How to Deal with Stubborn or Mean Subjects During Event Photography

So one of the students this week posted about some trouble they had had with people not wanting to be photographed at a local event they were shooting for one of their photography classes.

This student had really had some cranky people that they ran into during a public event and asked how to best deal with situations like this. A few of us posted our suggestions and even a couple of the professors chimed in as well with their wisdom, and when it comes down to it, Reuben Njaa had one of the best responses, “Kill them with kindness.”

In photography, there are just certain things that we have to learn to deal with and overcome and one of the toughest is cranky subjects when trying to complete a shoot. Human nature is a sometimes funny thing and one of the oddest quirks that people have is not wanting to be photographed. Some of the Native American tribes as well as other more “primitive” groups of people felt that the camera would steal their souls and they would not be able to get into their Heaven.

The best way to deal with people that yell at you that you cannot take their picture when you are at a public event is to just apologize and not take their photo. Many times, you can change their mind by explaining that you are a professional just doing your job or in your case, a student doing an assignment. Often if you carry yourself as a professional with an air of confidence, you may just convince them to let you complete your assignment with them included.

                                          Concession worker at Gwinnett County Fair 2014

If being the confidant professional doesn’t work you can just apologize and move on. You need to learn to develop a “thick” skin as a photographer as we are not a profession that is truly loved by all. Often a few kind words and an apology and just move on are the best ways to deal with difficult and cranky people. I have found from my own personal experience that having some sort of professional credential helps a bit.

I am not saying that you have to run out and join a group like NPPA, but I did and I upgraded from their student to their Professional membership. Why? Because I not only get a free freelance photojournalist listing in their directory for potential clients to find and hire me, but I also am able to get a photo ID from NPPA with my professional membership that to me is pretty sweet! The IDs are not free as they are produced by a third party company for NPPA but I still feel it’s worth it as it shows you are a professional and most people know that NPPA has to do with news and news outlets.

I wear my photo ID lanyard when I am out shooting for my personal project and it also helps keep the cops away when I am shooting in posted areas or just in general. Is it a fool proof get out of jail card? No it’s not but sometimes a professional credential of some sort is all you need to convince them that you are someone that knows what you are doing and that you are not there to hurt anyone with your camera. You would be surprised how many times I have had people spot my NPPA ID around my neck and they ask me, “which newspaper are you shooting for?” I just told them I was a freelance photojournalist and that was usually sufficient. Some pros will actually make up the name of a phony newspaper and even go as far as having business cards made up with the name of their phony newspaper on them. I have not decided to go that far yet but again, your mileage may vary. I did shoot a local event for Editorial Photography class at a place called Corn Dawgs and there was a lady there giving free hay wagon rides with her tractor. She was’t into the idea of her photo being taken until she found out I was doing it for a class assignment. She just didn’t want to end up in the local paper when she didn’t “look her best”. Once I explained it was for a class assignment, then she said, “Oh, well then shoot away.”

                                           Lady giving hay wagon rides at Corn Dawgs 2014

This post is some of the best, straight forward advice I can give on this subject. The key here is to not be discouraged, work on that thick skin and get back out there making great images.


Comments/Questions

The Pricing Puzzle

It is pretty much inevitable that as a professional photographer, you'll have to figure out how much to charge per job or per hour. The pricing puzzle has a different solution for everyone; it may be tempting to look up photographers in your genre and compare packages and session fees, but don't get caught in that trap! What you need to charge depends on so many factors, and you don't want to end up selling yourself short or charging more than your level of experience is worth. Get all the pieces of the puzzle together, though, and you will end up on the road to success.

There are two major factors that go into running any business: cost of doing business (COB), and cost of living (COL). You'll be learning a great deal about these things in your business classes - pay attention and keep all of your work because you will really benefit from revisiting the worksheets on at least an annual basis to see whether, and how much, you need to raise your prices. If you haven't had a business class yet, it's not too early to start tracking where your money goes so you'll have a really good idea of what you take in and spend on a monthly basis. You will be super prepared for class, to boot!

Cost of Living
While there are charts and calculators available to determine COL based on where you live, it will be much more useful to you to input every single regular payment you have to make into a custom chart. Things like utility payments, average grocery costs, mortgage/rent, and other items that are not business-related will go into this chart. You will also want to include entertainment expenses to ensure you have enough money to enjoy your free time with the prices you set.

Cost of Doing Business
The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has great resources on its pricing guides page to help you better understand what you need to consider when setting your pricing. The cost of doing business calculator by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) is a great place to start, but I'd suggest creating an Excel document in which you expand on the items included in the calculator. For example, if you have one payment for web hosting and one for your domain name, itemize these instead of simply including "web hosting/portal service" so you can see exactly where your money goes each month or year. Similarly, itemizing each professional subscription or membership will help you keep track of how many organizations you have joined and determine whether you want to renew each one annually. Don't forget to include licensing costs in this section (for example, my studio is an LLC so I had to account for setup and annual fees - business incorporation is something you should talk about with your accountant or bankers, and is a blog post for another day!).

