Groupon Deals Photographers


Well. Lot of people hav got a different kinda thinking. Some may not even wanna earn from this deal. They did for the sake of experience. Portfolio. Awareness. Or earn from extra photos choose by clients. I don think its a wrong way of doing. Cos u don hav to beg other pg to let u tag along. Dont hav to find someone wedding for a fake portfolio. Yes. Work like a dog. But u got what is more important than money. Experience. Handle different types of customers. How to handle it unreasonable people. How to anticipate in event. Contigency plan for bad weather. Having tons of portfolio and many more. To be frank. I am one of it who did that deal. With 853 hit. Shooting alone till ur underwear wet. I will not regret doing this as i hav my own way of planning. However, i will never do it again. For sure.


Just 1 qn ...how come u need tons of portfolio ?
 

having a lot of shoots means you have time to create stunning portfolio... If you took excellent images and you can further narrow down the images, the end result will be very interesting.

Of course, I am not very sure I would even consider doing Groupon thing for portfolio, but I do admire people who put in their hard work to get to where they want.

Regards,

Hart
 

853.

If you fulfilled all those shoots, we ought to cut you some slack - for hard work - only that.

For singlehandedly contributing to the downgrading of the already cheap photography market 853 times - that I have nothing to good to say so I will not comment further in that regard.

If the whole thing bettered you as a photographer, congrats.

In athletic training, there's something known as Overtraining, where overdoing something is actually detrimental to progress. Someone we trained the right amount actually progressed better than the one who tried too hard. In art it's also the same. We need time off between shoots to self critic images, to find inner voice, to get inspire. In business, you also need time off to keep the mind and mood nimble and in good spirits so as to make adjustments and tweaks to the system. When all hands are tied, your trapped. I am sure you feel some kind of burn out, dread, shutdown somewhere.

You can actually do 53 selectively and progress way better than doing 853.
 

Btw Andy, would you be so kind to show some of the best shots from the 853 shoots?
 

Just 1 qn ...how come u need tons of portfolio ?

but then again, its arguable. lets say 100 common weddings, vs 1 high profile wedding. said high profile wedding if done well, can serve as a better portfolio to command even higher prices.

it depends on how u sell yourself really:)
 

but then again, its arguable. lets say 100 common weddings, vs 1 high profile wedding. said high profile wedding if done well, can serve as a better portfolio to command even higher prices.

it depends on how u sell yourself really:)

in the first place, if one can get a high profile wedding it will means that he is good enough that he dun need tons of portfolio.
 

Hey all,

I've been following this thread for awhile.

Apart from the challenges of managing high vol of deals VS. gaining experience/exposure/awareness, I personally think there are alot to learn from those who have actively advertised on Groupon!

Maybe it will be a good idea if we can have a few of these Groupon photographers come together to share about their experience constructively to those who are not involved? I'm sure this will shed light about this radically new trend of photo biz in Singapore!

Cheers,
Ethan Lim of Life List Chase
Life List Chase | Facebook | Twitter
 

Agetan said:
Wow... 853... I admire your hard work. It took me 2-3 years to do that many clients... I am sure you learn a lot.

Regards,

Hart

Yes. Indeed, after this, i hav a thinking, not sure whether i am right or wrong, jus feel that its hard to define the term "professional". Cos what if u got the title of it, if a customers dont appreciate ur style, u are jus not their cup of coffee, but in the other way round, whether others find that ur photo are not right, but as long the client like it, u are the winner. After all, they are the one paying u. its really confusing. I remember having a siloulette image with a sunset backdrop, lots of people actually like the style and mood, but the client said, "wah, so black ar, cannot see its me leh, this is not pro enough"......
 

lobsterkia said:
Just 1 qn ...how come u need tons of portfolio ?

I didnt expect it to be that much.. but since the deal is set, u cant jus push away, of course i wont be using all of it... i am not doing for free anyway... i still earn from extra photos... i believe its better to get experience and portfolio this way, instead of providing freebies and beg to tag along...
 

JasonB said:
853.

If you fulfilled all those shoots, we ought to cut you some slack - for hard work - only that.

For singlehandedly contributing to the downgrading of the already cheap photography market 853 times - that I have nothing to good to say so I will not comment further in that regard.

If the whole thing bettered you as a photographer, congrats.

In athletic training, there's something known as Overtraining, where overdoing something is actually detrimental to progress. Someone we trained the right amount actually progressed better than the one who tried too hard. In art it's also the same. We need time off between shoots to self critic images, to find inner voice, to get inspire. In business, you also need time off to keep the mind and mood nimble and in good spirits so as to make adjustments and tweaks to the system. When all hands are tied, your trapped. I am sure you feel some kind of burn out, dread, shutdown somewhere.

You can actually do 53 selectively and progress way better than doing 853.

