CameraOp
Newbie
Well I'm "sort of" glad I found this forum but what really had me feeling really angry is the threads about the IFPO and the press credentials that they issue. I joined the IFPO a few years ago and have been getting photos published in magazines but not enough to make a living but over the past couple of years I've been given work and produced the IFPO card (in the UK) and nobody has batted an eyelid. Now I find out that the cards they issue are not worth the paper they are printed on and their organisation is just a scam. I was living in the US when I first heard of them and applied to join as being a competent photographer really wanted to network with other photographers and looked upon it as a way of doing it. They came the offer for press credentials and the standard "it will open doors for you" speech. I've been back in the UK for a few years now and have kept up my subscriptions and now I find this out and feel as though I've been conned. Has anyone ever reported them to the authorities as a fraud? Their website quite clearly says:
"Universal Press Credentials issued by A.I.N.S. meet the requirements of most press officials and law enforcement around the world. Securing the extremely important issuing information protects A.I.N.S. Correspondents from identity theft. It also keeps the successful design and content of the A.I.N.S. credentials safer from the "wanna be upstarts" who plan to succeed by copying our highly reputable program. The new Universal Credentials are the result of 21 years of development using vital input from our experienced press photographers in the field."
If this is not the case then surely this is false pretences and misrepresentation.
Hmmmmmm.
Maybe I should have had a much closer look at them before I took this out.
"Universal Press Credentials issued by A.I.N.S. meet the requirements of most press officials and law enforcement around the world. Securing the extremely important issuing information protects A.I.N.S. Correspondents from identity theft. It also keeps the successful design and content of the A.I.N.S. credentials safer from the "wanna be upstarts" who plan to succeed by copying our highly reputable program. The new Universal Credentials are the result of 21 years of development using vital input from our experienced press photographers in the field."
If this is not the case then surely this is false pretences and misrepresentation.
Hmmmmmm.
Maybe I should have had a much closer look at them before I took this out.
M. Valdemar
Well-known
If you care to send me £250 I'll send you a marvelous set of press credentials, beautifully printed, laminated, and issued by the "Valdemar Freelance Surety Press Corporation".
Feel free to brandish them wherever finer people congregate.
Feel free to brandish them wherever finer people congregate.
CameraOp
Newbie
M. Valdemar said:
Yea, I hear what you're saying.
Ororaro
Well-known
I don't understand the whole issue. It's not clear to me.
M. Valdemar
Well-known
There are numerous companies which will sell you impressively printed Press credentials, from non-existent organizations, for a large fee.
The OP apparently purchased a set of these expensive Press Passes with high hopes at some point and now in the sober light of day, feels he was cheated and misused by said shysters.
Anyone, in fact, can print out anything they like.
The OP apparently purchased a set of these expensive Press Passes with high hopes at some point and now in the sober light of day, feels he was cheated and misused by said shysters.
Anyone, in fact, can print out anything they like.
NB23 said:
Ororaro
Well-known
I thought he bought the press and shot happily for 2 years, and even got regularly published. No?
I understood the whole idea behind the post but I thought he was getting work. Bah, don't mind me,. I'll go re-read the post more carefully.
I understood the whole idea behind the post but I thought he was getting work. Bah, don't mind me,. I'll go re-read the post more carefully.
M. Valdemar
Well-known
I look like a complete dork.
Camera bags, zoom lenses, 5D's, Nikon FTN's, Leicas, it doesn't matter, I'm still thrown out.
I think I'd better order those IFPO press passes immediately.
Camera bags, zoom lenses, 5D's, Nikon FTN's, Leicas, it doesn't matter, I'm still thrown out.
I think I'd better order those IFPO press passes immediately.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
CameraOp said:
Uh... that would be a big red flag for me right there. There's no such thing as a universal press crediential. If you are acredited, it will be with a specific news agency.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
endustry said:
It would probably work just as well as the IFPO pass.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
NB23 said:
The pass he bought is not valid, since the oprganization that issued it isn't a news organization. It's worth about as much as something he could have whipped up on his computer at home. It works only in that it gives you something to flash at the guards as you bluff your way into an event. They charged him $100 for it. http://www.fzippererphoto.com/gldpress.html
charjohncarter
Veteran
A friend of mine got a big press card that was to be displayed on the dash of a car. He just asked the press guy if he could have it for his collection. It is expired but he uses it for up front parking and any event on the Monterey Peninsula. He has never been challenged. Maybe RFF could send out for a nominal fee 'press photographer cards' to all of us.
Actually, I feel sorry that you were conned, but at least you are in good company. We all have been conned.
Actually, I feel sorry that you were conned, but at least you are in good company. We all have been conned.
John Camp
Well-known
I agree with Sitemistic -- I was a reporter for the best part of 25 years, and the only times I *really* needed a press pass was at the national political conventions, in which the passes are arranged by your news organization. In Minnesota, we got them from the cops until a few years ago, when they stopped issuing them; now reporters and photographers are treated pretty much like the public, except the cops won't beat you up, even if they feel like it. Usually.
Andrew Sowerby
Well-known
Pitxu said:
Interesting ... how does one earn income from press work to qualify for the initial pass?
R
rich815
Guest
sitemistic said:
It's truly amazing how often that works. Takes the right attitude and confidence to pull it off though. But it works.
itf
itchy trigger finger
You can buy a press pass on the main backpacker strip here in Bangkok! Which makes a lot of sense; every backpacker here is zooming in and out with their brand-new digital SLR's. Now all you have to do is buy the camera, come to Bangkok, buy the pass, and suddenly you're in Nat Geo territory with the gear and credentials!
M. Valdemar
Well-known
Nicely laminated ones on Khao San road for 500 baht.
itf
itchy trigger finger
M. Valdemar said:
They're the ones. I wonder if anyone has shown one while 'gaining access' to a tribal village (which was probably set up for tourists to begin with).
Robert Price
I missed what?
Back when I was in school, 1995 i bought the same credientials from the IFPO. Believe it or not they have served me well. I knew it was all BS back then, but I bought it anyway. Still to this day it has worked for me in a lot of situations. es it really is kind of a scam and will not work all the time. Especially for "high security" situations, but to gain access to concerts and the occasional venue where no cameras are allowed it has worked to my advantage.
But like everyone has said additude is everything, If you act like you belong there then you will be treated like you belong there.
But like everyone has said additude is everything, If you act like you belong there then you will be treated like you belong there.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
Robert Price said:
I have no doubt that it allowed you to bluff your way into some places where you ordinarily wouldn't have been allowed. The point is that something I can whip up on my home computer and laminate, at a total cost of about $3, will work just as well.