Once you have all of your costs (including the salary you want to pay yourself, if self-employed), it's time to determine the final pricing. You don't want to just cover your basic costs, you want to make a profit! Think about what makes sense for your business: will you have tiered packages from which clients can choose? Will you offer products like albums, prints, and custom flash drives for image files? Try to envision your ideal client and how he or she will be using your images. Because my focus is weddings and portraits, my pricing includes various packages with some special à la carte products (like this super fun wooden box with mounted prints I just added to my offerings, tested with some of my Tanzania photographs!).

Once you've set your prices, be confident! If you have confidence that you are worth what you charge, so will your clients.

Have any pricing advice or concerns? Leave a comment and I'll share my opinion or point you to some helpful resources!

Works Cited:

"Cost of Doing Business Calculator." National Press Photographers Association. National Press Photographers Association, 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

"Pricing Guides." American Society of Media Photographers. American Society of Media Photographers, Inc., 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

-Friday Ambassador

Making the Most of an Online Education

There are plenty of reasons to choose an online school. Many of us have full-time jobs, families, live overseas, or simply do not have the means to travel for an education in the arts. Now that you are part of the program, it’s helpful to have a plan of attack to really get the most out of it that you can. I know there are things I could have done differently, but overall I fell that I found success pursuing my photography degree and want to share some tips on how you can do the same.

Manage Your Time

The single most important thing that can help you successfully navigate your online duties is learning how to manage your time. It took me a few sessions to find a system that worked for me, but once I did life got so much easier! The first thing I always do is read through the assignments to get an idea of the type of work each class will entail. Shooting assignments, especially those that involve models, take much more forethought than something like a discussion question response.

What worked for me was creating to-do lists for each week, separated by class. When I created each list I’d have my personal calendar in front of me so I would know if I needed to account for a birthday or hockey game. Maybe a combined calendar would work better for you, or simply a printout of assignments with due dates highlighted. Whatever makes most sense for your workflow, stick to your routine so you get used to it quickly.

Find Balance

Many students I’ve met throughout my years in the program are wearing multiple hats: student, employee, mother/father, caregiver… While it may sometimes seem like there’s just too much to do, don’t give up! Setting aside specific times each day to work on school and leaving the rest of your free time for family and other duties will get you on the right track to succeed. Do your best not to let one push out the other. Family is everything, but your education can help contribute to that family in new and exciting ways. Keep that in mind when you budget your time!

Make time for family, school, and volunteer work or personal projects to keep you sane!  This is a shot I did of an adoptable dog for a Chicagoland rescue, Peace for Pits. Volunteering your talents is quite rewarding.

Have a Back-Up Plan

Most of your instructors will want to know that you have a plan in case your gear fails or you lose Internet access in your home. It is so important to know where there is a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi or who has a computer you can use in case your hard drive gets corrupted, because the classes move really quickly and missing a couple days will leave you far behind. With good time management, you’ll be able to incorporate back-up days for shooting in case there is bad weather, and have back-up models on hand in case the ones you booked bail on you (trust me, it happens!). The small amount of effort you put into booking your back-ups will save you a great deal more work (not to mention frustration) if you have to deal with last-minute changes and aren’t prepared.

Participate

When it comes to an online education, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Because the online classroom does not exactly facilitate friendships and study groups like a brick-and-mortar classroom does, it’s really up to you to keep up with others on the class boards. Make good use of your fellow students and instructors by pointing out certain results you’re hoping to achieve to get feedback on how best to do so. Follow your peers as their projects progress to encourage them and help them polish their work. Active participation will keep you invested in your classes and help you build bonds with others, and networking is always a great idea.

Ask for Help

As our Saturday ambassador pointed out, talking with your instructor can help you “smash through the confusion.” If you are struggling with a class or specific assignment, don’t just suffer through it! Ask how you can best complete an assignment or what exactly is meant by a certain instruction that confuses you. To be successful and enjoy your time in the program, you can also make use of your instructors’ wisdom. I got my monitor calibrator (a ColorMunki) based on the suggestion of an instructor when I had no idea what to look for. You can pick their brains on anything from gear to technique, and they will be happy to see your interest and share their experience.

I hope that you take advantage of what online classrooms have to offer - flexible timelines, being able to go to class in a comfortable setting,  - without feeling lost in the digital world. By motivating yourself and working off of a schedule that makes sense for your life, you will do well and learn a great deal. Best of luck, and please do use this blog as a resource when you have questions about how to succeed!

-Friday Ambassador