Sep 13, 2010

A Tale of Two Painters

Two guys walk into an art store and each buys a canvas and some oil paint. One of them is a master artisan with a lifetime of experience and talent. The other one is just a guy who fancies himself handy with a paintbrush. They each spend $10.00 and go off to create a painting.

When finished, the master artisan had created a masterpiece. His composition was beautiful , his use of light and shadow was subtle and brilliant at the same time and his use of color and it’s harmony was perfect. He is able to sell his masterpiece for $2,000.00.

Try as he might, the guy with a brush can’t get anyone to buy his painting. It could be that his use of light and shadow was non existent and his work looked very flat. Possibly it was that there was no flow to the composition, or it may have been his total disregard for proper color harmony. Whatever the reason, he had painted to the best of his ability and didn't know how to do it any better. So there he sat with no buyers. That is until he lowered his price to $20.00. He finally finds his customer and at $20.00, figures that he is doubling his cost for supplies so he is satisfied.

The new owner of the artisan’s painting is excited and proud to show his purchase to all his family and friends. He knows that the investment he made will only gain in value to him as he enjoys it for decades to come.

The new owner of the $20.00 painting really sees no great value in his purchase. He never frames it and after a short while, the painting disappears as he forgets about it and it’s lost.

The moral of this story is that when selecting a portrait photographer, look for that master artisan quality in his work. When you purchase a portrait from him keep in mind that you are not paying for his materials, rather a lifetime of experience and talent that he used to create your image. You will most definitely invest more than you would if you went to the photographer with little experience but is “handy with a camera”. But what is the outcome? Would you want to have an inexpensive picture that you will ultimately have little or no regard for and probably store in a drawer, or would you rather invest in a beautiful work of art that you will be proud to display and show off to all your family and friends.