My wife recently started an Equine Photography business in our area. Meaning she ONLY shoots horses and horse shows - kind of a niche market. There are no other local photographers who specialize in horses, but a few who take the jobs. It is way too small of a market to make a full time business out of.
Well, one of the shows that we put a proposal in for has a photographer. It is not apparent at all that he is the photographer though, he isn't listed as the official photographer on any show bills, websites, no where. The only reason that we knew was that the show owner called back to tell us that they had one. Well, yesterday we get a phone call from this guy. First, he called my cell phone, not the number on the business cards and knew some details that aren't exactly public, but that we put in the e-mail to the show owner (i.e. she forwarded it to him). The basic jist of the phone call was that he wants to go to coffee with my wife to "discuss photography in the area and make sure that they don't step on each other's toes." I have no clue what the guy wants....what do you think? Is this an attempt to get her to agree not to take his jobs? To "talk shop?" To try to push her out of the market? I'm definiately not letting her go alone anyway, but I am her business manager and scheduler (as well as shoot assistant), so I have an interest anyway.
Something else to know about Horse photography. When and how you shoot the horse is very important. Catching the legs in the right configuration, lighting, moving target, getting the horse in the right part of the arena, poses, tack, show clothes, etc all come into play when taking these photos and the horse owners are VERY particular. So having a background in horses helps a great deal, which is why my wife got into this. The other photographer has NO background in horses....he is a sports photographer that just got the job. So his photography isn't bad....it just isn't HORSE photography (no emphasis placed on the positioning of the legs or horse in the frame, taking pictures at the wrong points in the show, etc). He is probably a great photographer (though he has no website).....but just kind of fell into this market.
So what do you think we should do about this and what do you think is on this guy's mind? Has anyone ever heard of this or done it?
Well, one of the shows that we put a proposal in for has a photographer. It is not apparent at all that he is the photographer though, he isn't listed as the official photographer on any show bills, websites, no where. The only reason that we knew was that the show owner called back to tell us that they had one. Well, yesterday we get a phone call from this guy. First, he called my cell phone, not the number on the business cards and knew some details that aren't exactly public, but that we put in the e-mail to the show owner (i.e. she forwarded it to him). The basic jist of the phone call was that he wants to go to coffee with my wife to "discuss photography in the area and make sure that they don't step on each other's toes." I have no clue what the guy wants....what do you think? Is this an attempt to get her to agree not to take his jobs? To "talk shop?" To try to push her out of the market? I'm definiately not letting her go alone anyway, but I am her business manager and scheduler (as well as shoot assistant), so I have an interest anyway.
Something else to know about Horse photography. When and how you shoot the horse is very important. Catching the legs in the right configuration, lighting, moving target, getting the horse in the right part of the arena, poses, tack, show clothes, etc all come into play when taking these photos and the horse owners are VERY particular. So having a background in horses helps a great deal, which is why my wife got into this. The other photographer has NO background in horses....he is a sports photographer that just got the job. So his photography isn't bad....it just isn't HORSE photography (no emphasis placed on the positioning of the legs or horse in the frame, taking pictures at the wrong points in the show, etc). He is probably a great photographer (though he has no website).....but just kind of fell into this market.
So what do you think we should do about this and what do you think is on this guy's mind? Has anyone ever heard of this or done it?