Are the photographers real photographers?

[sverigecruiser]

We don't care at all about the photos they take on the ships, and really can't understand why any grown up person think that it's fun to be in a picture with someone dressed as a parrot or dolphin, but with six days at sea on our latest cruise we had the time to walk around and look at the pictures. We were amazed that the qualite of the photos was so very bad! Are the photographers real photographers or do they just give a camera to anyone? The photos were so bad so I could easily have done better with any kind of camera, blind and drunk!

 

As said, it doesn't really matter for us but it was interesting to see and if we should want the pictures they take, we should be very disappointed about the qualite.

[sparks1093]

We don't care at all about the photos they take on the ships, and really can't understand why any grown up person think that it's fun to be in a picture with someone dressed as a parrot or dolphin, but with six days at sea on our latest cruise we had the time to walk around and look at the pictures. We were amazed that the qualite of the photos was so very bad! Are the photographers real photographers or do they just give a camera to anyone? The photos were so bad so I could easily have done better with any kind of camera, blind and drunk!

 

As said, it doesn't really matter for us but it was interesting to see and if we should want the pictures they take, we should be very disappointed about the qualite.

 

The photographers work for a contractor, so who knows. I've always been happy with the quality of our photos (and of course if the quality of any wasn't acceptable we just didn't purchase those photos as there is no obligation to purchase them in the first place). On our first cruise we went all out and bought several with us and kids with the different characters. Now we just get the boarding photo and maybe a formal one done if it's a special occasion cruise (like a major anniversary).

[Viv0828]

We usually stop to look at the photos on display on the ship though we've never bought any. On some ships the pics are very nice with cute poses, etc. On other ships we have seen cut off heads in shot after shot! Guess it's the luck of the draw!

Edited February 18, 2015 by Viv0828

[Family Travel Story]

I think just like a wedding if you take enough photos you gotta get some real gems and you are going to get some real crap. The question is which ones you really wanna buy.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[KeithJenner]

We have never even bothered getting boarding pictures taken, or those with characters when getting on or off at ports. However, whenever the photographer comes round when we are eating, we usually let them take the picture, although we have no intention of buying.

 

We do usually have a look at the pictures to see just how bad they are (not the photographers fault, they can only work with what they have available :) ). On our last cruise they were in fact very good, and we did buy a couple. We discussed it afterwards, and we were pretty sure that the ones we liked were taken by the same person.

[rvsullivan]

I think the "lesser" photographers do their training at the embarkation/debarkation photo's. As they progress the roam the dining rooms taking photos. The very best seem to be the ones they use for formal photo shoots in the Atrium. The quality there is usually much higher, but they have better equipment for those and seem better at posing the photos and controlling the lighting.

[Laszlo]

As a part time professional photographer I find it very hard to believe the one's I saw on the Sun were pro's. With the exception of the one guy I saw setting up shots on photo night. The other 2 or 3 walking around the ship seemed like they were just handed cameras and told go out and take photo's. It was very evident looking at them in the gallery.

[garycarla]

Anyone can pick up a camera and take pictures.

 

Not sure at which point someone becomes a "pro".

 

We never allow pictures to be taken. We never buy any. Okay, years ago we did buy a few. The are in a box somewhere.

[sparks1093]

Anyone can pick up a camera and take pictures.

 

Not sure at which point someone becomes a "pro".

 

We never allow pictures to be taken. We never buy any. Okay, years ago we did buy a few. The are in a box somewhere.

 

Going by the strict definition if one is getting paid to do something they could be considered to be a professional. With that said, there is a world of difference between a professional baseball player on a Class A team and a professional baseball player in the major leagues. :) (And yes, I know that being a professional also bespeaks a certain level of training and experience, I just wanted to mention baseball on this frosty winter morning.)

[Seanote]

If you were an experienced and talented photographer, able to make a decent living with your craft, why would you work for a pittance on a cruise ship, seven days a week for 90 days or more?

Buy yourself a selfie-stick—it costs little more than a single cruise ship photograph.

[punkincc]

Some of the "formal" photos we have had taken on the ship have turned out great and we occasionally buy a couple. We really don't want to spend the time and money involved to get "professional" photos at home. That would be way more expensive.

 

I noticed on the Getaway that you could schedule an appointment with a photographer. I don't believe there was any charge for this. Some of the family photos I saw in the photo library looked very professionally done, and they may have gone this route.

[Kingofwylietx]

I guess we have been exceptionally lucky! The photos we have from our cruises are great! My wife always buys the photos, I have come to accept it as a standard charge.

 

Best photos on a ship: Disney really nailed it, as most of theirs are staged with the proper lighting and the photographer just needed to push the shutter button.

 

With that said, all our cruise photo collections have had some duds (no matter the cruise brand). The duds were almost always the ones taken at random (dinner, walking around, or some other random shot by a photographer).

 

Are they professionals? Probably not. Most likely, there are a couple of employees who have been doing this long enough to have mastered the setup for staged photos. The ones walking around are probably just learning.

 

As mentioned by someone else, they probably wouldn't be taking photos on a ship if they were what you would consider a professional (actually, having just said that, it sounds very judgmental, snooty, and pompous). Maybe being a photographer on a ship is something that an adventurous soul would aspire towards? I wouldn't rate them lower than a wedding photographer who is working part time just because they like to snap pics and have a nice camera. If their primary duty on the ship is to take photos to sell to the pax, by definition, they are a professional.

 

I think the biggest difference between a good photographer and a not-so-good photographer is experience, equipment, training, and dignity. It's like anything else in life....some people are better at their jobs than others.

