More and more these days I am made aware of how
wide the difference is in the perceptions of Photographer, and
Photo-Portrait Artist is, or has become in the minds of the general
public.
I can only speculate on the reasons, and it's
easy to point a finger at the digital revolution as the cause
of anything and everything professional photographers don't like
about what has been happening to the general public's esteem for
professional photographers.
It seems that people are willing to believe that
anyone with a camera claiming to be a photographer is the same
as a professional portrait artist….Or professional commercial
photographer…Whatever the case may be.
I am a Professional Portrait Artist, and Photography
is my medium. I hold my profession and my art in very high esteem,
and it irks me when I see advertisements from self-proclaimed
photographers where they say they give you proofs of all images,
and the negatives, (film or digital), and leave it to you to find
a lab or an actual portrait artist to make prints!
In most cases the client will take the negatives
to a photo lab that will do minimal color correction if any at
all, and simply print. This is not the way an artist treats his
work, or his clients!
The tragedy of this is that as more photographer
wanna-bees put up websites and take out ads in local periodicals
shouting that they give the negatives to the client, more people
are expecting this to be the norm! Otherwise intelligent folks
are believing that they can hire a professional photographer to
make their portrait images, and they'll just turn over the originals
for them to do whatever they want with them.
This is not the case and never has been! No artist
in any medium gives their copyrights away! And professional photographic
artists are no different. Sure, you can hire an amateur snapshooter
who will give you the original image files or negatives, but let
the buyer beware! You get what you pay for. If you hire an amateur,
you get amateur images!
In fact, I have a recommendation for those who
are looking for Professional portraits and are searching the internet
to find a photographer. If you see that the negatives or original
digital files are included with your portrait session, click AWAY
from that site and keep searching!
Imagine this: You want a nice family portrait,
and of course you want to get a good deal. You search the internet
for a photographer to hire and you see one who gives the digital
files to you with the session fee. What a bargain, you think to
yourself! You'll save a lot of money on the prints if you can
take the original files anywhere for printing. So you call and
hire the person.
You take the time and energy to get everyone's
wardrobe together, have your hair done and do your makeup just
perfect, get your family together and go meet the photographer.
He or she spends some time making photographs, you pay them, they
give you a disc of digital images. Wonderful! Then you take the
disc to the drugstore photo department and have 4x6s printed of
everything so you have a copy, and you intend to have some enlargements
made of your favorites.
When you go to pick up your prints, you are all
excited to see them. You anxiously take them from the envelope
and look at them…A couple of them are OK, but most are poorly
lit or exposed, the color isn't right, there has been no retouch
or enhancements done and everyone's face is shiny, and the expressions
aren't natural. Not such a bargain after all, is it?!
Remember, Price is what you pay. VALUE is what
you get. If you want fine portraits, hire a professional who takes
pride in their work, and guarantees you will be happy with the
results! You will no doubt pay more, but you are investing in
quality and value. What's more important…Value, or a cheap price
for a cheap product?
