Re: [Leica] an ethical question....

[Mark Rabiner <mark@rabiner.cncoffice.com>]

><Snip> 
> BTW, why, on earth, did you feel you needed to have such a contract?  I did
> weldings for years, and it never occurred to me to do such a thing, and our
> studio also had two full time welding photographers, and never a complaint
> was made from them about others at the weldings taking pictures.
> 
> I've also been to probably 100 weldings in my life, a number of them my own,
> mind you, and never have I ever been told not to take photographs.  I ALWAYS
> bring a camera with me where ever I go.  Only once in my life was I told not
> to take pictures, inside a Jordan Marsh (Macy's now)...we got chased around
> by the security guards...that's a whole story unto it self...needless to
> say, we had a LOT of pictures of them by the time we were through ;-)

I made lots of money starting out in the mid 70's because of disk cameras.
No one could get a decent shot of their family so they needed to hire an up and
coming cheap kid photography like me.
I'd shoot a wedding I'd see two or three cameras.
Disc cameras put photograph on the back shelf in peoples lives.
Then in the late 70's the sure shot was invented. Point and shoot.
People started taking great pictures on 35mm film.
Christmas morning was not enough. They needed other opportunities to play with
their cameras.
They started bringing them in hoards to weddings.
Every year i doubled my price and twice the people hired me.
The first year here in portland i looked at the shrimp and i said to Karen (my wife)
"they spent more on the shrimp then they did on us honey"
But i did a certain society womens wedding because i knew here because she was a
model and knew me.
I did the governors daughters wedding. Top art directors weddings.
I did anybody who was anybodys wedding.
There came to be a law in Portland that said you could not be an upwardly mobile
person and not have crazy Mark Rabiner shoot your wedding; mainly in black and white.
And i was real sick of it.
Black and white scared many away.

I'd promise not to ruin their wedding.
NO flash at the church?!!!
I'd be the only one not flashing.
If i was one of the few photographers in Portland who would act reasonably cool
and tactful at a wedding it did not matter. It just would mean I'd be the only
one in the media pack not getting the shots.
In the past I'd rather NOT get the shot then be too much of an intrusion.
The swarms of happy clicker ruined it for me. I'm sure they were gettin better
shots than i was!
So i put on my contract that if anyone wants to hire me on an exclusive basis
I'll still do a wedding.
They did. But not many thank god. Only a few a year.
Five years ago i really totally burnt out and tore up my wedding contracts.
Now I'd either do it for free or charge 20 grand.
Depending on how much i liked the person.


Mark Rabiner

Portland, Oregon
USA

http://www.rabiner.cncoffice.com/