# Anyone heard of Thumbtack?



## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

Has anyone heard of Thumbtack for getting photography jobs??
I had never heard of it until I started working for them, they are a company that helps professionals get work and customers looking to hire someone for their jobs.
I do site support on the back end, but I created my profile and have actually gotten quite a bit of work from local customers looking for photography.
Here is my profile if you wanna take a look. It does cost to use the site, but not a whole lot, on average I am paying like 3-5 bucks per quote but make 300 and up on the jobs I get. Take a look at my profile and give it a try!
Photography by Trevor - Photography by Trevor - Salt Lake City, UT


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## astroNikon (Jul 27, 2014)

I think a few here use it.
One TPF member recently got stilted on her payment and quit the site.


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## KmH (Jul 27, 2014)

Yep. Thumbtack is rapidly getting a reputation -not a good reputation.


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

Really?? Thats sad, it has been working for me.+ Reply to Thread


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## Derrel (Jul 27, 2014)

I just heard about Thumbtack in a couple of posts here last week, both disparaging the company and its typical customer.

As far as people paying for photos of any quality--if they pay, that's okay. Photos are memories for the majority of people. People like photos of family members and friends based on their emotional connections with the people in the photos, and not nearly so much as the technical or artistic quality of the images. That is generally speaking; more-sophisticated buyers understand more and expect higher technical quality than less-sophisticated buyers.


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

well that was a little unnecessary


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## e.rose (Jul 27, 2014)

I've heard nothing but horrible things about it.  Besides, my target clientele doesn't use Thumbtack. I'm priced too high to ever pull any valuable leads from there.  Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


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## Tee (Jul 27, 2014)

You should stick around and learn some fundamentals.  It'll improve your photography.


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## jsecordphoto (Jul 27, 2014)

I mean not to be harsh but half of those photos were soft and out of focus, blown out highlights, just really poor exposure, etc.


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## sscarmack (Jul 27, 2014)

I'm just confused. 

You have 2, 2k lens but a $400 camera body?

I know all about not having the funds but why would you buy a 14-24 2.8 before upgrading your body to at least a $800 camera lol. 

No gear isn't everything. But it sure helps. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## e.rose (Jul 27, 2014)

This thread just reeks of some dude that works for Thumbtack trying to recruit more people.

I'm not buyin' into this.

He immediately launches into how great this site is (it's not) and then wants us to take a look at his work, but instead of linking to a portfolio or website, he links us to his Thumbtack profile.

Either OP is severely delusion about the credibility of Thumbtack as a valid source of clientele or income... or he's just trying to make a buck out of our pockets some how by driving us to the very website that he has already admitted working for. 

Call me skeptical Sally.

This just don't feel right. I don't make no damn sense. :lmao:


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## astroNikon (Jul 27, 2014)

e.rose said:


> This thread just reeks of some dude that works for Thumbtack trying to recruit more people.
> 
> I'm not buyin' into this.
> 
> ...


I was thinking the same thing when I saw his post.

I just looked at his pics .. why is most everyone wearing a black t-shirt ...


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

e.rose said:


> This thread just reeks of some dude that works for Thumbtack trying to recruit more people.
> 
> I'm not buyin' into this.
> 
> ...



Just to be clear I am not earning anything from 'recruiting' people to thumbtack, I had never heard of it until I started working for them and have been hired for a few jobs, thought I would share is all. 
Trying to be nice is all


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

astroNikon said:


> e.rose said:
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> 
> > This thread just reeks of some dude that works for Thumbtack trying to recruit more people.
> ...



The black shirts is what everyone decided to wear for the shoot...


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## e.rose (Jul 27, 2014)

saltlakephoto said:


> e.rose said:
> 
> 
> > This thread just reeks of some dude that works for Thumbtack trying to recruit more people.
> ...



You should probably just post your images for C&C and not worry about telling people about Thumbtack. It's kind of terrible anyway. And posts like the one you have above just make you sound spammy, especially if you only have 5 posts on the forum and 0 credibility with the crowd here.


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

e.rose said:


> saltlakephoto said:
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> > e.rose said:
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This is in the "Aspiring photographers" section... just thought I would mention a site that can help get hired... nothing more nothing less. 
I have posted pictures in other areas. I guess I am failing to see what I did wrong by posting in this specific area, I could understand if I was in the main forum rooms.


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## Derrel (Jul 27, 2014)

You're right...you've been insulted, and then attacked here. You have  had your photography, your motives, and your abilities, and your intentions questioned. Welcome to TPF.


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## e.rose (Jul 27, 2014)

saltlakephoto said:


> e.rose said:
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> > saltlakephoto said:
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I already told you.

It just seemed spammy. :greenpbl:


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

Derrel said:


> You're right...you've been insulted, and then attacked here. You have  had your photography, your motives, and your abilities, and your intentions questioned. Welcome to TPF.



