Another pro photographer with no business sense

You may have heard of "The PhoBlographer," a guy who blogs about and reviews photo gear along with a few other people on his website, which I occasionally read if he's reviewed something I'm interested in. I happen to be following his page on facebook and he posted the following status:

How about snapping a single picture, showing it to her on the camera's LCD, and offering to email her the picture in exchange for $10 cash up front? I bet that would take no longer than four minutes, which would prorate to his insisted-upon $150 hourly fee. Not to mention it is a great opportunity to develop future business from a new client. Some people think clients just grow on trees. Most of the time you have to pay to advertise your services, so turning down advertising that you are essentially getting paid for is ludicrous.

His other mistake is comparing his services to those of a plumber. Plumbing is a service that people can't live without, so when something breaks, the plumber has all the leverage. They don't have to justify the value of their services; it's plainly obvious to anyone. But when you are in essentially a high-end boutique type of profession as a studio photographer, that kind of rhetoric might win you the argument but it sure won't get you any business. Most people can't or don't care to distinguish between decent, good, and great photos, but anyone can recognize and evaluate the level of service they are receiving.