erm... folks, do give initalE24 a break? :embrass:
from wat i see here, the respondents (by and large) are working photogs. versus (i presume) a newbie to the business. whether his pricing 'spoil mkt' or not, well... to each his/her own lah. sometimes, its really a no-man's land - if a newbie wedding photog charges mkt rate, people will say he/she thick-skinned. no portfolio, no experience and still dare to charge so high. charge too low (in order to start somewhere and build up experience and portfolio), and he/she gets it. damn if i do, damn if i don't...
not many of us has the priviledge to PA a working photog, to slog out the hours, building up portfolios and later striking out. for better or worse, the digital camera, quite literally, makes everyone a cameraman. i had a similar discussion with a working photog in CS over MSN last yr abt this. he was fretting over his pricing too, and it would seem everyone is roughly doing the same thing as him in PSing and layouts. tough... i told him. cos as long as one got a PC, PS CS2 and a cam, he/she can start shooting and copy his style. wat my fren did to stay ahead of the game is being creative in his shot taking. dats something no one can copy - ur creativity.
and dats where the money is. believe me. singaporean customers are not as dumb as we would like to think. cheapos, yes. but, definitely not dumb.
this debate and all its rehashings is akin to how USA, Japan, EU etc... fret over the rise of China and its cheap labour. after all the china-bashings, guess wat? the only way to compete is to move up the 'value-chain', so to speak. since u can
't beat them rushing towards the bottom, might as well do something better that they can't copy.... yet.
so, lighten up? there's always a mkt for couples who needs a bargain. likewise couples who are more discerning in wat they want.