What The Duck?

There’s a great cartoon targeted at photographers, making fun of our egos and our foibles and everything else about the profession. It’s called What The Duck.

The best and/or worst part about it? It’s pretty accurate.

Take this one for example:

This particular WTD cartoon illustrates an important point: amateur photographers are opening photo businesses on a daily basis. If you’re not careful in who you hire, you may not get what you hope (or pay) for.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s great that there’s such increased interest in photography. But the problem arises when naive clients don’t distinguish between amateurs and professionals–because these days there’s a glut of photographers and it’s harder to distinguish than ever before.

I count on my clients to distinguish between the quality of my work and the quality of an amateur’s. But some clients assign work on a meeting and a handshake–no portfolio review or client history in sight. And if they hire the wrong guy, they can spend a lot of money without getting what they paid for. Then they have to call on someone else to fix it, but by this point they’ve blown most of their budget and they’re up that proverbial creek.

So just to be safe, make sure you know who you’re hiring. Good work is good work, no matter who makes it. Don’t hesitate to hire whomever you have confidence in. But remember, professionals are paid to make great photographs every time.

Oh, and I suppose I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that at Barlow Productions we’ve got decades of professional experience. I’ve even got some degrees in photography, and I write about it on a regular basis. I hate to sound like a braggart, but the bottom line is this: we know what we’re doing. And these days, it’s important to point that out.

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