Teach Photography - No experience required

[Biomech]

Went clubbing last night and was approached by a very nice young lady who was the nightclubs "photographer". She was using a Fuji bridge camera with it's popup flash :O

As if that wasn't bad enough, I've just found out she actually works for this company:

Picture Pal > Recruitment

Who state that NO photography experience is required to be one of their agents. And even worse, no experience in photography is required to be one of their trainers who teach people nightclub photography!

I guess there isn't alot of training to do when you hit auto and stuff a camera in peoples faces.

[OsmosisStudios]

There's cheap, give-a-monkey-a-camera nightclub work, and then there's what a proper photographer can do. I've done nightclub work: it's not as easy as many people may think. It's still fairly simple monkey work, but it's not that stupid simple.

I've also gotten responses from "clients" (nightclub patrons) about how my photos were so much better than the usual fare (a company named BarShots here).

[NicoleScraps]

Crazy stuff! It's everywhere though. I just saw an ad a few days ago for a second shooter for weddings. No experience necessary and they didn't even need to own a camera Seriously?

[Biomech]

I know! Insane. Looking around it seems these people are targetting students to work for them at an aweful unsocialble wage, giving them a camera on auto and throwing them in. Everything I've read so far is bad. They don't employ people, they contract them in - but without telling them and without a contract. So basically all responsibility for everything - including meeting sales targets, lands at the feet of the pleb with the camera. Usually not paying, underpaying, charging or firing them. It appears that no one can penalise them as these workers are essentially working for themselves as freelance so PPal don't have to follow UK regulations. (and the Tax man kills the unwary worker too)

Having your barman walk around with a camera is one thing, but going out there promoting yourself as a company that does this is something else!

[Ambrosia76]

We have a company here called Picture People that is basically the same thing. The company I work for contracted with them to come once a month and do pet portraits. I talked to the guy one day and he told me they make $8-10 an hour. So who cares what the pics look like if you are just getting paid by the hour.

[sk66]

LOL, I thought this was going to be about the quality of advice/information so readily available on *the web*