Wedding photogs expensive? Have you seen other professions eroded by hacks?

Eric Stevens writes:

On 04 Feb 2012 20:16:50 GMT, (Ray Fischer) wrote:

RichA wrote:
There is a complaint in the trade's industry in Toronto that Third
Worlder's with no apparent training or skill are vastly underpricing
jobs, eroding wages in the industries (mostly contractors) and hurting
the industry's overall image by doing sub-par work.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01...rices#comments

Isn't "eroded by hacks" another term for "capitalism" and "market
forces driving down costs"?

Whatever it is, its not capitalism. How about a variation of 'bad
money drives out good'?

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

On Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:06:17 -0600, David Dyer-Bennet
wrote:

Eric Stevens writes:

On 04 Feb 2012 20:16:50 GMT, (Ray Fischer) wrote:

RichA wrote:
There is a complaint in the trade's industry in Toronto that Third
Worlder's with no apparent training or skill are vastly underpricing
jobs, eroding wages in the industries (mostly contractors) and hurting
the industry's overall image by doing sub-par work.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01...rices#comments

Isn't "eroded by hacks" another term for "capitalism" and "market
forces driving down costs"?

Whatever it is, its not capitalism. How about a variation of 'bad
money drives out good'?

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

There is nothing wrong with selling lower-quality goods at lower
prices, in fact its what one would expect. The problem is selling
lower-quality goods at lower prices and pretending they are of the
best quality.

Doing that is not the sole prerogative of capitalists. Its a common
occurrence with massed small or sole traders. Here we are talking
about wedding photographers but its also common amongst professions
such as structural engineers. Also an Indian bazaar. In other words,
its got nothing to do with capitalism.

If you think its wrong and want to complain about it then you have to
blame the customers as much as anybody.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

Regards,

Eric Stevens

In article , David Dyer-Bennet
wrote:

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
is forgotten.

"Mr. Strat" writes:

In article , David Dyer-Bennet
wrote:

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
is forgotten.

Sometimes, sure, but it's a very successful market niche. Look at Walmart.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

Bruce writes:

David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
"Mr. Strat" writes:
In article , David Dyer-Bennet
wrote:

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
is forgotten.

Sometimes, sure, but it's a very successful market niche. Look at Walmart.


The sting of low quality from Walmart usually lasts no longer than it
takes for it to pass through the digestive system. ;-)

The shirts I've bought there, very cheaply, are holding up fine. I
don't go there very much though -- haven't been in years.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

On Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:48:32 +0000, Bruce wrote:
: "Mr. Strat" wrote:
:
: In article , David Dyer-Bennet
: wrote:
:
: You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
: goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
: appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.
:
: Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
: that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.
:
: The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
: is forgotten.
:
:
: Indeed.
:
: In the case of wedding photography the sting of low quality lasts a
: lifetime, or the duration of the marriage, whichever is shorter. ;-)

My daughter has been married for 20 years. The sting of her OOF wedding
pictures still lasts, as it was I who paid for them. (And I now claim to be a
better event photographer than the klutz who took them was!)

My wife and I have been married for 45 years. The sting of our wedding
pictures still lasts, as they have faded nearly to black & white (actually,
gray & white). That, at least, will not happen to my grandchildren, whose
wedding pictures are sure to be delivered on digital media! ;^)

Bob

On 2012-02-10 17:12 , tony cooper wrote:

This photograph hangs on the wall in our bedroom. It was taken on
October 17, 1964. It's too large (10" x 14") to fit on the scanner,
so only part of it shows here. A professional photographer took it.

The focus is better than the scan shows because the scan is done
through non-glare glass. The colors have faded badly, but - then - so
have we. The funny thing is that when I look at it I don't see a
faded photo; I see us exactly as we were. Like most men, I can't
remember, but my wife can probably tell you exactly what colors the
flowers were.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2.../wedding-1.jpg

Lovely bride, you handsome devil.

Of course she could have done better ... ;-)

--
"We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty."
Douglas Adams - (Could have been a GPS engineer).

On Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:33:17 -0800, "Mr. Strat"
wrote:

In article , David Dyer-Bennet
wrote:

You sure? One classic capitalist maneuver is to offer lower-quality
goods at a lower price. Depending on the market, that often works. It
appears to have worked in the wedding photogrpahy market.

Also, the "quality" of photos is subjective. Another possibility is
that many couples like different kinds of photos than you do.

The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
is forgotten.

.... or the reciprocal:

Long after you have forgotten what you paid for it you remember how
well it works.

Regards,

Eric Stevens

"Eric Stevens" wrote in message
...
The sting of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price
is forgotten.

... or the reciprocal:

Long after you have forgotten what you paid for it you remember how
well it works.

Or perhaps the alternative, long after it's obsolete, you're still paying it
off :-(

Trevor.