Really Need Some Feedback Here: Help!
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
October 30, 2007 4:13am CST
I kind of have my opinion about this already, but I'm reaching out for some of your opinions here about something.
Recently I signed up with Guru.com which is a place that people with any kind of skills such as writing, photography, etc. etc....can offer their "skills" to others and be paid for it. So being a photographer, I signed up with my photo skills mentioning of course, photoshop capabilities...
Well I already got a "proposition" from someone interested in my skills to adjust photos for contrast/lighting, so forth...here's the proposition listed
(Quote)
..." I have 20-40 photos taken by an amateur with a digital SLR mistakenly left in manual mode (very high ISO, manual shutter speed). Outdoor shots, but of folks sitting in a dark car. Need to have brightness/contrast adjusted so that interior and the passenger can be seen, and the picture made to look good - this was done as part of a marketing exercise, and we want to print out 8x10s and give them to the subjects of the photos. Should not be rocket science for anyone with decent photoshop skills, but need this accomplished quickly. Would like a per-photo quote, if possible. I've attached two as samples - I had to resize and resave to get Guru.com to upload them, but the originals are jpgs about 1.3-1.6 megs in size. Thanks!
Employer questions: (1) How quickly can you get this project completed?.."
The person also mentions that the "project" budget is $250.00. Now my wheels in this brain are clicking and cranking...And here's my own personal no no's about it.
1). the person says 20-40 images each at about 1.3 to 1.6 megs...those are LARGE photo files! Even I don't save my images with a few exceptions that large..usually save in KB--so like this person is expecting me to download so many images as such a large file size into my system???
2). He lists his project budget at $250 to "fix up" 20-40 images...In my heyday, I sold my photos for $100 minimum EACH...Uh, so this offer of $250 seems very crappy for so many images involved.
I have no problem with transforming the images in question...in fact, the person provided two samples which I did download and puttered around with and got good results...but for 20-40 images??? No way.
Maybe I'm paranoid..LOL..but I'm very PROTECTIVE of my computer...I just don't cotton up to the idea of having downloads of very large photo files into my own computer...it could really friggin' screw it up...
So am I wrong to think a big NO on this proposition...for $250.00 it just doesn't seem worth all the effort and possible damage to my own computer system--if my computer goes blitz on me..I would have no way to get it repaired now.
So need your feedback...Am I stupid to turn this offer down or what...?????
12 people like this
33 responses
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
30 Oct 07
Hi Pye,
Well, I can't really help you much discussing the photo's and your computer. I'm really not computer savvy at all.
But, what I can tell you is, since you have this bad uncomfortable feeling about this, that is all you need to know and go with it. No, you are not stupid in any way, shape or form for turning this down.
If this didn't bother you the way it does, you would have been posting about how happy you are receiving an offer for your photography work.
Go with your gut reaction, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Oct 07
Thank you....yes my gut feeling says to stay away from it...The pay is too low for so much work to begin with, and I really don't want to risk damaging my computer...how do I know viruses won't be attached?
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
30 Oct 07
You are so right about the virus and I'm glad you're not going to do it....you're are just too "uncomfortable" with it, and I think somethings trying to tell you something........take care and talk to you soon!
@saigonwarrior (1331)
• United States
30 Oct 07
I don't think downloading large files will corrupt your computer, my son and I do it all of the time and Macs are very secure, so I really don't see the concern.
There are file sharing sites out there that the images can be sent to and you can then pick the files up with a link.
Just have the other person zip the images up and send them to you that way.
Lightening the images is a relatively easy process in Photo Shop, it takes only seconds to do. The images are already there. I personally would do it, I don't think it would take that long at all. Of course that is just my opinion.
Doing this may open doors to other paying projects.
I do a lot of these sorts of things for my friends without cost, that are building websites, or wanting to send photos through emails to family or friends.
