Any Detailers that are Good Photographers care to Lend/Sell high Quality/Res Photos for a Point-Of-Sale Poster?

AdamsImport

AdamsImport

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Hi Guys,
I was putting together some signage for detailing and all of the photos I have are very low resolution/quality. I would need to invest into a better camera before I would be able to print them. So I figured I would ask some fellow detailers if they would be willing to help me out.

I am just looking for 8 photos. a Before/After with a Dirty Car and the same car after detail. The Exterior, The Interior, Rims, and Headlights Restored.

If I am asking for too much let me know! I am willing to compensate if that is necessary. I just want some nice photos on the poster, I printed my own and when its blown up...it looks really really bad.
 
The problem I see with this is that the photos should be of your actual work. I can send you some stunning pictures BUT that would be giving you rights to them and that's not a good idea for either of us. Keep saving money or perhaps rent a good camera to capture your work.
 
So instead of buying a camera you want to use someone else's photo's to claim that you did the work?


Get real dude.
 
A decent point and shoot isn't too expensive and will do everything you need.

That, or trade someone some photography work for a detail?
 
If you're willing to compensate for some good photos then how about paying a local photographer to take pics of your before and after work, or offer a detail in trade as has been mentioned. Another idea is to go to a local community college that has photography classes through their art department. Print up some flyers with your contact info and the multiple pull away strips at the bottom with your, yup contact info...your phone number in bold and some brief text on who and what it's for. Post that on some bulletin boards and concrete pillars at said community college campus, preferably bulletin boards near the classrooms where the actual photography classes are offered. It should only take a little detective work to figure out which buildings those are. There's bound to be a few photo students who will trade the photo opportunity for a good detail. Some of those photo students are bound to have money, and thus a nice car, and would be thrilled to get a good car detail (because they spend all their spare money on pricey things like camera lenses, tripods, printers, ink, paper, computers and not car care.) Hope that gives you some ideas.


-Rick
 
I hire a pro every now and again to take pics for special projects.

mac1.jpg


mac14.jpg


bgs13.jpg
 
Jacob Perry said:
So instead of buying a camera you want to use someone else's photo's to claim that you did the work?


Get real dude.
Click to expand...

I don't think he's asking for photos so he can blatantly take the credit. He wants some quality photographs for a promotional poster to get his name out there. Is it really any different from Meguiar's putting a 50/50 shot of a BMW on the bottle of SwirlX that was snapped years before SwirlX came to be? In this great feathersanding article by Mike Phillips, Mike demonstrates the use of some very high quality sandpaper for spot corrections and then has a shot with a Makita rotary and some Meg's Mirror Glaze 84 on that bimmer, pics he took at the 2002 Bimmerfest in Santa Barbara.

It's all chronicled here: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/21469-rids-feathersanding.html

And I invite you to compare these two photos linked to from that article:

2002:
2600_bmwsidebyside2.jpg



Circa 2008. (Most definitely not 2002):

SwirlX1.jpg


The following info is taken from Mike's article http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...anted-know-about-meguiar-s-smat-products.html

SMAT Timeline
Below is a list of all the current SMAT product in the order in which they were introduced to the market...

  • October, 2006 - M86 Cut & Polish Cream
  • December, 2007 - M105 Ultra Cut Compound
  • December, 2007 - M95 Speed Cut Compound
  • April, 2008 - D151 Paint Reconditioning Cream
  • November, 2008 - M105 Ultra Cut Compound - New Formula: DA Polisher Approved
  • November, 2008 - M205 Ultra Finishing Polish
  • November, 2008 - Ultimate Compound
  • November, 2008 - SwirlX
  • November, 2008 - ScratchX - New & Improved with SMAT
Click to expand...
SwirlX wasn't used to create that 50/50 shot, yet it appears on the SwirlX bottle as a promotional photograph. It is common in fact, in the advertising and marketing world, to use images not originating from a product to promote that product. Do you honestly think the models used for all those ab roller style infomercials got to looking that way using an ab roller? No, it was from hard work.

