Terrible Experience! (Page 2): True. Had I known what I was shooting I would have been better prepaired. I'll write back to this forum if I hear any comments from them.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

True. Had I known what I was shooting I would have been better prepaired. I'll write back to this forum if I hear any comments from them.

Capture48 wrote:

I doubt many photographers have entered this business that have not made many of these same mistakes. I myself made quite a few of the standard ones like this. Shooting for friends, shooting without getting money up front, shooting with no contract. All these mistakes I have made, and thats why I can suggest you don't do it again.

As long as you learn from the experience, and not just the business stuff, but the photography stuff as well it will have been worth it.

Photog8 Loc: Morriston, FL

A lot of us have been there, Tracy. Once had an artist ask me to shoot his hand blown glass. I knew it would be a learning experience for me and told him so. I hoped he would leave the glass so I could run tests but he insisted on staying. After the first Polaroid (RB67 with Polaroid back for testing) he said that I obviously didn't know what I was doing and took his glass and left. Since I was already set up and in the mood for experimenting, I shot some glass I had in the studio and learned some new techniques.

Glad you were able to finish your shoot. Commercial photography (and clients) can be demanding and is not for everyone. Please consider showing us some of your results. ;-)

Singing Swan

Tracy B. wrote:

Well, I'm so critical of my own work. But, my Husband said they were fine. Luckily he is an expert in Photoshop. I did first edits then he just tweaked them. I give her the CD today. I think I could have done better had I known earlier what I was supposed to be photographing.

This speaks volumes about how you didn't prepare properly. That's what contracts are for.

Tracy B. wrote:

This is something I'm not interested in. I would never see it as an opportunity, but as a chore. I only want to shoot what interests me.

And this speaks volumes about how you shouldn't have accepted the work anyway.

I'm sorry this turned out bad for you. I know from practice that photographing food is not easy, especially under the conditions you had, but hindsight, thank goodness, is 20/20

MW

Tracy B. wrote:

I did have a contract, however it wasn't specific enough. I have learned my lesson. This experience sucked the fun out of it for me. I believe I'll just stick to photography as a hobby. That is at least fun for me anyway.

Your experience is less unusual than you might think. I've had conversations with landscape and with home riddling contractors who confessed that their first jobs were misery and financial losses. They also said that what they learned was worth it though.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Well, actually like I said they told me something different than what they wanted when I got there. But, I guess i could have turned it down. But it involved a few friends of my husbands, and I didn't want to step on toes. It would have been awkward.

Singing Swan wrote:

And this speaks volumes about how you shouldn't have accepted the work anyway.

I'm sorry this turned out bad for you. I know from practice that photographing food is not easy, especially under the conditions you had, but hindsight, thank goodness, is 20/20

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

Tracy B. wrote:

Well, actually like I said they told me something different than what they wanted when I got there. But, I guess i could have turned it down. But it involved a few friends of my husbands, and I didn't want to step on toes. It would have been awkward.

LOL, sorry don't mean to laugh at you, but the dreaded friends, thats yet another mistake many have made including me.

here is my rule; Never work for friends! This is the best way to destroy a friendship. I will offer to help vet a photographer for them, but I will never work for them. Friends expect more, and want to pay less or nothing. I use to get offers to come to this event or this party, oh and by the way can you bring your camera? This NEVER works out.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Well, I hope someday I can look back at this and laugh at myself. I just came home crying to my Husband. At that time I didn't even want to look at my camera again. I feel better now, but this experience was awlful. I should have known right away when the lady who was telling me what she wanted, yelled at The Chef because he wore a ball cap and she wanted a picture of him with their "special steak". I wasn't even supposed to meet with her, it was supposed to be someone else. I hope I haven't lost the joy of photography forever, but this experience really got to me.

Capture48 wrote:

LOL, sorry don't mean to laugh at you, but the dreaded friends, thats yet another mistake many have made including me.

here is my rule; Never work for friends! This is the best way to destroy a friendship. I will offer to help vet a photographer for them, but I will never work for them. Friends expect more, and want to pay less or nothing. I use to get offers to come to this event or this party, oh and by the way can you bring your camera? This NEVER works out.

