Service Seeking (photographers wanted)

[kiwi]

http://www.serviceseeking.com.au/


The end is nigh....

[keith-killer]

I have seen a lot of global sites like this for graphic art etc. When you are competing against people in pplaces like India or China, who are just as talented as you, but have a much lower cost of living, you see big jobs going for peanuts.

No idea what this site is like, but you are at least in the photogrpahy section competeing against other Aussies, so you would presume there would be a limit on how low people would go to get a job... then agian maybe not. Seem to be a lot of jobs on there.

[para]

nothing ventured nothing gained

[rwg717]

http://www.serviceseeking.com.au/


The end is nigh....

It appears that the end is indeed nigh
Richard

[kiwi]

So, average rate for a wedding photographer is $128 an hour

Most jobs advertised are $500 ish for a 3 hour wedding.....so....just take the shots and burn straight to CD and hand off - no pp, no care, no worries

[Wayne]

So, average rate for a wedding photographer is $128 an hour

Most jobs advertised are $500 ish for a 3 hour wedding.....so....just take the shots and burn straight to CD and hand off - no pp, no care, no worries

I think that is about it. These sites will allow anyone with a camera to tender for work, and as we all know, people not making their bread & butter from photography are able to offer services at much lower rates. IMHO the only winner is the site owner, because they take $$ from everyone offering services regardless of whether you do or don't win any work, and they allow an unlimited number of service providers making you compete very heavily.

[kiwi]

That's right - but - it's still interesting to see the number of apparently pro established wedding photographers bidding on the low end stuff

Must be dog-eat-dog out there

[arthurking83]

Quote form Service Seeking:

We charge photographers a small fee to express interest in your needs, but you are not obligated to choose anyone if the quotes or photography businesses are not acceptable.

So, as a photographer, I'd be paying Service Seeking a fee to release my quote to prospective clients, but not guaranteed a result by them.
Why would I want to do that?
This seems to be a win-win situation only for Service Seeking!

If Service Seeking is going to act as my agent, I'd be wanting instant results... not long shot, prossible probabilities .... with a twist of maybe!

[kiwi]

Well, someones got to pay mate....it's not going to be the advertiser as they are the hardest ones to attract

[Wayne]

I think with time, any established operator will be competing so much and making so little from most of the work they win (if any) that they cease subscribing to the site.

[soulman]

One of the problems with services like this is that they encourage people to shop only on price. That's fine if you're comparing like for like - a mass produced product is the same no matter where you get it or how much you pay - but when comparing services that actually vary a lot, they are not that useful. Consumers who look for quality do tend to be aware of this. It's worth remembering that price is only one of the many ways to differentiate your product from your competitors and that people who want the cheapest possible thing are rarely the kind of customers you want to have anyway.

[H2OMotion]

One of the problems with services like this is that they encourage people to shop only on price. That's fine if you're comparing like for like - a mass produced product is the same no matter where you get it or how much you pay - but when comparing services that actually vary a lot, they are not that useful. Consumers who look for quality do tend to be aware of this. It's worth remembering that price is only one of the many ways to differentiate your product from your competitors and that people who want the cheapest possible thing are rarely the kind of customers you want to have anyway.

Soulman, I couldn't agree more. Sites and operators like "Service seeking" have been around, they've come and gone.

I think the main thing to put into perspective is "what are your images/photography" worth?
Photography is a reflection of yourself, your passion and your professionalism.
There will always be entities that base their jobs/work on price, it doesn't mean your standards or worth has to drop accordingly.

Sorry, I'm new to AusPhotography, just joined. But under-cutting, low-balling for images is my pet hate.

[ricktas]

nothing different to stock libraries really. Only difference is that rather than selling a photo for peanuts, they are selling the services. Just another product being marketed in a different way on the net.

[bigbaz]

Welcome to the future, as rick says, its just another marketing technique, and if that is what works for some people then great. It would be a great way to get some work for people starting out in wedding or event photography

[Zac]

Its all about price on Service Seeking. I tried quoting for a few jobs when I had free time and it was still free to do so. I never receive a single reply let alone a booking! There is no way I'd be paying them a service fee with no guaranteed work.

I think it may work better for the traditional handyman type enquiries, quite a few of the advertisers in that category had feedback, whereas none of the photographers I saw did indicating most likely the clients make the bookings elsewhere...

[ricktas]

Its all about price on Service Seeking. I tried quoting for a few jobs when I had free time and it was still free to do so. I never receive a single reply let alone a booking! There is no way I'd be paying them a service fee with no guaranteed work.

