What do you do when somebody says "Just blag it mate"

grove39

grove39

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Si
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Friend of mine who loves to blag his way through life knows somebody who works for The Jewellery Channel and they are looking for a photographer for 4 weeks to do a ton of product shots. So my friend who for this thread we will call "the idiot", calls the fella and says "My mate does all that stuff, he's done stuff for the local paper, pap work etc" the list went on and on.

Then I'm getting emails from The Jewellery Channel asking when can i start and all that stuff. At this moment i was thinking "Is this a joke ?". So i sit there for a bit reading it a few times realising it isn't a joke and start to wonder why they are even emailing me.

Then the phone rings, it's "the idiot" who tells me he's put me forward for this great paying job and i just need to turn up lol

I then tell "the idiot" I've never done anything like this before and they are going to want to see proof of work before letting me loose with a camera and his words were "Steal a load of stock photos from the internet and make it all up"

I have explained to him that you cant get away with stuff like this but he now says I'm being negative
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I'm now getting constant emails from The Jewellery Channel asking for my CV and Portfolio
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I'm just ignoring them as it is a pointless exercise to even begin with.

This is actually what really happened today and i honestly do wish i was making it all up
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What would you have done if put in the same situation ?
 
I'm assuming you don't have a portfolio that demonstrates this ...

If I genuinely believed I couldn't do the job I'd reply to the Jewellery Channel saying that whilst you are appreciative of your friends efforts to get you employment, he has somewhat and probably unknowingly overstated your credentials. I'd thank them for their interest in me.

I'd them probably kick my "friend" where it really hurts and tell him to blag that ;)
 
I would follow my conscience.

The Jewellery Channel would need to know either way, and soon.
 
I simply cannot imagine the Jewellery Channel would work this way. Surly they have used product photographers before.

Smells like a wind up.

Cheers.
 
Raid the Mrs' Jewellery box and do a quick photo shoot. Send those images as some examples of jewellery you have shot (you can even explain that it sounds like your mate got a bit carried away with his endorsement of you if you like). You never know, those shots might be good enough for the jewellery channel and you've landed yourself a good paying job for the next 4 weeks. You haven't lied or misrepresented anything.

Your CV will come into it though too. If you've not done paid photography work before or think the expectation will be above what you can deliver, just politely decline...
 
posiview said:
I simply cannot imagine the Jewellery Channel would work this way. Surly they have used product photographers before.

Smells like a wind up.

It was all done through a friend of a friend type thing.

The request was put out over Facebook for a photographer. The person who put the request out isn't even a friend of mine so i didn't even see it to begin with until i looked at the guys profile.

Cheers.
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I wished it was but it was genuine.

viv1969 said:
Why ignore them?
Do the polite thing and send them an explanatory email.
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I have now and said pretty much what PaulButler said but at the time i honestly had no idea how to even respond to them.

TimmyG said:
Raid the Mrs' Jewellery box and do a quick photo shoot. Send those images as some examples of jewellery you have shot (you can even explain that it sounds like your mate got a bit carried away with his endorsement of you if you like). You never know, those shots might be good enough for the jewellery channel and you've landed yourself a good paying job for the next 4 weeks. You haven't lied or misrepresented anything.

Your CV will come into it though too. If you've not done paid photography work before or think the expectation will be above what you can deliver, just politely decline...
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Yeah i could have tried to blag it but i know damn well that even if i blagged my way into the job i wouldn't have a clue what i was doing and it would be pretty clear to them too within minutes.
 
PaulButler said:
I'm assuming you don't have a portfolio that demonstrates this ...

If I genuinely believed I couldn't do the job I'd reply to the Jewellery Channel saying that whilst you are appreciative of your friends efforts to get you employment, he has somewhat and probably unknowingly overstated your credentials. I'd thank them for their interest in me.

I'd them probably kick my "friend" where it really hurts and tell him to blag that ;)
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Of course i don't have one lol, my mate put me forward because "well you've got a camera". I explained to him that i would need proof i could do it in the way of photos and that was when he said "steal them from the internet". I was left a bit speechless at that point.

There is no way in this world i'd even put myself forward for something i knew i wasn't capable of. Although i may be capable but not to the standard they are probably looking for.

His kick is coming, trust me.
 
I'm sure that works for a lot of things but i'm not sure i would have got too far in this instance lol

Plus they wanted proof i was good enough so that kinda killed it haha
 
Keith W said:
This
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I assure you it wasn't. Like i said, i wished it was but it was my mate putting me forward for something without even knowing anything about photography apart from needing a camera. Plus he's not a person who does the wind up stuff, he was serious about all this and assumed that because i took photos it was easy and anybody could do it.
 
