1. Again many members do not wish to go down the qualifications route, it is not our intentions to discriminate against these members, so this benefit of membership will be continuing in its current form.
2. To gain a qualification with us, you need to supply 20 images that are assessed by 5 judges. An overall verdict is taken to whether the applicant has passes of failed.
3. We do mediate on a regular basis between photographers and their clients, before we can pass any judgement we always ask to see full contracts and all the images taken on the day.
4. We have been making changes in the ways we promote our Qualified Members to the general public. If you have any specific suggestions please let me know so I can look in to them.
Hope this covers your points.
1. If they don't wish to go down the qualifications route why would you be happy to allow them to show your logo? You can see from this thread that it lends an air of legitimacy you really didn't ought to encourage:shake:.
2. 20 images isn't much though is it? :shake:Like I said I've seen a lot of bad work from accredited and 'award winning' photographers. Some even using 'award winning' from one field of photography to sell another. You know it happens, it's unscrupulous and by waffling you defend it.
3. We've all seen the fallout of your 'mediation' and heard customer horror stories. Of course we don't get to see all the images, but you haven't covered yourselves in glory with these stories - which then backs up the low opinion many photographers and customers hold - you can't become the well respected organisation you want to be whilst standing by these people - a team is only as strong as it's weakest member.
4. Specific suggestions:
- Use the money you spend promoting at Photography fairs on promotion at wedding and mother and baby events.
- Use the money you spend advertising in photography magazines to advertise in.... (you should have that now)
- When the negative press stories about wedding photographers explode - take hold of the opportunity and send out a press release about how your members guarantee a great service - again you can't do that whilst the world knows you're defending substandard work.
When customers start to turn down the rest of us because we don't 'belong' to your trusted brand - we'll sign up like a shot.
By advertising to our customers you are pulling us in as a consequence, it's subtle but it'd work.
With a positive advertising promotion to OUR prospective customers you have the power to become the licensing authority for photographers by default. You could become the body that certifies ALL the good photographers rather than the body that represents the ones who choose to belong, many of whom are using your badge to improve their standing.
Back to the OP of this thread. He's a dreamer who believes he ought to be able to be a pro photographer, he joined your organisation and is still asking about here for how to get trained:shrug:.
Surely - you are best placed to help him. But it would appear that you're happy to take his membership fee, defend his right to display the 'badge' and allow him to flail about in ignorance rather than become a trainee in a well ordered training program that'd spit him out ready to run a great business. It shows the rest of us what 'supporting your members' means.
To the outside you're defending this guy's right to borrow your legitimacy, presumably if he shot a shocking wedding you'd also mediate (we know what the result would be
). What you should be doing is ensuring that doesn't happen - both by holding back the legitimacy and supporting him through a training package to ensure he never has unhappy clients. Taking the money and defending your position on a forum is the easy route.
I'll waive my consultancy fee.
