Last night Isaac and I got our picture taken by an employee of Olan Mills at our church. We did it for two reasons. One is that our church is having a photo directory of people in our church and Isaac and I wanted to be in it... and unfortunately this was the only way to get into the directory. Second we wanted to get our picture taken because we were curious to see how Olan Mills did things. It was also free, but that is besides the point.
Well I gotta say... I was not surprised. I say picture because there was no art, creativity, or skill used in taking our picture. I couldn't figure out which camera they were using, but I did find out that whatever camera it was, the photos were being taken on a floppy disk! I was in shock and awe to believe someone was even using a camera that did that. I figured they have all been sent to the graveyard of old cameras and bad camera inventions. A standard 6 shots were taken with standard poses and standard backdrops. A portrait is something that has style, character, and tends to be a bit creative, nothing is standard about it. A portrait is something you want to hang on your wall for the next decade, although we recommend getting your family portrait taken ever 2-3 years since people change and families grow. A picture is not what you will get when you hire us at Kain's Photography.
After we took our 6 shots we went back into the "waiting room" until our customer service rep came and welcomed us into his little sales room. The guy was nice enough but I still felt like I was at a used car dealer trying to get rushed into this deal that is too good to pass up. Before Isaac and I walked into the sales room we had already agreed to tell him we were photographers before he gave us his sales pitch. Frankly we didn't want to waste his time or our time. We had just hired our friend Meghan Thomas to take portraits of us and we were in no need of a cheesy smile with backdrop.
After we told him we were photographers and were not interested in ordering any additional prints he still tried to sell us just the limited time upgrade for $30 which would retouch our free upgrad... oh ya and we would be able to pick our pose! OOOO big deal! That is why our price is our price no matter what. We do not give "discounts" to lure you into a rushed decision. We want everyone to have the same advantage as the next person and we feel it is fair for everyone. We are artists, not used car salesmen.
I walked away from this experience a better person (I hope). Experiences like this always remind me where I want to go and what I don't want to do in my business. I don't think I have ever been a "salesperson" but I really don't want to be like that now. I figure if I show you my work you can decide for yourself if you want to hire us. I will educate you on all the options, not to sell you everything but to make sure you have an idea of all of your options. I am most happy when you come away with something you are satisfied with!
And that is why hiring a small studio like Kain's Photography is so important. It is not a picture session it is a portrait experience.
We are busy getting ready for our bridal show this weekend. Sunday Sept 11th from 12-4pm at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool. go to www.SyracuseWedding.com to register. Come by and check us out we are going to have a rockin booth! I cannot wait to unveil it! Have a blessed day :-)
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