Whilst I get you weren't happy about it and thus for that reason primarily couldn't pull it off.

I do think you need to work a little bit more on this
Steve Smith said:
I'm with Richard Branson on this one...

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Steve.
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If you don't and always wait until you know it all, you will get passed by a lot and might end up frustrated with colleagues that are much worse than you but do get the job and promotion.

In an ideal world it isn't right, but unfortunately too many managers blag it as well and aren't able to recognise the true talent they need to nurture.

Failing that, work for yourself :)
 
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I think most people blag it to some extent in any sort of employment, especially when promoted.


Steve.
 
It's definitely a UK thing and something I had to learn very quickly to put lipstick and a big bow around your CV. A very ungermanic thing to do where it is all rather factual, but then again references get properly checked. And I think that is part of the problem where in the UK as an employer you have to be so careful in the reference you provide.
 
The other thing which happens a lot here is that people get promoted up to their level of incompetence - especially in big companies.

e.g. you start off in a junior position, do well, then after a few years you get a promotion. You do well there and get promoted again. After a while you get promoted up to a position which you do not do well in and because of that, you stay there being incompetent for the rest of your career with that company!


Steve.
 
Take a look at their website and see what type of shots they are after.

Can you emulate them at home?

If yes then take the job. As some other guys have eluded to there is always a slight bit of blag involved in most jobs when you start out.

If you can't do the photos then tell them straight away. Never leave a client hanging. It's not professional.
 
Steve Smith said:
The other thing which happens a lot here is that people get promoted up to their level of incompetence - especially in big companies.

e.g. you start off in a junior position, do well, then after a few years you get a promotion. You do well there and get promoted again. After a while you get promoted up to a position which you do not do well in and because of that, you stay there being incompetent for the rest of your career with that company!


Steve.
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Exactly, and that was my point earlier where those than don't recognise the true talent in the ranks. Too often I see that they then only go with those in their teams who say yes and don't disagree with them. It's the worst kind as they don't even recognise their own incompetence.
 
FullyExposed said:
Take a look at their website and see what type of shots they are after.

Can you emulate them at home?

If yes then take the job. As some other guys have eluded to there is always a slight bit of blag involved in most jobs when you start out.

If you can't do the photos then tell them straight away. Never leave a client hanging. It's not professional.
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Chances of me being able to emulate them would be difficult as i dont have any lighting at all but i guess that could actually be blagged.

In hindsight, yeah i probably did panic a bit as even my gf said i under value what i can do.

I didn't keep them hanging for that long to be honest, it was just that they were sending emails every 5 minutes asking for a CV etc which made me panic more lol

I turned it down solely on the basis of me not ever having done anything like it before, feeling i dont have enough experience in "just taking photos" and lastly i really didnt want to look a complete dick when they found out i had no clue what i was doing if i managed to get the job.

I am going to be getting a portfolio together of lots of different subjects etc for the future though because no doubt i will need them at some point.

On the upside, i did get a few photos in the local paper this morning, fatality at the local station. Every little helps i suppose lol
 
Steve Smith said:
I'm with Richard Branson on this one...

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Of course, he had the benefit of a rich dad to buy his way out of trouble when he got caught for evading VAT. The OP might not have that option, so perhaps a more *ahem* responsible attitude is required.
 
Llamaman said:
Of course, he had the benefit of a rich dad to buy his way out of trouble when he got caught for evading VAT. The OP might not have that option, so perhaps a more *ahem* responsible attitude is required.
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If i had a rich dad then i wouldn't be worrying about trying to get a photography job lol
 
Steve Smith said:
The other thing which happens a lot here is that people get promoted up to their level of incompetence - especially in big companies.

e.g. you start off in a junior position, do well, then after a few years you get a promotion. You do well there and get promoted again. After a while you get promoted up to a position which you do not do well in and because of that, you stay there being incompetent for the rest of your career with that company!


Steve.
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This is known as "the Peter Principle".
 
Si is absolutely spot on here. Jewellery and watches are two of the hardest things to light (alongside glassware), even more so for someone that doesn't do lighting in the first place!
 
Just an update on this. He called me today to tell me that he has got the sack from his job as a manager in an engineering company.

The first thing i said to him was "Well i guess blagging it obviously doesn't work then".

It couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke lol

It turns out that he knew a lot less about the job than what he had told them and they worked it out, took them 2 years though.

I never knew it was so hard to stop yourself from laughing while trying to be serious on the phone to somebody haha
 
DemiLion said:
Si is absolutely spot on here. Jewellery and watches are two of the hardest things to light (alongside glassware), even more so for someone that doesn't do lighting in the first place!
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I'll be honest, i've only recently started to learn how my speedlite works properly. I bought it a year ago and have only used it for one day out when i was at Comic Con with my kids.

