Hiding myself

this kind of made me chuckle.. but I see your point.

They do have family. And like most families probably have, or might want to have' a picture of all of them together. If they want it professionally, or are able to do it themselves is a diffrent question.

I stay enough to myself that I dont get alot of questions about me, my husband ,my work, or anything.
The only ones we are actually close with are the couple that moved in right next door.

Love em.
I would, without a single hesitation, give them a photosession.
But, the guy in the other building, is making me feel wierd.
And he is just as honest and polite from what I can tell..

So I think what is coming out of me is that I feel like I am being more judgemental then I need to be. And that makes me uncomfortable.
I hate feeling that way about the people I live next to but.. well.. they are what they are. And what they are makes it a bit unsafe.

Maybe I could refer him to Sears and tell him that Sears is cheaper then I am, and at a rate I cant even match.. ( Sears right now is at 49.99 for ten gazillion prints of the same photo )

after seeing your second post....

to answer your question, yes. I do think they would come to me for a photo session.

Well, maybe not ME personally, but a private photographer who isnt under the umbrella of sears, lifetouch...etc.
It could be seen as a luxury item.

I don't know what your ad says, but could you get away with telling him you don't do portraits...you only do commercial photography for companies...advertising, catalog shots...?

The fact that a small gesture like a local person asking to hire you has put you on guard is a powerful reflection of how uncomfortable you are in your own home place.

I think alarm systems are meaningless in your situation. They are very easy to disable, any half wit criminal knows you cut the phone line first. You're not friends with your neighbors, so no one is going to pay attention to the noise an alarm makes. You're not going to be able to out gun a gangster, so I wouldn't even think of going in that direction. Bars on windows and a good locking system are effective, but I think your problem is as emotional as it is external. I think your life is being dominated by paranoia, granted much of it justified, but I think you really have to focus on getting out of the area and into a safer environment. Any neighborhood can harbor a child molester, but the fact that your area is saturated is a good reason to keep reading the apartment listings for other areas in your city. The other good reason is because you can't stop looking over your shoulder and expecting the worst.

Sorry for the rant, but this area you live in seems to be a real source of discomfort and fear for you. I know it's easy for me to just say "move", but I think you have to make it a priority. You deserve better.

This is my back window

You are correct GW in that it is uncomfortable here.
But we are still working on meeting our goal of moving in one year.

When we first moved in, we needed two years.
We are on track, and heading into the last year.

I think an alarm might be useless as well, because if people want in bad enough, they are going to do it no matter what.

I think I may just be overly paranoid. As i said earlier.. it has been a year, and nothing has happened to us.
In fact, it is quiet ( sound wise..) peaceful ( no loud fights except for the people down stairs) and safe ( no one has been broken into, nor have there been any car thefts or major thefts in a year)
so, it might just be me with the problem.

Dunno. Alarm may not discourage ALL robbers, but it may discourage SOME. I would certainly want one if I felt the way you do about your neighborhood. We once bought a cheap one that calls you in case it goes off at the same time as it calls the police. I forget what it was, but it was cheap and worth it. When we moved out and another couple moved in, they were robbed in a week. Could be coincidence, could be the alarm system, dunno, but better safe than sorry, methinks.
If anything should happen, godforbid, at least you'll have a beter conscience that you have done something for your safety. Also, not sure if you are insured against robbery, but having an alarm gives you a much better chance of getting money for the incurred loss.

Oh.

Obviously my excuse won't work.

(Great shots, though!)

AlarmForce will install the required equipment and charges about $25/month plus taxes. There are lots out there that do that. You have to sign up for a specified period of time, though.

More importantly, do you have tenants' insurance for your stuff? In Canada, even if things were stolen from your car, your house insurance covers it, not car insurance. Don't know about down there.

If you have a client that you dont want give him to the elcheepo opposition.

I have been stuffed around by a few clients in my time especially slow payers. Once I am at the end of my rope I pass these clients along to my cheapass competition. I tell the competition I have too much work and am refering a client to him. I tell the client that the competition can handle his work in a more satisfactory way than I can.

shewolf your neighbour probably doesnt have any idea how much a session costs. Ask your neighbour how much did he think it might cost. Make a few phone calls to photographers in the area. Ask for a finders commision from the photographers.

My wife worked in a bank for many many years. She says it never ceased to surprise her who had a lot of money. ie people you would never have thought were wealthy had very large investments. sometimes they were from accident compensation or parents insurance money. Sometimes it was because they lived cheap and did not spend money.