Now, I get where you are coming from, however I'll throw this question out there: If the standards for truth in advertising were set so high, if the advertising world 'got real' so to speak, would anybody manage to successfully sell their product?

Ok, done playing the Devil's Advocate for now.


-Rick
 
I'll make this a bit more direct. He needs to take his own pictures just like the rest of us have. He needs to be an honest businessman and therefore they should be of his own work.
 
SpoiledMan said:
I'll make this a bit more direct. He needs to take his own pictures just like the rest of us have. He needs to be an honest businessman and therefore they should be of his own work.
Click to expand...


Stop beating around the bush and just come out and say whats on your mind! :poke:
 
Photos of work he's simply not capable of will sink him pretty fast anyway. I went into temporary debt to pay for that digital SLR so that it could pay for itself. :)
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Just curious Joe - what do you pay for the pro pics???
Click to expand...

I am lucky and havea friend or a friend that doesn't charge me much. I usually get lots of nice pics for about $100 per session and lunch. I can't wait to use him next time we have a WWII anything airplane to shine!!

Here is another -

r8a.jpg
 
Jacob Perry said:
So instead of buying a camera you want to use someone else's photo's to claim that you did the work?


Get real dude.
Click to expand...

Quite honestly if he just wanted to claim he did the work and use someone's pictures for free, there is a HUGE number of pictures available on here already. So why don't you get real dude, it seems he made an honest request (people sell pictures for various reasons all the time) and you reply to it like a nice...
 
Joe@Superior Shine said:
I am lucky and havea friend or a friend that doesn't charge me much. I usually get lots of nice pics for about $100 per session and lunch. I can't wait to use him next time we have a WWII anything airplane to shine!!

Here is another -

r8a.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah man - love the pics..... 2 of my uncles have photography businesses but I have a rule about mixing family and business - I may seriously steal your idea about using a pro photographer - pics look amazing like always!
 
Yikes I didn't want to start an ethical debate. Although I'm glad I asked the question. I spoke with a few colleagues and most agreed that the photos used on the poster should be of my own work.

I deal with car repair, and sometimes will show before/after pics of a good (new) car part and a bad part (before the repair). In order to help a customer understand what we are doing, or why, or maybe they are curious. Most of the time, these aren't pictures that I previously took from an identical car because going on google and showing them as a form of reference is much easier. In this case all new parts will look the same, therefore I don't think its necessarily inherently evil that I am not using my own footage. Over awhile I've made several videos and have a lot of photos of my own jobs, but I still sometimes rely on google in the case that I haven't worked on that car or didn't have a video camera handy at the time.

In the case of car detailing I am learning that it is different and I already spoke with a photographer to meet me tomorrow. Even though we would all hope that our final results are the same (show car finish) I need to prove that I can do it. Even my girlfriend told me that it'd be much better and honest to use all of my own photos. She mentioned a case where a customer will be asking about the actual car in the photo and I will be forced to shrug and tell them I didn't do it, which will make me look questionable right off the bat.


So sorry if I offended anyone. This wasn't a ploy to try to deceive anyone but I will get my own in order to avoid conflict in the future.

Rix6 said:
I don't think he's asking for photos so he can blatantly take the credit. He wants some quality photographs for a promotional poster to get his name out there. Is it really any different from Meguiar's putting a 50/50 shot of a BMW on the bottle of SwirlX that was snapped years before SwirlX came to be? In this great feathersanding article by Mike Phillips, Mike demonstrates the use of some very high quality sandpaper for spot corrections and then has a shot with a Makita rotary and some Meg's Mirror Glaze 84 on that bimmer, pics he took at the 2002 Bimmerfest in Santa Barbara.


Now, I get where you are coming from, however I'll throw this question out there: If the standards for truth in advertising were set so high, if the advertising world 'got real' so to speak, would anybody manage to successfully sell their product?

Ok, done playing the Devil's Advocate for now.


-Rick
Click to expand...

Thanks this is more or less what I initially thought, that someone more skilled with a camera and better equipment would help me with marketing. I didn't think I would open up a moral can of worms. Although I do agree with most of the comments though. Even though big corporations can do it, I will try to stay as honest and transparent as possible.
 
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