Guest blogger Nicole was hot on the latest WWW happenings when she forwarded me the below CraigsList advertisement (don’t try to read this photo – check the typed-out translation below):
For those without their reading glasses handy, it says:
Photographer Looking for People to Do Their Jobs without Pay (Atlanta)
I am a photographer and since people are always looking for free shoots I assume that they must also do their job, or provide their service, for free.
I am looking to hire all types of people to do all sorts of jobs for me, as long as I do not have to pay anything. Just think, you will gain more experience, and I will put the word out for you and let everyone know what wonderful work you do. This opportunity will bring you tons of unpaid work, but everyone will love you. So if you have a job or service you provide, and will do it for free, please let me know, because I am sure I have work for you and will hire you in a second.
Feel free to email me with the service you can provide, when you can start, and please include references.
I will look forward to your free service.
Thanks
🙂
So, after laughing myself silly, I wrote to this anonymous CraigsList photographer and asked them for an interview for Wootness.
I received a reply a few hours ago. Apparently Glen (no longer anonymous) was inundated with emails and messages about the CarigsList ad and was unable to reply to us all individually and sent a mass email back. Glen’s response (in part):
…I would like to include an email I received from one gentleman and I believe that his perception is, in reality, the perception of many. Obviously he has no idea what a professional photographer really does…
and enclosed was this email from Doug:
I read your CL post “Photographer Looking For People to Do Their Job Without Pay (Atlanta)” and I have a comment although I doubt you will side with me on it. Total respect to you in that you’ve chosen to support yourself taking pictures. However, in my experience, every time I needed a photographer to take pics of something for me (wedding, insurance stuff, stuff related to my business) they are like lawyers, they always want hundreds or even thousands of dollars to do the work. I always felt a tiny bit ripped off but I paid it, assuming they knew best. Until recently. I took a photography course at a local college and now I do my own photographry when I need it. I don’t mean any disrespect, again, but photography, even professional photography is plainly put, dirt simple. It’s not hard. I design software for a living, that’s hard. That takes months of planning, and even years to create and debug a software product. After having taught myself advanced photography I can safely say that your services shouldn’t be free but I honestly don’t see it being worth more than $25-30 an hour at most. Not all things are of equal value. Would I take an hour of pics for someone for free? Sure, probably. One time. Would I code a piece of software for free? Nope, not even once… it’s actually hard and time consuming and requires thought and concentration and testing and peer review, etc etc. Not to mention that I’d be the tech support for it for years afterward. Photography is picking a lens and getting the right shot and lighting. I was able to do it with no real outset on my part as far as time spent picking it up. So it may not be as valuable as you think, and therefore, you have people asking to do quick favors for free. Just a thought….
Dear Doug…
- You are freaking lucky that you have such a common-ass name that you can’t be Googled
- Incredibly enough, your email address (dLASTNAME54321@yahoo.com) does not have any results in Google, either. Hmmmm. Perhaps that isn’t your name OR you just threw that email address together for the sole purpose of writing to my dear friend, Glen.
- Pics? PICS? PICS!!!!!?????
- How in the hell did taking a photography class at your local college become “taught myself advanced photography.”
- Dirt simple? Seriously??
- Prefacing insults with “I don’t mean any disrespect,” does not render the insults acceptable.
- The next time you take the time and effort to denigrate a profession, at least spell it correctly.
- You sir, are an ass.
wow….that actually made me really sad that someone out there is that ignorant. Yes, anyone can take a picture…but not everyone has talent, or an eye for photography. Thats like saying ” I can slap some paint on a canvas, guess Im as good as Picaso now”….That man is seriously dillusional. Im pretty sure that I could figure out how to sew my own clothing, doesnt mean it would look good or even fit….what a dumbass
As someone who actually went to college for photography and detoured into a day job of SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT… I have to laugh, because half of the software developers I know, are self-taught because it does not require formal education.
Knowing how to do something and being good at that ‘something’ are two totally different things. Doug teaching himself how to take a photo thru a college course, is easy. Doug actually being good enough to charge money for taking that photo, is completely different.
The real irony is that Doug might make $50-75K a year as a software developer, but the company he works for, is bringing in $300+ and hour because of overhead costs, profit margins, etc… apparently, Doug isn’t smart enough to connect the dots that just because you charge $250/hr doesn’t mean you are paying yourself $250/hr for salary.
I think Doug needs to read Wootness.
High-wootness-five!
Frankly … obviously this guy is ignorant. However, i wonder if he has any idea how much per hour the average professional photographer actually makes. I mean … after the initial client phone call, confirmation call and several outfit questions, 2 hour shoot, loading & processing images, client meeting/ordering appointment, time on the computer ordering prints, unpacking and checking the order, packaging the order for client pick up, client comes and picks up the package and visits for a while. All of this any we haven’t even even factored in the cost of equipment, utilities, rent, cost of goods …. and much more…..
Just recently I was only making 3.33 an hour. Shove it Doug!
I’d love to see his “photographry” (note his misspelling). :roll eyes:
ps. please understand i was using sarcasm to make a point. i pay for software and value it. unlike doug, i’m not an arrogant prat.
Sarcasm understood. 😉
I figure Dougie probably gets the same disrespect photographers do, so he felt good about getting a few denigrating zingers of his own in. Any idiot with a DSLR thinks he knows how to take pictures, so it must be easy, right? All you have to do is point and shoot. I mean software design? Please. All you have to know is the right language. Code isn’t that hard to write – open source software abounds on the internet, so seriously, why should I pay someone for it? I certainly shouldn’t have to pay someone more than $50 or $60, and that’s for a REALLY GOOD program, like Photoshop. I can get anything else on BT for free. I mean, obviously it doesn’t take that much effort to code; all you need is a computer, pizza, and plenty of Red Bull in the fridge. Dougie needs to get over himself. *eyeroll*
And “Doug” probably loves heavy vignette and selective color too. Thanks for the follow up on this. Ever since seeing this on Facebook I have been wondering what kind of responses the guy would get.