Yes, u got the point too, but like i said, i didnt expect it to be that much.... since its done... i got to finish it...
 

sinned79 said:
in the first place, if one can get a high profile wedding it will means that he is good enough that he dun need tons of portfolio.

True, but not exactly. Cos i shown a work to client, and they ask me, is this the only client u hav. I dont know wat to say then
 

True, but not exactly. Cos i shown a work to client, and they ask me, is this the only client u hav. I dont know wat to say then

I said yes. Doesn't stop them from booking. Sometimes, its more than the portfolio my friend.
 

Yes. Indeed, after this, i hav a thinking, not sure whether i am right or wrong, jus feel that its hard to define the term "professional". Cos what if u got the title of it, if a customers dont appreciate ur style, u are jus not their cup of coffee, but in the other way round, whether others find that ur photo are not right, but as long the client like it, u are the winner. After all, they are the one paying u. its really confusing. I remember having a siloulette image with a sunset backdrop, lots of people actually like the style and mood, but the client said, "wah, so black ar, cannot see its me leh, this is not pro enough"......

Don't define. Don't waste time on semantics. Listen to critics with a pinch of salt.

I shoot in the way I do, my style could change from here to there and its always evolving but one thing is regardless how I changed I always stay true to myself. After a while you will attract the people who will like your style of work, your personality or your brand.

If you try to please everyone and shoot in a safe manner, that is a sure way to mediocrity - common GWC or CS hobbyists.

With Groupon, you are attracting people who usually don't have a lot of respect for you to start with in the first place, because of the low price it already forms an impression that maybe you are cheap because you are not very good. This is very obvious when they say "wah, so black ar, cannot see its me leh, this is not pro enough".

Also the type of people who search for groupon deals are usually bargain hunters who count very well and count very clearly and count very carefully. They count your pictures, they count your pixels, they try to measure everything with money and try to gain a even better deal out of you. While you were busy with this segment of the market, other professionals are booking better gigs - gigs that you don't have time to book or even look, because you were so busy with the Groupon thing.

IMHO.
 

True, but not exactly. Cos i shown a work to client, and they ask me, is this the only client u hav. I dont know wat to say then

u dun get what i mean.

what i meant, if the photographer is good enough, just a few sets of portfolio (not tons) is good enough to impress to get himself a big job.
 

it is really impressive to hear you done a total of 853 assignments. i always figure how one can even take up 200 assigments and try to finish it within the stipulated period in order to obtain full payment back from groupon. i believe the biggest pain would probably be meeting with nasty customer who snarl at you even though they might have pay only $Y for the service. if you start a seminar to share your experience, i believe alot would be keen to hear from you.

hope you dont take it as an offence, as i would be most keen in your sharing.
 

thanks for the sharing from the insider's views.

very impressive of what you have done in a period of short time,

good or bad, it is hard to tell now, but what matter most is will you stay in this trade and prosper.
 

sjackal said:
Don't define. Don't waste time on semantics. Listen to critics with a pinch of salt.

I shoot in the way I do, my style could change from here to there and its always evolving but one thing is regardless how I changed I always stay true to myself. After a while you will attract the people who will like your style of work, your personality or your brand.

If you try to please everyone and shoot in a safe manner, that is a sure way to mediocrity - common GWC or CS hobbyists.

With Groupon, you are attracting people who usually don't have a lot of respect for you to start with in the first place, because of the low price it already forms an impression that maybe you are cheap because you are not very good. This is very obvious when they say "wah, so black ar, cannot see its me leh, this is not pro enough".

Also the type of people who search for groupon deals are usually bargain hunters who count very well and count very clearly and count very carefully. They count your pictures, they count your pixels, they try to measure everything with money and try to gain a even better deal out of you. While you were busy with this segment of the market, other professionals are booking better gigs - gigs that you don't have time to book or even look, because you were so busy with the Groupon thing.

IMHO.

Yes u are right... i felt that way too....
 

catchlights said:
thanks for the sharing from the insider's views.

very impressive of what you have done in a period of short time,

good or bad, it is hard to tell now, but what matter most is will you stay in this trade and prosper.

Ya true.. if i fail.. be it.. at least i once tried my own... doesnt matter whether i can earn from that.. cos i just love photography thats all...
 

GeonSG said:
it is really impressive to hear you done a total of 853 assignments. i always figure how one can even take up 200 assigments and try to finish it within the stipulated period in order to obtain full payment back from groupon. i believe the biggest pain would probably be meeting with nasty customer who snarl at you even though they might have pay only $Y for the service. if you start a seminar to share your experience, i believe alot would be keen to hear from you.

hope you dont take it as an offence, as i would be most keen in your sharing.

Yes, there are nasty customers.. paid a penny and ask for plenty.... but some are really good....
 

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