My season starts in three weeks but I'm already dreading the comment I know I'll hear way too often: "You must have a really good camera."
How do you respond? I don't want to be a smart-as, of course. At the same time, I would like to get credit for 40 years of experience and dedication to my craft. After all, I wouldn't go up to a painter and say: "Gee, you must have really good brushes."
Do you grin and bear it? The customer is always right? Or use the occasion to carefully educate?
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and one of my favorites in this category is we had a good friend, Bill Coleman, who sold images of the Amish that he had taken in PA near where he lived over many years. When asked over and over again "did you take these photos?" he finally resorted to saying, "no, I bought them in China." Competition being what it is in our business soon the word spread that Bill wasn't taking his own photos and he had a little trouble with some of the shows.
I'm a landscape photog and my other favorite question is: Have you been to all of these places? In my mind I say: Nope, I just have a really long lens.
I generally just give a smile and a chortle, followed by an explanation that a good camera helps at times but the best camera is the one you have with you. I point out that what I have hanging in my booth has been taken with anything from a half frame 35mm through medium
format and the digital images have been taken with anything from a 3mp p&s or a cell phone up to a 45mp dSLR. Once that point settles in with a short pause, I tap the side of my head and say that the most important photography accessory is what lies about 3 inches behind the viewfinder :-)
Advertisers have consumers convinced, to be dazzled with numbers, specifications (they don't understand), in order to get them to purchase the next "bigger" and greater in order to get better results. Therefore the consumer believes it is the tool / device not the user which allows for the better result.
So we can either try to change a mindset that has been promulgated upon us or turn their query into an ice breaker and positive towards the sale.
I remember back in my prior years... someone had a new 386 computer. I had designed another system. I set them up to run the exact same operation in AutoCAD. My system completed the operation 13 seconds before his. He wanted to know what processor I had in mine. When I showed him it was just an XT, it was enough to convince him it was not the hardware but user configuration that was important.
If we put our camera equipment into their hands, most likely they would not be able to create the art we do. However, proving that will not win us the sale either.
EVERYBODY is a potential customer. Find the response that will be positive, create dialogue, win them over, sell yourself and your work.
Few feelings are as nice as making a sale to a heckler. They are not the enemy, they are my friends for when they purchase from me, they affirm my value and they put food on my table.
BTW you write very good responses... what type of keyboard are you using? ;-)
Replies
I always smile and say, "Yes, and Rembrandt had really great brushes too."
and one of my favorites in this category is we had a good friend, Bill Coleman, who sold images of the Amish that he had taken in PA near where he lived over many years. When asked over and over again "did you take these photos?" he finally resorted to saying, "no, I bought them in China." Competition being what it is in our business soon the word spread that Bill wasn't taking his own photos and he had a little trouble with some of the shows.
There is such a long list of these types of comments lol.
I usually respond to this one with - "yes!...I bought it at the same place Shakespeare bought his pen!"
I'm a landscape photog and my other favorite question is: Have you been to all of these places? In my mind I say: Nope, I just have a really long lens.
format and the digital images have been taken with anything from a 3mp p&s or a cell phone up to a 45mp dSLR. Once that point settles in with a short pause, I tap the side of my head and say that the most important photography accessory is what lies about 3 inches behind the viewfinder :-)
with me I'd have to say 6" behind the viewfinder...
I have a very big...
Nose.
Jimmy Durante and me. :-)
One of my favorite responses is, "I taught it everything it knows!"
I like it!
It's funny. My day job - and what pays the bills - is writing. And not once has someone said: You must have a really good keyboard.
One of the reasons is the advertising world.
Advertisers have consumers convinced, to be dazzled with numbers, specifications (they don't understand), in order to get them to purchase the next "bigger" and greater in order to get better results. Therefore the consumer believes it is the tool / device not the user which allows for the better result.
So we can either try to change a mindset that has been promulgated upon us or turn their query into an ice breaker and positive towards the sale.
I remember back in my prior years... someone had a new 386 computer. I had designed another system. I set them up to run the exact same operation in AutoCAD. My system completed the operation 13 seconds before his. He wanted to know what processor I had in mine. When I showed him it was just an XT, it was enough to convince him it was not the hardware but user configuration that was important.
If we put our camera equipment into their hands, most likely they would not be able to create the art we do. However, proving that will not win us the sale either.
EVERYBODY is a potential customer. Find the response that will be positive, create dialogue, win them over, sell yourself and your work.
Few feelings are as nice as making a sale to a heckler. They are not the enemy, they are my friends for when they purchase from me, they affirm my value and they put food on my table.
BTW you write very good responses... what type of keyboard are you using? ;-)
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