I sell prints of my photography via an eBay store (Flaming River Art). With a very few exceptions all my prints are either 11x17 or 8x10. Because of the different aspect ratio, part of the image is cropped for the 8x10s. Some of the prints are “landscape” and others are “portrait,” depending on the subject matter. I thought everyone understood this.
I just received an email from a potential customer. She’s interested in one of my 11x17s which is a “landscape” shot. She wants it in an 11x17 “portrait” version. I told her that this could be done only if I crop out a great deal of the image, making it narrower than it is high, and increase the size of what’s left (which I wouldn’t do anyway since it would destroy the picture). She replied that she doesn’t want any part of the image removed, she just wants it “converted” to a portrait configuration. I replied that the only way to do that would result in distorting the image (which I wouldn’t do). No, she doesn’t want that either.
I finally told her to buy the print as-is, and rotate it 90 degrees. (I left out the part about rolling it up and inserting).
I suppose you could convert it to portrait by taking the original landscape, shrinking it to the correct width and adding a complimentary band of color to the empty space at the top and the bottom ala tv letterboxing. But that’s probably not what she’s picturing. :smack:
There’s a definite art to photography. There are those of us who have no talent at it, who nevertheless understand that a composition can look great one way and can look mediocre or worse another. Apparently, she isn’t one of them.
Think I’ll check out Flaming River Art. Like the name, by the way.
Just a question – not to defend the customer – but were you guys going back and forth on “portrait” and “landscape” using those terms – and is it possible she just didn’t understand the terms?
I think you’re being a bit harsh. I think I’m a pretty bright guy (at least my mom always told me so), but I would have no trouble asking if a picture could be converted from portrait to landscape or vice versa.
Photography seems to be an area of expertise for you, but it’s something of a niche expertise; you shouldn’t expect everyone to fully understand it. If the customer tactfully asked you questions that show a naivete about photography can’t you just answer them politely?
Simply say “No. That photo is only avaible in this format.” No arguing, no explaining, no head banging, just clear, up front information. What’s so hard about that?
Don’t know. Never thought about it. I hardly think that makes me (to step into the shoes of the ebay customer) an idiot.
I think people with hobbies that the majority of people are not involved with may begin to overestimate the amount of thinking that the rest of us have put into your hobby. I’m not saying that photography is not worthwhile, just that I haven’t myself given it a whole lot of thought.
An idiotic photography question would be if the image was a portrait of the left side of a horse, and the customer asked if it could be flipped over because the horse in question has a cute little brown spot on his right side, well, then that would be an idiotic question.
Ebay customers know no end of dumb-ass. I’m beginning to sell off my coin collection and listed a gold Liberty $20 piece. Said right up front that I’m not a dealer and was estimating the condition as uncirculated. Got an email from someone saying “when you decide to grade it right, I’ll bid on it”. My reply: "If you can’t read the ad, and don’t agree with the description, then don’t bid on the motherfucker!"
As someone else who knows almost nothing about photography, it still strikes me as a really stupid question. I can understand having a total brainfart and asking it anyway, but if someone still hasn’t figured out why the request is impossible after the photographer has pointed out that he can’t resize the image with out cropping or distorting… well, that’s pretty deep into moron territory, right there.
I know that you take photos with a thingy called a “camera”. That’s the limit of my knowledge of photography.
Yet I can figure out quite quickly that you can’t magically change the shape of a picture without, you know, changing the picture. I agree with Miller: it’s a stupid question.
I went to a screening of “Vertigo” that Universal put on to show how they’d cleaned it up. They showed a clip first and talked about what kinds of things had been done, including all new Foley effects. One guy asked from the audience if there could be a shot added to the scene from a different perspective. There was almost a gasp from the crowd.
He wanted to re-edit a classic film, overriding the legendary director who was obsessive about storyboarding his movies before even starting, and use a shot that almost certainly was never even made. What did he think Universal would do, create a digital Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak so they could put in a five second turn-around?
Well, I don no tooo much about pictures and stuff but if I take a 8.5 bazzillioon piaxeful picture that I use the center 33.333333% of to make a tintype for my grannie and she wants it taller, I can gevr her taller no probm… widder, no probm but grannie, it win’t be 7.75 X 31.33333 either and will cost more…
:::: sigh, what are you cornfused about?:::::::::::::
Okay, simple answer.
that kid without a clue had itright the fiost time. NO cause I lied and was untruthfull, I am verrrrry careful to only use the full formatt like Great, Great, Great uncle Ralph did with his arts-fartsy pictures that wree all about art and were never for sale to idot people on an idoit computer interenet thingy…
I never plan ahead for stupid customers like you Granni and sorry if that hurts your feeling, bit this is ART… damn it…
Okay, Okay, I buy a 15 bazzillioon pickaxel picture box and have some extra in case you don’t like the way I do it, we will do it yor way.
What was your account number again abd also the oin nubber too… Thanks… Been a pleasure doing business wit ya… Don’t ferget, I need the waiver sighned beofre I can talk to ya agin…
Then they will want to edit in a hoover vacuum cleaner for use in TV ads. You wait in 20 years perhaps less they will be making remakes of clasic movies with long dead actors.
Well, it only takes a half second of thought to realise that you can’t change the shape of a picture without removing or adding to it. Asking to have a photo with a different shape, without removing any of it, is a pretty dumb question*.
This isn’t some obscure thing that only a photographer would know, it’s pretty basic stuff.
*It doesn’t mean you are dumb, just that it is a dumb question, we all ask one every now and then :). Also, I realise you didn’t actually ask this question.
Except that it’s nothing to do with hobbies, and only obliquely related to photography.
It’s to do with really basic simple thought.
Let’s try this another way: if I am selling a pair of shoes on eBay, you don’t ask whether they can be sold as boots instead without altering them, do you?
I dont know anything about photography either. BUT, I’ve used my printer and copy machine enough to know what “landscape” and “portrait” mean… and that if I copy something on the wrong setting, it will chop off much of the page.
That’s just common sense these days. The OP has a right to be frustrated.