[roger001]

Volume. Since very few of the photos will actually be purchased (even if they were fantastic), the photogs are to point and click and move on. No, it is not intended that the guys/gals taking the pics be photography pros, just hired help to do volume. We occasionally buy a pic or two. And, touristy shots with the dressed up props are a great fun vacation souvenir for many folks. No pressure to have your photo taken or to buy the pics. It's all about fun and memories! Oh, a pic of my wife and myself having dinner in one of the MDRs recently, a pic I almost declined to have taken because I was eating, turned out to be one of the best pictures of the two of us ever. I even look mostly good. Yep. Bought it and have it framed now. So....the photographers' efforts are there to accept or decline. Something for everyone.

[sparks1093]

Seanote, some hear the calling of the sea regardless of their profession or if they are from another country they may make a better living than they could at home (even though you and I might consider it a pittance). Given the volume of photos taken it would also be an excellent way to gain a lot of experience in a short period of time.

[fishin' musician]

Pros? Well, mostly only because they get paid to do it. Quality? Hit or miss.

 

My wife is opposed to getting our pics taken as she feels it is wasteful, as we have almost no intention of buying. My take on it is to let these folks do their job, take our/my pic and then we can entertain ourselves trying to find them.

[xriva]

The quality varies widely, and there are also different companies on different ships (I think.)

 

I do agree it's a volume business, but I would assume that selling more copies of less shots would be a good thing.

 

We have had "portrait" photographers fuss over where our hands were, where our feet were placed, and they still end up producing snapshots.

 

Part of the issue may be that I'm sure the post-processing is automated in Photoshop or similar, so there is not a lot of human care involved. My wife will spend hours in Photoshop, editing a single photo simply because she can. The ship's photographers are on deadlines, so I presume they run an action that tries to fix the contrast, balance the light and crop to the requested size automatically. You won't get consistent results that way unless you have complete control (background, lighting, posing) over the shoot, like the portrait guys do.

 

The selling point they have is that short of handing your camera to a stranger, it's the only way to get a photo of your entire group. So, for some, they will buy a photo or two because they want a memory, not matter how poorly composed. This, I think, is why the companies don't hire photographers, they hire people who can learn to use the cameras over time.

[Daghis]

I was really pleased with the quality of the pictures I had taken on Norwegian Getaway last year. It's a small sample size, but they did seem better than the pictures I had on Royal Caribbean ships.

 

I felt as though the photographers on Getaway were making more of an effort to compose the pictures better.

[roger001]

The new ships, and some of the older ones now, have installed automated photo viewing equipment. So with that, the taking of the pictures and displaying them for your appraisal is painless and almost without expense to the ships' photo department (other than the cost of personnel). The cameras are of course digital, no cost to take the pic, and the photos are now loaded in automation for display. You just go to one of the viewing screens in the photo area, swipe your room card, and all pics taken of you during the cruise will be available for you to view on the screen. If you purchase one, it is only then that the picture is printed, which you pick up later that day or evening.

[gymbomb]

One of the photographers on the Dawn (she was also the photo lab manager) did our wedding photos when we were married onboard a few years ago and we were very happy with them. Although I would imagine they use the better photographers for that while the others are busy taking embarkation photos...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[zqvol]

We don't care at all about the photos they take on the ships, and really can't understand why any grown up person think that it's fun to be in a picture with someone dressed as a parrot or dolphin, but with six days at sea on our latest cruise we had the time to walk around and look at the pictures. We were amazed that the qualite of the photos was so very bad! Are the photographers real photographers or do they just give a camera to anyone? The photos were so bad so I could easily have done better with any kind of camera, blind and drunk!

 

As said, it doesn't really matter for us but it was interesting to see and if we should want the pictures they take, we should be very disappointed about the qualite.

 

 

Of course they are real photographers. The question and issue is how much training and experience do they have.

[newmexicoNita]

We don't care at all about the photos they take on the ships, and really can't understand why any grown up person think that it's fun to be in a picture with someone dressed as a parrot or dolphin, but with six days at sea on our latest cruise we had the time to walk around and look at the pictures. We were amazed that the qualite of the photos was so very bad! Are the photographers real photographers or do they just give a camera to anyone? The photos were so bad so I could easily have done better with any kind of camera, blind and drunk!

 

As said, it doesn't really matter for us but it was interesting to see and if we should want the pictures they take, we should be very disappointed about the qualite.

 

I doubt any of us really know, but at the prices they charge they better be real.

[amarvel]

as a photographer myself, i just assumed they had a quick training and were told the settings to use with the camera on a tripod. i ended up posing my family and making sure those type of things looked good. a few of them really had no idea what i was doing or why. and a few of the characters photos were really aweful as far as you could tell they didnt know what they were doing.

 

But on my cruises ten+ years ago i felt they were much better and had more training and knowledge.

[fishin' musician]

 

But on my cruises ten+ years ago i felt they were much better and had more training and knowledge.

 

 

I think that statement could be made for just about every position onboard from dining to hotel staff.

[sverigecruiser]

The new ships, and some of the older ones now, have installed automated photo viewing equipment. So with that, the taking of the pictures and displaying them for your appraisal is painless and almost without expense to the ships' photo department (other than the cost of personnel). The cameras are of course digital, no cost to take the pic, and the photos are now loaded in automation for display. You just go to one of the viewing screens in the photo area, swipe your room card, and all pics taken of you during the cruise will be available for you to view on the screen. If you purchase one, it is only then that the picture is printed, which you pick up later that day or evening.

 

The Breakaway have the new equipment but they still print a lots of pictures.

[Trevor Fountain]

Who cares? We all have to eat. You are not obliged to buy the photo's, or even have them taken.

Photographers and their photo's have been a part of the cruising experience as long as I can remember, and they do a decent job for the most part.