use it. That last part can be tricky. For example, it’s one thing to know that the external flash unit you just bought fits into the hot shoe on top of your camera. It’s quite another to know how to set and aim said flash unit once it’s attached, or what to do if the resulting photos are overexposed, or underexposed, or look too “flashy.”

An hour or two of intensive Internet research before the shoot won’t help much. One pundit will tell you to shoot Raw. Another one will claim that he only shoots JPEGs. One will swear by a particular piece of software that another says is junk. On and on it goes… In the end, although it’s you who has to decide, it’s not just you who has to live or die by your decisions, it’s your client too. Can you say “stressful?”

Once the shoot is over you will then have dozens, if not hundreds, of photos to sort through. And you will edit the shoot right? You wouldn’t just hand someone a CD that includes every shot you took, including the ones that are mis-focussed, poorly exposed, or just bad, would you?

This is the point at which you discover, if you didn’t know before, that there’s a big difference between massaging one or two select images to perfection and getting a large number of images to look consistently good. Don’t even get me started on the challenges associated with making prints, which, by the way, can dramatically increase your out-of-pocket expenses.

If you screw up the job you risk ruining your reputation and relationship with your “client.” Depending on how traumatized you were by the experience, this could be a good thing. At least you won't get asked to do something like it again. On the other hand, if you do a great job you run the risk that your client will have the impression that great work is available for free and that anyone who pays hundreds or thousands of dollars for photography is wasting their money. Be ready for calls from more people seeking similar favors.

Am I saying that you should never under any circumstances accept professional work if you aren't an experienced professional? Not quite. What I'm saying is that you should be damned sure you know what you're getting into. Set expectations appropriately. Be careful about volunteering for a learning experience at someone else's expense, even if you don't charge them a dime. If you sense you could getting in over your head, politely suggest that they honor someone else with the gig. There's a reason why many a pro looks wistfully back at the days when the only person they had to satisfy was themself and why many amateurs prefer to sell only the results of their labors, not the labor itself.

If you have any horror stories that support my point--or happy endings that contradict it--feel free to leave a comment. We all benefit either way.

 

 

Comments

[Brian Small]

I will only do the job if:

1) the organization in question really can't hire a Pro.
2) in the likely event I screw-up no-one is going to yell at me.
3) my own kids are involved in the event somehow.

Number three actually causes me the most trouble. My kids move on in school or sports leagues or shift interests from one activity to another and that organization/school no longer gets my services. People are generally understanding but once they have had decent photos done (and I am only a "decent" photographer at best) they don't want to go back.

[margue78]

I've taken three portrait jobs and was compensated for them. Luckily, all three jobs were successful in that my friends were happy with my work. Their expectations were clear and honest and I followed them to a T. That said, I did not know what I was doing, entirely. Yes, I know how to hold a camera, balance my meter, use an external flash to get some bounce of the ceiling because I know it can look better than point it straight at my subject, and I can shoot someone against a black backdrop. But to be perfectly honest, I was scared to death to do those jobs. One was done outside and I actually shot in direct sunlight, which cast harsh shadows on their faces. I did not know to possibly just put them in the shade (ugh!). One was indoors with a dog and I had to figure out how to interact with her, which is not my forte.

I took these jobs because other people had faith in me. I think THAT was what I learned from those experiences. It's one thing that people have faith in your work, but it means so much more that YOU have have faith in your own work. I won't take another job until I am absolutely certain that I am wielding my camera with the most knowledge I can store into my brain. So, I decided to take photography classes. In the 3 black and white darkroom and Photoshop classes I've taken, I've learned so much about how to make my work better. How to be better technically speaking, and really understand my camera and the relationship of everything in it. I feel a little weird thinking that I did those jobs at all. I'm happy my friends were happy with my work, but I think I had a little bit of luck.

[Jose Luis]

Funny that you posted this, just two days after I shot my sister's civilian wedding ceremony. This was a very intimate event, of which we will probably select no more than 30 pictures. Things were ok in this ocasion.

In the cases I did pro-like work, people were much more tolerant and in the end liked my street photography style pictures more than the ones taken by the official photographer.

Don't complain, at least now you can shoot digital...