I appreciate it


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## robbins.photo (Jul 27, 2014)

Derrel said:


> You're right...you've been insulted, and then attacked here. You have  had your photography, your motives, and your abilities, and your intentions questioned. Welcome to TPF.



It really was a lot easier when we had a supply of tar and feathers.  Just saying.. lol


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## robbins.photo (Jul 27, 2014)

saltlakephoto said:


> e.rose said:
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> > saltlakephoto said:
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Well I sort of browsed through this and I think the reason it might have seemed "spammy" is that unless I misread something you mentioned that you did some work for thumbtack, though I may have read that incorrectly it sounded like you were associated with the website itself at least in some small way.  

So far at least as some of the other folks have mentioned thumbtack has a pretty bad rep, at least in these parts - so don't be too upset if folks don't seem to take to openly to your suggestion.

As for myself, I'm not a professional and I have zero desire to ever become one, so sort of a moot point for me personally.  But hey, welcome to TPF.


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## saltlakephoto (Jul 27, 2014)

No I understand, I do work for thumbtack as a tech support but I am not trying to promote it in a 'spammy' way, I had just never heard of it before and had gotten hired a few times so I thought I would share is all.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 27, 2014)

saltlakephoto said:


> No I understand, I do work for thumbtack as a tech support but I am not trying to promote it in a 'spammy' way, I had just never heard of it before and had gotten hired a few times so I thought I would share is all.



Lol.. I get it.  Sort of a "Hey I'm proud of this" sort of thing.  Honestly I'd never heard of thumbtack before a couple of people brought it up here, and unfortunately they haven't had a real positive experience with it.  But for me it really is a moot point, I don't shoot professionally and I really don't want to start.  For me photography is a very enjoyable hobby, and I've worked hard to keep it that way.. lol


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 27, 2014)

I thought I'd run across Thumbtack before, not photography related, but it doesn't look familiar. As usual I started looking at Terms and Privacy info. and it didn't take much before I ruled it out as anything I'd consider using. 

Under Privacy Policy, A. #2 regarding collecting user info. it talks about if users sign in thru Facebook they need to provide their email address AND PASSWORD??! They're kidding, right? They expect site users to give them the password to their FB page?? Sometimes I hope I'm reading this stuff wrong... 

Under Terms of Use - M. Thumbtack Fees 1. - it talks about that it may charge service professionals fees for contacting service users, responding to job leads, etc. I don't know how much the fees would be but I don't see that being beneficial to a photographer (or other service providers for that matter). 

I think for aspiring professional photographers it's better to continue to develop skills to be able to provide photos that are properly exposed, well framed and composed. It would be more beneficial to work toward that than to try to list yourself as a service provider before you're able to provide professional quality photos on a consistent basis.


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## tirediron (Jul 27, 2014)

Putting aside the photography aspect of this, how the Hades can you provide someone a quote for most services without actually conducting a site visit?  It's fine for fixed-price services such as a family photo session, but let's say I'm an electrician and someone wants me to install a new electrical outlet... HOW could I possibly a realistic quote without knowing what the current situation is?  Seems like a very flawed concept to me.


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## Browncoat (Jul 27, 2014)

Heard about it, tried it, didn't like it, no longer use it.


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## benp2k6 (Jul 28, 2014)

sscarmack said:


> I'm just confused.
> 
> You have 2, 2k lens but a $400 camera body?
> 
> ...



Why would you shoot portraits with wide angle lenses?


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## Braineack (Jul 28, 2014)

saltlakephoto said:


> No I understand, I do work for thumbtack as a tech support but I am not trying to promote it in a 'spammy' way, I had just never heard of it before and had gotten hired a few times so I thought I would share is all.




so just in a shilly way?

;-)


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## 12sndsgood (Jul 28, 2014)

I had never heard of it. Saw it. Joined up. Stared getting 5-6 leads a day. After the first day you notice all the emails are written the same way not much info at all to go on. Just a two sentence email wanting a quote. After not hearing back from anyone I started doing a little research and found people complaining about the same things over and over.  Two sentences. Never hearing from leads. Thinking majority of leads were fake and not legitimate.  Just spammed out to get you to spend a few bucks on each one to get your money.  After seeing so many complaints I jumped ship before I lost any real money.  

The first and only positive review I've seen of the place is by the OP who works for them. Go figure.


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## MOREGONE (Jul 29, 2014)

I just discovered it recently and have been getting the leads for the last couple days. Was weary of getting fake leads for real money spent on 'credits'. 

Most of the quotes all seem to be very similar with their budget, give or take $50.


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## astroNikon (Jul 29, 2014)

benp2k6 said:


> Why would you shoot portraits with wide angle lenses?



likes big noses


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