a lab workers rant

Why do you care about how other people do their photography? I have found that thinking about what I don't like about other people doing something is a huge waste of time that could be thinking about how to move forward on things I'm doing.

Jeff, if it were a rare occurence, I wouldn't care much. It is not. It degrades the entire image of professionalism so many photographers have strived to attain.

Understand your rant, Steven, but I'm more intrigued about your lab skills. We (or I) don't get to pick the brain of a lab technician who often controls the outcome of what those photographers captured.

So what do you do to make their images look better or is all your processes controlled by an automated system?

I used to shoot film back in the '80's as a hobbyist with a Yashica SLR and 55mm lens and was often disappointed by the results I got back from the lab. But I could never tell who (me or the lab) botched what and how.

It could also be that this is simply a result of the mass-i-fication of photography. Perhaps there are pretty much the same number of competent photographers as there always were, but the number of wannabes (me included) has multiplied by thousands or millions. Analogy: A glacier with a tip above the water--these are the pros--and a large mass under--these are the incompetent masses. Today, the part above water is still about the same size, but the mass below the waterline is much, much bigger. So, at work, you are now getting swamped by all these underwater wannabes. As many others have mentioned before on this site, making money with photography is much more about business acumen than it is about being a good photographer. Whatever. For me, I'll just keep plugging away, trying to get my cranium above that waterline and as far up the berg as I can whilst pursuing my own personal creative goals. Maybe a good number of your customers are like me in that respect...if you continue to work with them, maybe some will actually start to produce good images. Maybe you could kindly mentor a few. My wife hates to go to bad performances of opera or classical music--but I contend you have to support the bottom of the pyramid in order for good-quality cream to rise to the top.

people could care less about monitor calibration

See, now, you're complaining about people not focusing on the right subject as they attempt to communicate via photography - but other people might complain about the fact that you've just said the exact opposite of what you mean (don't you mean "couldn't care less" - ?) as you communicate through writing.

The point is, everyone has different priorities, and we all fixate on different behaviors in others. It is indeed painful to spend all day working with people whose priorities don't line up with your own, but that's a choice you make, every day. Help them to improve so you can stand interacting with them, or reconcile yourself to the fact that mediocrity is the norm (pretty much by definition), and that the only way to shield yourself from having to see it every day is to turn away certain types of customers.

Tim, back in the film days, I worked for a major professional lab as a custom printer and quality control person emphasis on color correction. Alas the custom color printer with an enlarger has gone the way of film in a lot of labs. The one I work in is very automated. A complaint I have is if you send us crap, we will print it and that is what you get. Your fault. Good photoshop skills will result in great prints. I personally would like to make everyones prints look the best they can... Unfortunately, that is not a shared viewpoint. Don't get me wrong, if you do your job, we crank out a great product.
Daniel I am inclined to agree with you to an extent. However, the lack of quality below the waterline is disturbing and relatively easy to fix. It is one thing to have an eye to see a photo still another to have the technical knowledge to produce it. One is a talent, one is education. Yes the education needs support like the opera good or bad but if one is unwilling to learn the line becomes a little less distinct.

The problem with "professional" photography is that the only qualification you need is the possession of a camera.

It's an example of "Sturgeon's Law" which puts forward the opinion that 90% of everything is crap, whether the everything applies to movies, TV shows, novels or photographs.

Even 50% of surgeons were in the bottom half of their class, but at least their qualifications go beyond ownership of a scalpel.

It degrades the entire image of professionalism so many photographers have strived to attain.

How? My shots are what sells, that's not dependent on what someone else does. Nobody says that I'm not good because of somebody down the street. Professional photographers are responsible for their own image. This is just another "victim" argument.

Jeff, I'm not a professional electrician, and I have no skin in the game. However, I've been appalled at some of the code violations I've seen in the wiring of our new home -- work done by professional electricians. Likewise, I'm not a framer, but I got really annoyed when I had to correct someone else's professional framing errors so that I could hang a piece of drywall. It truly saddens me to look all around and see mediocrity in all that we do as a society. People can't spel, they make the same @#$%ed punctuation errors ad nauseum. Noe typocx ghave becomw a wayt ot life becayuse ppl have 2 tipe on ther cekll phonz. There's a recent dent in the rear bumper of my 280Z, probably because of some kid texting instead of watching where he/she was driving. People will soon head to the polls and vote, having hardly a clue what they're voting for or against. Cashiers in our stores don't know how to make change. I wonder how we can remain competitive in this world.

I look at all the mediocrity in photography in the same light, and I have to empathize with Steven on this subject. Even if I weren't a photographer, I'd feel the same way. It's truly sad what we've come to settle for. Excellence is an obsolete concept, and "professionalism" in any field has lost any meaning or significance.

@Bob: As Garrison Keillor put it, "Fifty percent of all people are below average." ;-)