You can always resize and diminish the file size once it is uploaded into Photo Shop to reduce the file size if that is what the owner of the images wants.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Oct 07
Oh, I realize lightening up the images wouldn't be a problem..I've done it myself...thing is this whole thing stinks to me..LOL....Since lightening up images IS so easy, why can't the person do it himself?? I realize too, Macs are very secure, but I've waited five long years to get my own computer, only got it in February...so maybe I am a bit over-protective...but it does seem to be so little pay, for so many images to work on--heck I never seem to have enough time to work on my own images at times..LOL
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
31 Oct 07
would tell them that $250 wqasnt worth doing that many pics that big and that your price is closer to $100 each for that is alot of work and of ocurse the damage it might do to your puter that amont wouldnt even part way pay for it to get fixed if some thng happened to it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Oct 07
I doubt he would pay that much for each photo....sounds like a cheapskate to me..LOL
@LilyoftheThorns (12918)
• United States
31 Oct 07
Well, to me, any money is good money. But I don't know the time and effort you will have to put in to do this job, you know a lot better than me! lol. So think about the lowest amount you would like to do it for, and make that offer to him.
And also, can you delete the photos from your computer when you send them back to him when they are fixed? If so, see if he'll only send a few at a time. That way you won't have 20-40 large image files on your computer.
Good luck! :) I hope I've helped!
1 person likes this
@LilyoftheThorns (12918)
• United States
31 Oct 07
Oo! Deadlines do suck. But if he needs them in that quick a time I would def. give him YOUR price and make him stick to that, or find someone else! :)
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Oct 07
He says he has a deadline and wants the work all done before November 5th...To me the money sounds too low for so many images involved...most photographers would charge X-amount of dollars per photo plus time involved..besides the so-called project budget is below $250 actually, so what after all this effort he only pays me $50??
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
30 Oct 07
250..for 20-40 images? that's cheap.about $2 per image.
the only thing i can think of if you really wanted to do it is download his images to an online drive storage site,and then download them to your comp one by one to work on them.but i wouldn't download them directly to my own all at once at that price.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
30 Oct 07
urgh..damn my math..ok,it's a little more than 2 per..but still.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
12 Nov 07
that's beyond suck.i think i'd tell him to stuff it.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Oct 07
Actually his proposed project budget is BELOW $250...so what if he only pays me $50?? That sucks
1 person likes this
@3lilangels (4639)
• United States
30 Oct 07
no my friend,you are doing the right thing.it's not worth the 250,to screw up your computer.pictures take up some much room on someones computer and it can mess the whole system up.at say you did this and you didnt get paid and then your computer is screwy,thats not worth taking the chance.by the time you have to pay for the repairs on your system then what are you really gonna make,so i said you are 100% right for turing it down.pattie
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Oct 07
Thanks pattie...first it does seem an awful lot of work for so little--I mean 20-40 images?? And, yup no way I want to chance screwing up my computer--I waited five years to get one of my own
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
30 Oct 07
I have to say that you are not right on this one. First, 20-40 images for $250 are an average price. It cost about $10-15 per image to retouch. Advance work cost $35-50 per photo, but we are talking about artistic work.
My not retouch image has 2.5MP per photo, so 1.3-1.6 seams very low.
Maybe is taken with 7.2 MP camera.
On one event I take about 2000 images, 2.4 to 5MP each and my computer is OK.
As long as you don't open to many pictures per session on Photoshop, you are safe.
If you can only open up to 5 images per session, you are OK.
Retouching for about 20-40 images can take up to 10 hours of work= $25 per hour, so not bad....
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
31 Oct 07
I was able to correct about 400 images today during about 8 hours of work. I am doing it for myself, hard for me to judge work need to be done. I get an offer from student to help me with my images. He wanted $50 for 200 images.
It all depends what kind of correction you have to do.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Oct 07
I still have a bad feeling about going gung-ho with this...The pay still seems too low...at the price quote you gave me....at say $10 an image times 20-40 would be $200-$400 and would need to calculate time spent...so $250 seems low...actually the budget quoted, he said project budget "below" $250..so what after all this effort I'm only paid $50?? something just isn't right here
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
12 Nov 07
Nope, you are very, very wise. Wish I'd been that smart when I was starting my own business 10 years age. I took a part time delivery job to keep some steady income. Unfortunately, It destroyed my car with all the stop & start mileage and I wound up in worse condition than I would have been in if I'd never taken the darn job. My car repairs were more than I got paid!.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
Ouch....sorry to hear you had all your car problems due to that part time job you had. I guess you're not doing that now, right?
