Yes, it’s been awhile, we’ll get to that in another post.
For now, I’d like to tell you about an epiphany I had the other day. February 25th, to be exact.
On that day, I was part of a birthday gift to a young woman who had started a photography business. Her good friend was planning a special day for her and booked a mentoring session with me.
I spent about an hour and a half talking to this young lady who was exceptionally sweet and loved photography. She was a stay-at-home mom of three and was using photography to supplement the household income.
Yes, she was an MWAC.
I set aside my reservations (how is this going to go?) and talked to her about wedding photography, baby sessions, camera and lens information, background and prop information and a multitude of other subjects that she wanted to know more about. And yes, we talked about the proper licenses and insurance she needed.
And my preconceived ideas of MWACs were shattered.
She was nice, she was sweet, she was thirsty for knowledge and soaked it up like a sponge. She was excited, enthusiastic and horror of horrors… passionate.
She had NO CLUE that her pricing model was one of the many that have pros gnashing their teeth and beating their breasts.
And I realized something…MWACs are not purposefully trying to screw us over. Really. They’re not.
They got a camera, took a lot of photos and people that don’t know better told them they should be in business. So they went into business. Illegally, but they did. And they’re happy. They’re making some extra money and their husbands are happy, too. They haven’t yet learned to do the math that makes it obvious that they’re working for less than minimum wage.
Instead of picturing MWACs as these nasty, disrespectful women who are trying to screw me out of business, I am now picturing them as happy women with a hobby that they love and making some extra cash.
They’re still wrong, but they’re not being evil and vindictive about it.
I’d like to challenge my fellow pros out there to try and give these ladies a break. The key is education, not ridicule. They’re naive, that’s all. And we can help them learn a better way.
I'm very much a MWAC, as you know. I am not sure I desire being a full-time pro since this is just one of the many creative outlets I love. But, the chance to make some money off of photography fell in my lap last fall, and I did well enough for the season with my sister-in-law who drug me into it that I desire to learn more. We have difference of opinions on where we want it to go (and I think she's bored with it already,) so I am trying to decide where to take it myself now. I do not have a vendor's license yet– if I get one– but I did pay taxes on my earnings last year just the same way in which I pay taxes on my writing earnings. So, I hope you don't kick me around too much on this journey. 🙂 I am rather fond of you, you know…
No kicking, Barb – I’m fond of you, too. 🙂 “Pro” does not have to mean “full time.” Just because someone pursues something in less than full-time manner, does not mean they should slack off on skill development or other activities involved. I’m not sure what your business offerings were, but if you had taxable sales or charged sales tax, then that’s where the vendor’s license comes into play. Join me on May 14th if you can – it sounds like it would be beneficial to you. 🙂
If they’re not paying taxes, claiming income, charging sales tax, they honestly should know that Uncle Sam wants his piece of the pie.
I'm sure their not all bad, but if their charging for their services and have no clue what they are doing then I totally disagree with that. We were in business for almost a year before we started charging, and even then I felt we weren't up to the standard.
We can disagree all we want, but we should make an effort to educate them instead of being convinced they're purposefully trying to screw us.
I like to take photos. But I'm not a photographer. I'm a mother of two. My reply to this is this. If I'm looking to get family photo's done and I'm considering going with you, you can bet your butt I'm going to research your galleries first. You can usually tell from the photos who does and doesn't have a clue what they are doing. And you can SEE the passion in the photos. You don't have to go to school and be licensed and be legal to have the eye and passion for photography. Lighting and the such can be picked up and learned. And I have done a lot of researching into studios and photography. Sadly, you CAN get a good and a lot of times BETTER photo from an amateur than you can from a professional. And most times, you will get a better attitude from the non pro. They don't seem to be as impatient either. You can take your time with your newborn child or your screaming toddler. A lot of the professionals I've gone to, I was rushed and the photographer did not carry a well demeanor. And had no patience for an unpredictable child. It felt totally unprofessional. And I ended up leaving embarrassed and feeling taken advantage of. I will say that the professional studios do a better job at editing because they do charge more and don't have to use the cheap editing programs. I've had some really good photos taken professionally, but most of my best family portraits were taken by someone who took them "illegally".
Vanessa Dilly My use of the term "illegal" refers to the fact that there are photographers out there charging money for their services, but not in possession of a valid vendor's license, and in turn, not reporting their income to the IRS.
Vanessa Dilly and furthermore – you seem to have taken offense to an article written to tell about *MY* lesson in humility from a student. There is no offense to the student implied in the slightest. She was quite a lovely young lady and I will be eternally grateful for the lesson she taught me.
Christine Walsh-Newton , yes my reply was for ONI stating that most non pros don't have a clue. I agreed with you.
Vanessa Dilly OHHHHHHHH! Dang! OK – withdrawing my foot from my mouth – apologies all around!
And I stand corrected that she stated most don't have a clue. I suppose what she did was more of an insinuation that most don't.
The key is education. Word.