Photographic workshops - some questions for you all

[GeoffWessex]

Having major problems posting this..... Photo Radar keeps falling down, it seems. Sorry if some is duplicated

I mentioned minimum wage because a lot of people are on that, or are otherwise strapped for cash.

I'm sure your time is worth more than 6 pounds an hour - everybody's should be but, sadly, for a lot of people it isn't, however hard they work or how qualified they are. Having a group of five of six students at a time, though, means that your fee wouldn't be 6 pounds an hour - it's a lot more.

Anyway, with travel, food and accommodation, it's way above my budget.

Just to check, I picked up the nearest photo mag..... and came across this weekend workshop. It includes breakfast and lunch daily, plus accommodation, and comes out at 490 pounds per person, per weekend. For me.... feasible, just about 'do-able'. But then it doesn't need a journey to France and then food and accommodation there.

[jools-elliott]

Geoff, I really think this needs to stop and get back to where it was.

But just to clarify. Do I think £6 an hour is peanuts? It is. For me and anyone else that works at that rate. People deserve to be paid more for what they do. But there is nothing that I can do about people's wages. They are what they are and I have no control over that.

But you would probably find that if the minimum wage went up to a decent level, you might find people's jobs at risk as employers couldn't afford to keep the same number of staff as previously employed due to increased costs.

When it comes down to "the going rate" then I will charge what I see as a reasonable cost. But in the end that cost is down to me. Before anyone runs a workshop then there are costs involved in setting it up, advertising it etc. I have to ensure that at the very minimum these costs are met. If someone chooses to pay what I want to charge, great. if not, they go with someone else. As the saying goes "you pay your money and you make your choice".

At the end of the day I am in the world of business. The harsh reality of business is that in the end I will either make a profit, break even or lose money. But that is business.

[GeoffWessex]

Fair enough. The entire reference to minimum wage was to point out that there's a huge range of incomes out there.
Either way, a weekend for 1000 pounds puts it out of the reach of a huge number of people.

[jools-elliott]

Geoff. I think it is time to let it go, really.

As I've said in previous posts, before a workshop even gets going money is spent in the organising of it, the recce etc.

You expressed interest in Auvergne. I would love to do something down there as I believe it is one of those places that isn't done to death. However, I can only do so much research from here and in the end a good recce would be needed. The outskirts of the national park are a good four hours from me. So, just getting there and back is going to cost about 100€ alone in fuel. Then I would have to drive around the area. More cost. It might be practical to stay overnight to catch the dawn there in order to find out the best places. More outlay for me. How about wear and tear on the car?

As for what people can and cannot afford. Those that could and wanted do it, would do it. Those that can't, won't.

There are lots of things I would like to do in life but I'm not a rich guy so I can't. I'd like a nice Phase One digital back to go on my Hasselblad but I can't.

Lastly, you did mention those people like Charlie Waite and Joe Cornish. Have you ever looked at the cost of going on a Light & Land trip? I suspect not. Why don't you check out their tours. Yes, they include accommodation and breakfast. But they don't include the cost of getting to the destination unless it's 1000s miles away and they don't include lunch or dinner. OK, so it might be run by Charlie or Joe but still it's a luxury that a lot can not afford.

In any case, before they even get their tours running they have to do the same: recce; fuel costs, advertising etc.