# Well, I learned my lesson on professional photography



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I had a photo session with Rebel and snorkels last summer - for various and sundry reasons I just got around to looking at the photos this week.

I want to preface this by saying I have seen alot of this photographer's work and I have really liked what she does.

But out of the 45 photos, there was only one I liked. It was so hot that day and she did alot outside that it was really hard to get the dogs to shut their mouths. My husband actually got sick and had to go sit inside, it was so hot. 

Snorkels looked like a drunk sailer in almost all the photos. Her tongue isn't as long as Tommy's but it can hang down pretty good. Rebel looked a little better but most of the shots of him were not something I would pay big bucks for. Just normal photos.

But I did see one of Rebel that I really liked - the price was $50 for an 8x10. Then I found out to buy a copy to post online was another $195. Now, maybe I would have printed off a couple, I don't know. It seems like for personal use I shouldn't have to pay that much. I'm not going to be selling them.'

But I could easily scan the print photo and put as many online as I want to if I was going to be a cheat. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and give people a fricken photo for less than $195,

So I ended up not getting anything. I guess the moral of this story is - if you are one of those people who take really good photos, you should do it for money. And let people post a photo on facebook at a decent price.


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

What a rip off! That's some STEEP pricing, especially if you pay $50 for a photo but then can't even scan it and post it online without them telling you off, thats ridiculous.

Give Jon a call, tell him to make a trip to Indianapolis and you can pay him for good pics of ur pups haha


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

hmbutler said:


> What a rip off! That's some STEEP pricing, especially if you pay $50 for a photo but then can't even scan it and post it online without them telling you off, thats ridiculous.
> 
> Give Jon a call, tell him to make a trip to Indianapolis and you can pay him for good pics of ur pups haha


yes, Jon's photos are awfully good. I wish I was even half that good.

I just really wanted one decent photo of Rebel - he sits nice and does what I ask but I'm just not getting it myself.

The one photo the photographer took where he had a great expression on his face also had his penis showing. Not sure i would have wanted that on m living room wall.

There was the one I would have paid $50 for, but not $245 for a print and a digital copy.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh, and then the reason given for not allowing me to get the digital with the print was that I might not use a very high quality lab to get the photo the photographer intended if I made a print.

But then, for $195, I guess it doesn't matter what lab I use or if I print them off on construction paper. 

Just frustrated. I should have asked before so this is really my fault - I just assumed a CD would come with the photo and I was wrong, wrong, wrong.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

What a bummer!! For those kinds of insane prices, they should be completely redoing the shoot for free if you're not satisfied!! I haven't ever hired a pet photographer before, though I've thought about it. I hope to just get good enough with my own camera to produce my own photos whenever I want!


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Wow that is pretty pricey, especially for something you didn't like!

FWIW, I charge $100 for an hour session, which includes 20 pictures (all edited) that I send to people via email, or put them on a disk. That way, they can choose whatever they want and don't pay per print. I would certainly refund someones money if they previewed their pictures and didn't like any of them, that or offer a re-shoot!

I do most of my photography outdoors, so if it's hot, I make sure to start at like 8am, hopefully before it gets TOO hot. This is a dog who my friend could never get a decent picture of.. she's older, and was not a big fan of being out in the heat, but I got a lot of cute ones of her:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

kady05 said:


> Wow that is pretty pricey, especially for something you didn't like!
> 
> FWIW, I charge $100 for an hour session, which includes 20 pictures (all edited) that I send to people via email, or put them on a disk. That way, they can choose whatever they want and don't pay per print. I would certainly refund someones money if they previewed their pictures and didn't like any of them, that or offer a re-shoot!
> 
> I do most of my photography outdoors, so if it's hot, I make sure to start at like 8am, hopefully before it gets TOO hot. This is a dog who my friend could never get a decent picture of.. she's older, and was not a big fan of being out in the heat, but I got a lot of cute ones of her:


That's a great photo! An actual expression showing.

And yes we started at 4pm outside and THEN went inside only after I insisted. I thought the dogs were going to have heat stroke.

I'd love to get good enough to take my own photos, also. Not even professional quality, just decent photos. 

I ended up getting the one print photo of Rebel. And she's going to throw in a thumbnail (watermarked of course) she said I can use on my facebook page as an avatar. 

But absolutely no scanning of the print photo - really, people need to adapt to the digital age. That is totally unenforceable and unnecessary for personal use photos.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I just emailed her again and told her I didn't want anything after all. I know I'd scan the photo.

So I'll just have to figure out myself how to get a decent photo of Rebel. I bet I can do it if I put a little effort into it.


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