Because it was recently brought to my attention.
In a seperate thread in which a provider was placing an ad for the photographer that took her photos, she made a claim that some (other photographers) could not believe. They backed up their points. I gave a simple explaination as to what was possible.
How he actually works? I dont know and its none of my concern.
I dont know about the others but I was contacted and bashed for several mins and several statements were made about me during this call.
I read back through the thread again, just to make sure that I didnt say anything that could be held inappropriate in anyones eyes. Nope, nothing. No bad mouthing, no bashing, nothing negative in the least. Just a simple possibility. Nothing more, nothing less. There but several others did mention things that were far more critical. And at least one other went into further detail about the matter.
Were the photos bad? No, they're nice photos and the provider should be and probably is very proud of them.
When I mentioned what had happened to a couple of photographers I know and a couple of models, they all said the same thing. I wont mention it here cause it would be petty.
Why did I take the time to type this? Simple...
I want the opportunity to make sure I have a clear name!
When I found out who it was that called me, I found his MySpace (no website) and looked through his work to see if the verbal battery I recieved was justified. Not that I could see.
I emailed him and I did do the following:
I did appologize for the comment if it offended him (which I'm still trying to figure out how)
I told him I'm more of an artist than a picture taker and I freely admit it to everyone
I also gave him an unsolicited critique (which wasnt a bad one from a technical point of view) although he felt it was so important to tell me how bad I was.
In return:
I got bashed even more
Was told my ads on ECCIE (by providers from here) were suspicious and misleading (because of my rates). He made it sound like I shouldnt charge that much because they will be nude. NEVER do I say you have to do nudes. Thats your call, not mine. Most of the providers I shoot do either ligerie' or sexier casuals, not nudes. Besides, unlike some (models and photographers) My rates dont slide up and down a scale based upon how much clothing you have or dont have on.
That I use my work to date my clients! 90% of my clients are either married or half my age. I want your money, not your body. Thats why I wont barter.
If anyone needs further explainations, just read through the threads here. It wont take long to find and you will see what happened prior to.
As for me, my works and my rates... simple
If you like my work and my rates, hire me
If you like my work and not my rates, make me an offer, then hire me
If you dont like either, then dont. I wont be offended. You have to deal with the same thing from hobbyist. There maybe something about you (age/tats/figure) that some will find very appealing and some wont.
But just to make it worth your while for taking the time to read this and to also keep it within the spirit of this forum:
Gimme a shout and I'll do $100 shoots for the remainder of the month