In this video I’m going to be telling you the biggest rip-offs that I think are happening in photography and giving you my tips on how to avoid them. Hopefully this will save you some money on your photography journey and make you aware of the traps a lot of learning photographers fall into.
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Thank you for the FB advice. Changing my strategy now.
Another thing I have been seeing lately on Facebook is these devices that you can hook up to you camera that will take "better" pictures for you. I always shake my head and say to myself "you might as well put it on automatic and save a few bucks".
OMG Yes. The LRPS, FRPS etc etc
You present 6-10 images to 6 people and they decide on the award. Nope. The letters mean nothing to Joe Public.
If you want to grow get out and shoot and look up the food chain for feedback.
The con is you have to pay every year to keep them. You earn't them ( according to their standards) yet you have to pay every year. Bollocks.
Preset Packs #nailedit
Built in flash diffusers.
UV filters. They do NOTHING on digital.
Totally agree with presets. Downloaded free presets to use and they are a hit or a miss, usually miss a lot. Just made my own based on a look that will match my style of photos and it works really good and has constant quality with next image.
You really hit the nail on the head, the only way to get great at any practical Job is Practice, practice, Practice.
This is a genuinely helpful video. Thank you!
Very good
Great videos and always excellent advice
one thing i can say is that facebook ads or facebook boosts has got me some work. because you dont just pay and let them boost to everybody, you go into the details and you can choose a specific age, group, month for birthdays, business. a lot of people dont know this or dont use it, but it has worked for me. and you make a short ad video to target the crowd , yea its been decent for me. but deff 100% lightroom presets are a scam!! 90% off is basically to get you to like what you got for cheap and then get 1-2 items and then when you go back, its not on sale anymore, some people eventually pay a higher price. its the wheel of retail. there seems to be a market for this kind of stuff and as long as people flock to it, hey i would do it too if i know ill make the months rent!
Thank you for your video. I am a home-based food photographer. Totally agreed that building up own portfolio is essential. Coz at the end of the day our portfolios speak by itself. The ads & videos at my newsfeed are really intimidating. But I need to focus to only a few food photographers as my mentors. I'll pick & choose whichever tips that suitable to my concept & my customers' food products. I am also planning to further degree in photography at local Uni. It is Government certified. Believed that the paper is merely recognition & personal satisfaction. It will look good in your profiles when customers reviews your portfolios. Most prominent photographers are self-taught. So, I am still contemplating to proceed with my plan. Let time decides.
Isn't the facebook thing because the photographs aren't targeting their audience properly?
Great video. As an intermediate level photographer, if there is such a label, as basically knowing your shit from shinola, I know better than to use someone else's presets. I have my own editing style, I'm trying to hone and I don't want someone else's influence interfering with that process. At times, I have over edited, other times, I've done an extra edit on some stuff to add certain effects. Feel free to check out my photos on instagram at HuckRockTography.
Have you seen how much that fuzzy haired f#ckwit charges for presets , he must be having a laugh he is a shit photographer anyway
very good post – There is a "Leica Photographer" who consistently "offers" lightroom presets, courses etc… all at 90% reductions… I really do wonder who buys this…
Good video Mark. Funny you should mention the letters after name. On a slightly different twist. Someone at work got married and hired a photographer because he was only £200. But they thought it was a bargain as he had all the letters and logos on his signature. Turned out he couldnt take a photo if his life depended on it. They had to ask all the guests for their photos otherwise they would of had nothing. There are some crap photographers using those accreditation sites to make themslves look good.
Regarding Facebook advertising … Even with other photographers clicking through and costing you money, Facebook advertising can still be a good choice for a photographer if he or she generates enough new business to offset those clicks. They key is that you have to count the cost of other photographers clicking through as part of your overall cost of acquisition. Just track the total cost of advertising and the total amount of business generated by the ads to decide if it is worthwhile.
It's funny how one of the latest 90% off everything offers was filled to the brim with those presets…
How refreshing ! Great video .
On a similar note, In the past I’ve joined a few photography groups on Facebook and very soon after I’ve left.
Common reasons for joining was to expand ones knowledge and to get some inspiration.
Common reasons for leaving the groups within days were as follows:
1.) Too much self promotion linking to sites and adverts as Marc mentioned is this video
2.) Bullying
3.) image theft
Recently I took the plunge and tried again , this time with a group that was aimed at start-up photographers. I lasted 2 hours before I was lambasted. I posted a welcome message and I commented on one other post.