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

Tracy B. wrote:

Well, I hope someday I can look back at this and l... (show quote)

Believe me I completely understand. When I was a very young and new photographer (Film Days) I shot a wedding for a friend. While I did studio shoots for a long time I had never shot a wedding, so I offered to do it as a wedding present, no charge. I was not aware of shot lists what shots are must have for weddings, instead I followed the bride and groom for the entire ceremony. Got lots of great shots of the bride and groom, but nothing of the background, no family or group shots. basically none of the shots that you have to do for a wedding. IN the end they used my B&G shots but had to collect film film for guests to get other shots.

That job even though I did not charge, cost me a friendship. But that is not the end of it, it took one more similar experience before I finally learned my lesson (Don't shoot for friends) even for free.

So when some of us say we understand, believe me I also learned the hard way. Decide on your own rules and NEVER break them. Don't let this experience put you off photography.
Good luck,

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Tracy B. wrote:

My first paid photography job. I was told I would be taking some interior pictures of a bar/restaurant. Well, I walk in and am told I will be doing pictures of their menu items. The Chef will be prepairing each dish and I'm to take pictures of each item. Let me set the sceen. DARK bar! Food Photography, I've read is the hardest to photograph. I have no practice at food photography. I haven't even tried. I'm not interested it that at all. OMG! I will never do anything like that again.

Wait a minute. This was your first paid assignment Congrats. It doesn't matter if you are not happy with the results. The only thing that does matter is if the client likes the result. You have now entered the world of proffesional photography (or at least semi-pro) Take this as a learning experience. So what if you made a few mistakes on the business side. If the client is happy with your photos perhaps you can ask him for referals for other work. Don't sell yourself short. Go for it.

superpijak Loc: Middle TN

Sorry to hear about your negative experience, keep a stiff upper lip as the good experiences will out weigh the bad.

BTW, did you get to sample the dishes? :D

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Wow! Your a positive person. I want to be like that.
I'll let you all know what they think of them if I hear.

boberic wrote:

Wait a minute. This was your first paid assignment Congrats. It doesn't matter if you are not happy with the results. The only thing that does matter is if the client likes the result. You have now entered the world of proffesional photography (or at least semi-pro) Take this as a learning experience. So what if you made a few mistakes on the business side. If the client is happy with your photos perhaps you can ask him for referals for other work. Don't sell yourself short. Go for it.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Tracy B. wrote:

My first paid photography job. I was told I would be taking some interior pictures of a bar/restaurant. Well, I walk in and am told I will be doing pictures of their menu items. The Chef will be prepairing each dish and I'm to take pictures of each item. Let me set the sceen. DARK bar! Food Photography, I've read is the hardest to photograph. I have no practice at food photography. I haven't even tried. I'm not interested it that at all. OMG! I will never do anything like that again.

Too many unasked questions. A valuable lesson. :lol: :lol:

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

I didn't get to sample any, by the time I walked out of there I was starving. You should have seen the size of their steak! They made every dish on their menu. You know I'm aware of my strengths. If someone were to ask me my photography strenghts, I'd say portraits, landscape, macro, now I know my weakness. ...Food.

superpijak wrote:

Sorry to hear about your negative experience, keep a stiff upper lip as the good experiences will out weigh the bad.

BTW, did you get to sample the dishes? :D

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

I like to learn lessons from a book, but I always learn mine the hard way. Example: At Church we (the praise team) sat in on an interview of a potential new praise team leader. One person, on the Church staff, asked a very hard and stupid question. Later, I complained to the person playing keyboard about the stupid question. Well, guess what? The person who asked the stupid question was her Mother. That is just one example of many
hard lessons I've learned.

davidrb wrote:

Too many unasked questions. A valuable lesson. :lol: :lol:

Photocraig

Tracy B. wrote:

That's great advice. I would follow it if I were ever to do a paid photo shoot again. I can't see that happening though.

The key here is expectations--yours and the client's. If they're not clear disappointment lurks around every corner. Even if you never do a paid shoot again, folks will ask you to photograph them or events from time to time. Walking into an "assignment" without covering the "obvious" is what takes the fun out of it.

If you'd been asked to try to get some food shots to see if they work as an unpaid experiment, would you have had more or less fun? Everything is a learning experience. When the learning stops, the fun stops too.

BUT, with a paying assignment, clarification and expectations are required for a good results BEFORE you quote the price--always. Lesson learned. Hopefully the feathers are all smoothed over and you're still dining there.
C