They are not as easy as they look lol
 
About the Branson quote. The only way that works is if a person has the aptitude. We all know a person that can seemingly turn their hand at anything and make it work. OP doesn't necessarily think that is him.

You could have used the contact and subbed the work out, taking a cut. That's what I'd do in any area I wasnt experienced in. Business is business. The way to success is by being a great middleman.

I wouldn't turn it down outright.
 
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yorkshirechap said:
About the Branson quote. The only way that works is if a person has the aptitude. We all know a person that can seemingly turn their hand at anything and make it work. OP doesn't necessarily think that is him.

You could have used the contact and subbed the work out, taking a cut. That's what I'd do in any area I wasnt experienced in. Business is business. The way to success is by being a great middleman.

I wouldn't turn it down outright.
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The reason being that i got my DSLR 12 months ago lol

I'm still learning, yes i get some good photos but i still get a lot of bad ones. I also don't know anybody to sub it out to.

Maybe after a little more learning i would feel i was capable but not just yet.

These are the photos i got this morning that ended up in the local paper http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/b...r_being_hit_by_train_near_Grove_Park_station/ , not great but good enough for the paper even though the Editor used the words "These are great". I was still half asleep when i took them but you can obviously see i'm nowhere near proper paid work yet.
 
grove39 said:
The reason being that i got my DSLR 12 months ago lol

I'm still learning, yes i get some good photos but i still get a lot of bad ones. I also don't know anybody to sub it out to.

Maybe after a little more learning i would feel i was capable but not just yet.

These are the photos i got this morning that ended up in the local paper http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/b...r_being_hit_by_train_near_Grove_Park_station/ , not great but good enough for the paper even though the Editor used the words "These are great". I was still half asleep when i took them but you can obviously see i'm nowhere near proper paid work yet.
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Matey, it wasn't a criticism of you. More of a suggestion. There are plenty of very good product photographers right here on this forum. Post in the pro forum, you'll get responses, can review portfolios and you dont have to turn down the work. Both you and the photographer can hash out the details, but its win win, mostly.

:)
 
yorkshirechap said:
Matey, it wasn't a criticism of you. More of a suggestion. There are plenty of very good product photographers right here on this forum. Post in the pro forum, you'll get responses, can review portfolios and you dont have to turn down the work. Both you and the photographer can hash out the details, but its win win, mostly.

:)
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Wasn't taken as criticism at all.

To be honest, if i'd realised then i would have posted on here about it during and not after the fact. I was just a bit annoyed that i'd been put forward for something because the person putting me forward is an idiot lol

BTW, if anybody lives in the Bromley, Kent area and wouldn't mind showing me how to use my camera that would be great hahaha
 
You weren't very clear about whether you would be using their equipment in their premises or your own.

By the look of their site all they want are good clean pics of their jewellery - the downside being that you would probably be taking hundreds of pics every day to meet their demand.

So once set up it would be more like a production line.

How long would your camera and other gear last subjected to that kind of usage?
.
 
petersmart said:
You weren't very clear about whether you would be using their equipment in their premises or your own.

By the look of their site all they want are good clean pics of their jewellery - the downside being that you would probably be taking hundreds of pics every day to meet their demand.

So once set up it would be more like a production line.

How long would your camera and other gear last subjected to that kind of usage?
.
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As it never got that far i didn't even ask who's kit would be used.

How long would my kit last ?, not as far as the pay packet to replace it i'm guessing.
 
Are you sure you 2 are friends/mates?

The way I read this is your friend has tried helping you out, he might of gone about it the wrong way but his intention's was good.

All you had to do was call/email the company and decline there offer politely and then thank your mate for looking out for you and educate him a little as to where you are with your photography.
I think he is more of a friend to you than you are to him.

Just my thoughts and I say it with no malice.

All the best Mickey
 
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step72 said:
Are you sure you 2 are friends/mates?

The way I read this is your friend has tried helping you out, he might of gone about it the wrong way but his intention's was good.

All you had to do was call/email the company and decline there offer politely and then thank your mate for looking out for you and educate him a little as to where you are with your photography.
I think he is more of a friend to you than you are to him.

Just my thoughts and I say it with no malice.

All the best Mickey
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I've known him for years and i tolerate him lol, we are mates but sometimes i do need a break from him hahaha

He knows where i am with my photography but his problem is that he thinks if you buy a car you can easily pass yourself off as a racing driver.
 
grove39 said:
I've known him for years and i tolerate him lol, we are mates but sometimes i do need a break from him hahaha

He knows where i am with my photography but his problem is that he thinks if you buy a car you can easily pass yourself off as a racing driver.
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Lol back to giving him a kick then.
 
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