Last Updated on 07/06/2016 by Chris Gampat
Lead image by Jason Chen.
When we’re all starting out and trying to go from hobbyist to pro photographer, it isn’t uncommon of us to use Craigslist and get trapped in the whole world of trying to justify someone actually paying you for your services. Quite often, photographers will put up a faux craigslist ad to express their disgust–such as with the case of one ad from Richmond, VA.
The faux ad calls for a student photographer that owns loads of professional DSLR gear including a full frame camera.
Some funny tidbits from the ad:
- You have to get there at 6am for great sunrise photos and you basically leave at 1am
- You’ll get dinner
- The person needs photos of you to see if you look like you’re right for the job
- This gem: ” what camera you use (even if ur a pro with years of experience and you decide to apply u must have a good camera because I know thats the most important factor)”
- Wanting all the photos retouched.
Sounds crazy, right?
Image by Jesse Caballero.
Believe it or not, this was very common when I started. I don’t shoot weddings anymore, but the sad thing is that everyone thinks that a photographer goes there, shoots a few photos on auto mode, and moves on. Indeed, it’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that and unfortunately people don’t really know or understand the ideas behind what a wedding photographer really does.
Additionally, they don’t know about the hours and hours spent behind a computer retouching.
Of course, you could always take these cheap gigs, don’t retouch and just shoot RAW/JPEG with the intention of just giving them the JPEG images resized for web only use. That will make it much more worth your time and if they’re paying cash then you just walk away with that fully in your pocket and no need to tell the IRS about it–which further translates into it being tax free. That’s perhaps the best way to do this when you’re starting out and even if you’re a pro doing this on the side.
You can check the ad out here.