In my welcome message I said that I choose to avoid post production and rely on my own technique in camera……..Well you’d have thought I’d have suggested using babies as a form of currency for the tirade of abuse that came back “how dare you suggest ….”. I guess they sold presets too at incredible discounts.
My other post that caused the group to go supernova was when I suggested maybe spending the time to practice rather than investing in a ‘how to ‘ course …..enough said.
I am too amazed at the amount of YT posts along the lines of “ best lens for portrait “ , “ the top 10 beginner cameras” etc etc. It’s madness.
I started 4 years ago as serious photographer and I’ve learnt the hard way, dropped many clangers and I’ve no doubt I’ll continue to do so but every now and then I’ll nail it.
I don’t have a website, I don’t have a Facebook page. All my work comes from word of mouth and it keeps me ticking over.
Apologies for the long reply but I thought i was in the minority here with my scepticism on the “just add water” approach to amazing photography skills, I delighted to see that I’m not I feel more at ease .
To add to a previous comment no, buying from B&H is not a safe bet. I got beat out of a teleconverter that was included in a bundle at a value of $299. They played me long enough that I would have to hire a lawyer to get my money back. B&H is a rip-off.
Great videos and always excellent advice. Cheap filters on ebay yes or no?
Sir which lens is best for Canon 80d under 300 dollor
The company's that make a fancy signature for your copywrite,, see so many using them now it's actually tacky looking
Stay away from the 5DayDeal that Fstoppers and Petapixel promotes every year.
I stupidly bought the package last year, and the only part of it worth any money was Jimmy McIntyre's. His stuff is really good, but the rest was targeted at beginners, and was unbelievably basic.
Not to mention that my inbox got spammed with countless mails from the rest of the "professional" photographers.
this was really interesting to watching!
thanks for sharing all this beautiful content with us!
really enjoyed watching this
Good advice Mark. Thanks
Fabulous as always Marc and very informative. I looked at a photographers course on Groupon once, paid the money and stood in a car park in the new forest with others who had done the same and he did not turn up. You mention portfolios in this lesson, how about doing a video on this or another idea how about a ebook from you on how to do portfolios? Just an idea but as always Thankyou for all your advice and leadership in this world of photography 👍🌈🇬🇧❤️💯📸
The ones I see the most are the bundles with all the extra junk like cheap lights, tripods or filters. These are mostly seen on Amazon or eBay. If it's through B&H, Bedford's or Adorama then it might be decent gear.
This is great advice, thanks for sharing and being so honest. 👍👍
What about the RPS. Is it a good thing to get involved with.
I recently saw ads of a company that were like "You're a potographer!? Don't bother with accounting any more and never again! We'll manage it all for you automatically for a monthly subscription!" or something like that. Well, I haven't tried it, but for me it indeed sounds a bit too great… 🤔
Thank you. I was going to take an online photography program from The University of Arizona. It is accredited and the real deal. Also it is only just over$13,000 US dollars a year for an undergraduate degree. For a person who has little art background I think it would be a really good option. However, if you are just interested in learning the technological aspect of photography, the program does not teach about how to work equipment. It is more about history and theory. I was hugely dissapointed as I thought I had found a degree thati I could pursue remotely online. I think that the work you are doing here on your channel will save me from going into debt with student loans. As an older person, I want to spend money on my kids college first. I will come to you for my technical learning needs and your information will help me with my overall art career. I like to take my own images more than buying stock photos to use as source images for my painting. The better the picture, the better the artwork. Also, I am trying to be a better photographer of my art, to more successfully show it through social media. Thank you for all your free information for now. I hope to be a student soon . It will have to wait as i am in the process of moving from the United States to Germany for the next couple of months. I enjoy your relaxed teaching style over Peter McKinnon because he overwhelms me with expensive gear and he talks fast. I like his work, but its intimidating. Your videos are much more user friendly.
I want to share a thought abouth the 90% off. I see that there is a pattern about sony vegas and discounts. I am working with this pretty decent program and I have worked with premiere in the past. I think that premiere is a so good (but overpriced) program that any other company could really do anything to get a share on this market without hitting any copywrite laws. So I think the case at this point is the monopoly, they have to sell with big discounts if they want to sell at first place. So a big discount isn't always a shitty buy I think.