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
12 Nov 07
Well I’m not sure how much you should get paid. I have never tried to do this so I’m not sure- But I would go with your gut feel on it. I also wouldn’t want your computer to be harmed- Isn’t there anyway to only download a couple at a time- and then delete them so they don’t take up that much space on the hard drive? When I first read this it sounded like- someone was doing something they aren’t supposed to be- taking pics of someone in a dark car? And needing to see the faces? Maybe I just watch too many cop shows.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
LOL--you're not the only one here who has expressed the "shady" idea of needing to see who that couple are in a dark car..so nope, maybe you're not watching too many cop shows..hhehee
@seabeauty (1480)
• United States
12 Nov 07
I read you made your decision and turned his job down.
Have you received any clients since then?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
Yup, I have received more offers but they weren't exactly stellar either and one require to do work in Connecticut while I'm here in NY--LOL
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
12 Nov 07
It seems that $250 is way too small for what you have to do. He thinks you have a big business and a high end computer. By the way, I upload my photos or rather my husband's photos to Picassa. I also would suggest you put them on a CD or a DVD. Loading those images into a computer when you have a large hard drive of 40 gigs or more would be okay, if you have 100 or more, but it looks as if your computer cannot handle that load. It will take some time and you need a good computer to do it. A regular Emachine or just an ordinary mac will not do,think high end.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
I do actually have a high end Mac computer, with 160GB hard drive and 1GB memory so not exactly an ordinary computer, and also I periodically do back-ups of all my work on DVD rather that CDs
@susieq223 (3742)
• United States
13 Nov 07
One nice thing about being your own boss is you can decide which jobs you do and don't want. Your reasoning sounds good. Twenty to 40 is a large gap--doesn't he know how many pictures he has?
If you are interested at all make him a counter offer. Twenty pictures for $250 is only $12.50 apiece. This offer is a good start, since it is making you think how much your time, computer and skills are worth. What would you ask for each picture?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
Yes maybe if it were only twenty pics it would amount to $12.50 per picture, but what if he wants me to do forty? I already turned down this deal anyway. There might be better offers in the works coming up
@artemis432 (7474)
• Abernathy, Texas
31 Oct 07
Can you use a zip file - maybe one of those minature thingees. I think that you should follow your intuition - personally I think thats the reason he asked for an amatuer - an amateur isn't going to be looking for a hundred per photo. Good luck and keep us posted pye.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Oct 07
To be honest, I'm not familiar how to do zip files..LOL...The whole thing just sounds a bit screwy to me..don't get a great feeling about it
@Perspectives (7131)
• Canada
12 Nov 07
Hmmmmm...as I read through the responses and your responses to them you mentioned that you gut is telling you to stay away from it. Isn't that usually the best gauge when all else is said and done.
In David's many years as a computer specialist ideas for making money that come from the net are often more trouble than what they are worth. Not always...but as I said USUALLY.
To me the biggest yardstick I have is when I feel doubtful I do not do it. The fact that your c%@p detector is sending you an alarm indicates that you already have your answer.
Raia
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Nov 07
Thanks Raia, yes I do have my answer. Just didn't feel right to me
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Oct 07
I know..you're so right there...don't want anything messing up my computer--I waited five years to get one and only got mine in February
@meme0907 (3481)
• United States
31 Oct 07
Hey pw,
I think you're on the right page b/c like you said downloading from strangers can really mess up your pc & secondly if you did still want to consider doing the job tell him it's gonna cost more & explain why.Sounds like he's low balling.
+'s |:)
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Oct 07
Yes, this would be a complete stranger and how would I know he didn't have viruses attached to the photos...nope, not worth it..and it does sound to little pay
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
2 Nov 07
That "offer" of $250 does seems peanuts for the amount of work...well, maybe something better is in the horizons for me
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
10 Nov 07
MY mind is saying no! no! no! to me it seems like photos of someone spying on someone else. Like a private detective photos for something. Maybe something to do with a divorce or something.
It sounds shady to me.
I am late with this response so I guess you have already made your decision.
Good luck.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
10 Nov 07
Yes, I already did make my decision, and it was a definite no. You're right though it almost does sound like someone wanting photos of that couple for some other purpose
@kalipulaku (24)
•
31 Oct 07
do hope you turned him down!
the first decision is usually the right one!
saying NO is better then!
@hellboyonthenet (153)
• India
31 Oct 07
No.... there's nothing wrong with truning down that offer.... As long as you did what you felt was right to YOU... not to others... then its fine... besides... being in a professional line... you should receive other offers as well.... so i believe you did what you felt was necessary and right to you... well done..
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
2 Nov 07
Thank you. I did turn the offer down..just didn't sound right to me
