Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Brian, I don't think you're making hack photo since you seem to be a very serious person then a serious photographer. I would not say a pro is a pro just for being a profiteer through some assignment. Being a pro has nothing to do with the money you get in every of the jobs you're assigned to. I'd rather say they're just profiteers. Not pro photographers. And in this sort of persons even fall most of those who shoot (note I said shoot, not take photos) scholars, parties and so on. I have four kids ranging from 4 to 18 and what I always did is to offer myself to spend sometime in classroom, in some school patio or garden to take snaps, to get closer to some of the kids, to enhance some of the kids characteristics, skills and for the like. That's the way I like to think about school photography. Say intimacy, say whatever else. I do dislike those silly images where little kids are "illuminated› by a clever guy trying to take off some nice expression of the kids faces. And group photos ? Argh... I'd say is better to swallow a raw fish, not a sushi. Anyway I can see that people do like those kind of silly portraits in which all kids look exactly the same, same expression, same stupid grins, same background, same clothes, same photo-attitude. Same lack of spontaneity. Last time, when my little 4 years kid, Francisco, celebrated his birthday at his garden I decided to go there with my M2 plus 35/2 and a 800 ASA film. I moved there in like a fish in the water, I've never focused, guessed the exposure, played with those nice twelve little kids, they touched the M2, they enjoyed a lot and at last my own Francisco handled the camera and took more than 4 or 5 pictures by himself, I mean he released the button and then advanced the film by his own means. After that, I'd like to give him some Tom's RW away. Maybe when he's 5. <g> By the way, he also loves putting test strips of paper into the paper processor, some 5x7 exposed papers. And when darkroom job is done he goes to the Mac and does wonderful things with some image editing software for kids like the Kid Pix Studio or navigate the cartoon network site. chau saludos Pablo > > Those of us who are not very talented photographers need to learn tricks if we > are going to make money. My trick was to be employed as a computer engineer > and not as a photographer, but since I've always worked in research and not > product development, I don't get paid as much as "real" computer engineers and > from time to time have had to supplement my income. I have sometimes used > "hack photography" as a way of supplementing my income. School class pictures > are definittely hack photography. > > If you are willing to sacrifice all of your artistic scruples to make some > money, there is a lot of money to be made in class pictures (and sports team > pictures, and dance party pictures, etc), because lots and lots of people want > to buy them. If you take a photograph that shows 50 people, there is a good > chance you can sell an 8x10 of it to every one of those 50 people. > > Doing it for free is a separate issue. But I've found that I can get kickbacks > from the local photo processor. They have a standard price for an 8x10, and > the price is posted in their front window. If I tell the school "I'm having > the prints made at Joe's Photo, and their price is $15 each, so please give me > $15 for each print" then I don't look like a profiteer, but Joe will give me > $5 for each print someone orders as long as he can make them all at once. Joe > is very happy to make 50 8x10's of the same negative and make only $10 each on > them. > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html