I think it may work better for the traditional handyman type enquiries, quite a few of the advertisers in that category had feedback, whereas none of the photographers I saw did indicating most likely the clients make the bookings elsewhere...

The other thing is that I had never heard of them till Kiwi posted here. How can they match up services and clients, if people are not even aware of their website in the first place. I wonder what the ratio of professionals to clients is, on the site. In my experience, if someone wants a service, they google it, ask friends, or access yellow pages. If their website is not widely advertised, most of the public wouldn't even know to visit it.

[kiwi]

There are 24000 businesses registered

It will go viral

[kiwi]

Today's jobs in my area, FYI Small is < 500

Summary

3 New Leads were listed in the last 24 hours.

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Portraits Springwood Qld

Mal is ready to hire someone to do a Photography - Family & Portrait Photography job in Springwood. This is a Small job.

Description:
Hi I am interested in getting portraits taken of my husband and I - together and individual portraits, full standing and head shots. We'd like the photos taken against a white background for use as 'stock-like' photos on our website and printed literature - so need to be of good quality. We would like images provide on CD - no touch ups necessary.

View the full details of this job.

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Garden Wedding Photography

John is ready to hire someone to do a Photography - Wedding Photography job in Logan Reserve. This is a Small job.

Description:
Professional photographer required to take quality photos of wedding for 90 minutes at Wedding gardens at logan Reserve on 18 Sept 2010. All photos to be digital and supplied to us on a CD/DVD (archive) so that we can print as we require. Also we would like a meeting at the gardens in July/August to discuss layout pictures etc Will consider additional options as seperate items.

View the full details of this job.

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Baby Portrait

Belinda is ready to hire someone to do a Photography - Family & Portrait Photography job in Springfield. This is a Small job.

Description:
Looking for someone to take some nice, natural photos of my 5 month old baby girl. I do not require any prints, just some images on a CD, would like some colour and black and white. Am looking to get this done in the next couple of weeks.

View the full details of this job.

[Nator]

Kiwi,
I really don't see what the big issue is with a site like this.
Regardless of the product/service... some people shop on price, and some people shop on quality.

If price was never an issue, everyone would drive a Mercedes Benz car, and live in a huge house, and they would all have some famous international wedding photographer lined up for their $200,000 wedding on a private island in the Carribean.

Unfortunately for some people, price is an issue, so while they might not be able to afford your hourly rate, they might find someone who is willing and capable to shoot photos for them for $50/hour.

IMO, most folks on here who aren't full time pro's would probably do some work on a Saturday for $250 to put towards a new lens or something like that. I would.

I'm all for people having a high self worth, but seriously would you turn down a $500 job for half a day's work, just because you don't want to devalue the photography profession? If you don't shoot it, someone else will. They might not be as good as you, or they might be better. But the way i see it is that you should treat every job the same, whether they are paying you top dollar, or you are doing a favour for someone. Thats how you increase the value of the photography industry.

Even after saying all that, you will never stop people advertising cheap photography services, and you will never convince the couple who only have $500 to spend on their wedding photos that your $3000 package is better for them.

As technology gets better and cheaper, lots of industries will go like this. My profession is already a long way down this path, and i've had to diversify and specialise, and for me it has yielded great results in a otherwise overcrowded market, yet people will still say it's too expensive, and their cousins friend can do it for cheap. Who knows.... maybe their cousins friend is better than i am, and in the end they get a great result at a price they could afford.

/rant

Brett

[Watchamacallit]

I think this job reflects your argument quite perfect Brett (I'm no expert on wedding prices btw, please don't hurt me...):

Vivian And Alex's Wedding

A small Wedding Photography job in Ormond, VIC

Description:
The service will last for approx 1-1.5hrs and the reception begins at 5PM and is a 2 course dinner (prob approx 3hrs?).
We are looking into getting a photograhper for her wedding, or even for a photo shoot of some kind either (day/s) before or after as a gift, as they cannot afford to hire one of their own. Perhaps some photos prior to the service and during?
Our budget is $300-$400 (not very large).

View Job Details


I don't think this is completely unreasonable, feel it would just depend on expectation management for the gift their offering at their asking price. I know in my line of work it's a very similar business model - clients need things done, companies put in quotes for the work, client ends up picking best cost-benefit response and it's something they understand (generally...), so there is some form of expectation management already in place. If someone wants quality, they will most likely pay for it or pay what they feel is justified. If someone is on a strict budget, then they'd most likely just either find the cheapest option to fit their need or the best quality on that budget.

My 2c on the matter.

(Disclaimer - I am no protog, nor have the business know-how of the industry :P)