[karl stevens]

Very interesting post, Gordon. I think the one thing that amateurs underestimate when taking on `event` photography such as you mentioned ... is how fast everything moves and this can be the prime difference between the amateur and the professional.
The amateur, I would assume has enough ability with his/her camera to be able to take a photo that the client would like and this is the reason the client asks him/her to do it in the first place but the crux comes when the amateur is placed into an arena he/she is not familiar with and where they cannot control the pace and this is where shots are missed or even vital shots are forgotten about and this is where the stress levels can reach their maximum.
The professional on the other hand will anticipate and know the best location to shoot from, due to previous experience and if he/she misses a vital shot, he/she will know it straight away.... they will not panic but will try to compensate and get similar images and hope the client does`nt notice.
Experience is the key and unfortunately the only way to obtain it, is to put yourself into these `stressful` situations.

[Ben]

Thanks for the demotivation! My mother-in-law wants to recruit me to shoot my nephew's bar mitzvah. I'm currently not working, so she sees this as some sort of charity (she's offered to pay). I know that this effort would only end in tears.

Then again, if she could front me the money to upgrade my K100D to a K5 and add a nice wide-angle zoom and a proper flash...

...then I'd probably lose money on the deal.

[Bruce Robbins]

OK Gordon, I give up. How do you use fill flash without getting a catchlight in the eyes? I wondered if you'd used bounce fill off the ceiling but you wouldn't do that when someone's wearing a hat. It must have been bounced off a surface to your left but I'd still have expected to see some evidence of that in the eyes of the nearest person unless the reflecting surface was very large and quite far away. I'm intrigued!

[Stephen S. Mack]

I have been asked, but I take the first advice: Run like hell and don't look back. ;<)

With best regards,

Stephen

[Gordon Lewis]

Karl,

>>Experience is the key and unfortunately the only way to obtain it is to put yourself into these "stressful" situations.<<

Everything you said about the pace of a pro shoot is right on the money. I learned how to handle it by assisting skilled professional photographers. When I was on my own I still made mistakes, but fewer and smaller than otherwise. What's important is knowing how to recover, how to stay on your toes, and how to get the job done, come what may. Yes, it can be stressful. It can also be fun.
---------
Bruce,

You have answered your own question, and correctly, I might add. I did in fact direct the flash head upwards and to my left, towards a large, light gray wall. The reason you don't see much of a catchlight is because I set the flash output for fill (1 stop below the ambient light level) and because the flash illumination was reflected downwards at a more or less 45-degree angle. Methinks you're no stranger this sort of thing yourself.

[Alan from Chgo]

One tip: check your manuals and if your equipment can handle it:
Bracket Bracket Bracket WB, ISO, flash exposure, exposure....

then cross your fingers,,,shoot in raw gray card lying somewhere in background..

[Paul Mc Cann]

I often shoot at family gatherings and happily snap away. I then dump the lot (less the obvious boo boos) onto a photo site and direct those who express an interest to it. They'll obviously be low rez images and I tell them if any take their fancy to let me know and I'll tidy them up. I've never been asked so I assume people are happy with what they get, warts and all.

[Neil]

Amen - I can't say how many people I've talked to who "hired a professional" only to discover they weren't really a professional, just someone with a camera and some business cards. In the case of a wedding, bar mitzvah or bat mizvah, or other "once in a lifetime" occasions, why would an enthusiastic photographer take the job. Yes, they may get some okay photos, but they usually miss so many opportunities because they just don't know how or when to do many of the important photos.

How does one get experience? Go work with a good photographer. First you pack around the gear. After awhile you get to shoot a few frames. Soon, your shooting more and more - all the time you see how weddings are paced, how the professional finds and shapes light to bring out the subjects best features, how to coach them for good poses and expression.

There is nothing wrong with doing photography for the shear joy of it. And as I've been hearing more and more lately, the surest way to ruin a great hobby like photography is to try and make a living at it. Most people don't realize the average pro photographer makes very poor money (well under the national average for wages), and all pro photographers spend the vast majority of their time doing business, not photography. If they get to shoot 15 per cent of the time or more, they're doing really, really well at delegating tasks to others.