are we thinking this through?
some people want some type of regulation or market pricing personally i think it's a bad idea...here's why
as it stands we get people offering cheap or no pay. now, if you are not going to answer there call, then what is the problem? meaning, what are you personally losing? if they are too cheap, you won't take the job anyway so where is your individual loss? however, i promise you there is someone out there just wants to earn enough or needs to earn enough to get by. if someone offers cheap pay and gets a photog from CS and the photog does a bad job, hey, tough, that's what they get for wanting to skimp. will CS miss this type of customer if they don't return...probably not. so again, what are we losing? they can always test the waters again and offer more pay next time for perhaps better quality.
however, if we make a change and regulate or list a market price for services, i promise you this is what will happen...and it only needs to happen once. someone will offer a fair price and a CSer will take the job. If the customer is not happy with the job they will most likely never approach CS again. now who loses out in this scenario, almost everyone.
granted the above scenario is a negative one, but you can't only paint a rosey picture and need to see the downfall to things. how do I know that scenario will happen? i'm not being arrogant but it's no secret and all anyone has to do is look at photos and critiques and see that if people in this forum do not even think other people's work is acceptable or desireable because of flaws here and there, rest assured that a paying customer will surley notice that and much more. why do I say that, because every photog has a different style, a different way of doing things and a different eye. if they don't match up and please everyone in this forum, how can we expect everyone here to please every customer? ...you can't. therefore CS and all its members are taking a huge, very huge risk.
i understand and appreciate what this discuaaion is about, but seriously, somewhere someone is getting married and wants pics but can't pay market prices. somewhere a brother just needs some cash to get by to eat or pay a bill. and somewhere someone wants an unrealistic price and we want to slap for even asking.
whether we like it or not, there is a market for cheap photogs. either you can eat at crystal jade, or go and have some of the same things at a hawker center for far less...nothing is wrong with either and it just depends on you the customer, what you want, what you fancy.
exploit is a broad term...banglas are getting exploited in construction, philippinos are getting exploited in post production, maids are being exploited...can go on and on, this is nothing new, we look for the cheapest best price if not free.
to sum it up and hopefully to let people think through a bit more, we are only exploited if we let it happen to us by taking a peanut job...remember that. so as much as i don't like people getting exploited, no one is forcing anyone to take a job that is exploiting someone in CS. so...are we being exploited (which we cannot be if we didn't take the job), or insulted (which we can be because of unreasonable offers). i think we are more insulted then exploited.
to set up some sort of market price or regulation only hurts people (CSers and people in need) by lessening their options... an option to be able to decide freely if they want to take that job or not for whatever their personal reasons may be. again, no one is being exploited unless they choose so. the world is full of people that will want cheap or free...can't do anything about that and it's a blessing because it works both ways
somewhere someone had an idea to sell drinks and call it bar...now have all the businesses that copied or sell cheaper drinks hurt the industry? competition is healthy. imagine one bar and how expensive the prices there would be. now imagine a lot bars and how much more people can enjoy them...carve your own niche and don't worry about the other guy. someone want a beer cheap, point him down the road to a bar that has cheap beer.
if spoiling the market is an issue, then renew and reinvent yourself, be innovative, creative, and seperate yourself from the rest by either being the best or by being different and don't look back at what people are doing behind you...carve our own nich, make your own path and move on.
