Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Pro Business Discussion => Topic started by: JoeKitchen on May 12, 2017, 08:37:52 pm

Title: Shadiest Business Transaction I've Recently Heard Of
Post by: JoeKitchen on May 12, 2017, 08:37:52 pm
This is by far the most unethical business situation that I have recently heard about and I feel it would be good to share it with fellow professionals.

Another architectural photographer I know was asked a few months ago to join a private forum being advertised as only open to professional photographers who work in the hospitality market.  The purpose of the forum was to allow for a place where pros could talk about business dealings, something not possible on an open forum, such as this one, where potential clients could be listening in. 

After a decent amount of photographers joined a question was posed on how to handle transfer of licensing to companies who buy businesses that you shot for.  This went back and forth and eventually the photographer I know gave his two cents.  Basically he pointed out that the reason our industry has taken a hit is because so many photographers are willing to cave so easily to client's unruly demands, many of whom actually do the complaining, and that he plans to stand strong and not give his work away for free.  He also recommended that others do the same. 

Shortly thereafter, his rep received an email from a major hotel brand (he did not say who; he is too professional to do so) stating that his business would not be needed for any future projects and that he was being removed from the preferred vendors' list.  In the email, his quote, verbatim, from the CLOSED forum was given as the reason for this. 

After finding this out, he tried to log onto the forum only to find that the forum no longer existed.  Even the page required to log in was no more. 

Either the hotel chain purposely created a closed forum as a ruse to weed out photographers on their vendors' list or another photographer created this closed forum with the purpose of using quotes against his competition, although I feel it is mostly likely the former due to how quickly the forum disappeared and only one hotel brand acted. 

I find this to be one of, if not the most, unethical situation I have yet heard while being a professional photographer.  Word to the wise, be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing. 
Title: Re: Shadiest Business Transaction I've Recently Heard Of
Post by: Endeavour on May 12, 2017, 08:45:53 pm
or

dont trust anything you post on the internet to be private - ever
Title: Re: Shadiest Business Transaction I've Recently Heard Of
Post by: Blue439 on May 13, 2017, 03:54:36 am
That story is really scary... and at the same time it sound like some people have way too much time on their hands. It sounds almost unreal in that way.

Indeed, as there was no exclusivity arrangement, all the hotel chain had to do was to stop using the services of the concerned photographer. The "weeding" could have been done in a much simpler and economical manner by asking all the photogs on their vendor panel to sign a licensing clause, and see who agreed to it and who didn't.
Title: Re: Shadiest Business Transaction I've Recently Heard Of
Post by: Deardorff on May 28, 2017, 05:29:32 pm
You don't post stuff you don't want revealed to the general Public. Very simple.
Everything you have ever posted online is most likely saved somewhere. It can come back to bite you in the future whether you like it or not.

Your emails are not private no matter how much you wish they were. Intercepted, hacked systems, etc - they can get out. Sent to specific members of a business you are working with, they can get out. The employee you are working with may not know Corporate above him is screening them, either before or after he has access.

If you don't want it to get out - don't put it out there.

Maybe the forum he belonged to really was started by a photographer who discovered it was getting out in spite of his assurances? Maybe by the hotel who took him off the list? Who knows? He put in online what he thought and now reaps the benefits.