I found this great chart about working for free at http://www.shouldiworkforfree.com/ and it reminded me of what a problem this is for photographers. There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said about working for free, but even after 20+ years and being pretty well established, I still get asked to work for free regularly. The reasoning usually fits into one of three categories:
•It will give you great exposure
•It will build your portfolio
•There will be much more work later
These are all bogus of course, but they do sound convincing when delivered by a slick negotiator. Be strong. Get your own exposure by networking and marketing yourself. Build your portfolio, regardless of the assignments you’re doing. If you network, market, do great work and build a good reputation, you’ll have plenty of work. Remember, your client’s job is to get you to do the most for the least. Your job is to provide a great product for as much as you can get.
I do have a policy for free work, and it’s simple:
•I’ll do free work for family and close friends. In fact I never charge family and close friends
•I’ll do free work IF I have a VERY good reason to
A few thoughts to consider:
•Your time is limited and has great value
•What you do has value
•The fact that your job is enjoyable doesn’t reduce the value of it
•You can sit at home and not make any money, why work for no money
So, what do you think? How do you handle this issue in your business?
I don't make money from photography, but I'm a professional freelance translator and get approached regularly about providing free translation services (often by NGOs and regularly with the same type of reasoning as indicated above for free photo shoots).
I've been a translator for over 20 years and early in my career I'd accept some of those work-for-free "opportunities". The only thing I ever got out of them was, at best, a warm fuzzy feeling if the cause was really worthy. But working for free has *never* benefitted business. I'm sure it's the same in the world of photography. So don't work for free if you want to make a living off of making pictures! It's not worth it.
I don;t make money on photography either. But, I have considered taking free pictures for friends someday soon in order to build up a portfolio...but, that is different I suppose.
But, as an architect, I get approached all the time fore free architecture design work. I try to avoid it since I barely have time for life these days...but I always hate being in that position!
I take pictures for work, so I guess I sort of get paid to take pictures, even though it falls into the (very) broad spectrum of what I do.
Family and CLOSE friends will always be free, of course. I get to do my baby brother's senior photos, actually! But if someone else asks me for specific work, they will be paying, unless there's a very compelling reason to not charge them.
I donate a few pictures from time to time to the city because my husband and I do monthly photowalks here. I don't mind sharing these because I do these walks for myself. Recently I was asked to 'stop by and get a few pictures' at a local event but declined because of other commitments but at that moment I realized that I would not go out to do this unless there was some compensation because I would not be taking pictures for me. Unless family or close friends were asking I would not do it for free.
Bartering is sometimes just as good as cold hard cash. I do a lot of "free" work for non-profit organizations like animal shelters and Habitat for Humanity. However, since they don't pay me with cash, they will often pay me with discounts, merchandise donated to them from local merchants, and coupons for free meals and deals. These didn't cost the non-profits any money, so it's a win for everyone involved.
But the one question no one ever asked: what about the other photog? Don't worry about whether or not you're good enough to charge people for your serves. Ask yourself this question: am I hurting someone else's livelihood by shooting for free?
Every time an amateur, weekend photographer or a mom-with-a-camera shoots a wedding for free, someone whose livelihood depends on getting paid has a tougher time paying their bills. We need to respect one another and realize that everyone should be paid in some fashion.
If it's your livelihood there has to be a DAMN good reason for a 'freebie', I equate it to walking into a shop and asking for your goods free as you will tell all your friends and be back next week to make a purchase.
For now photography is a hobby so I do pro-bono work. It works to my advantage since I can hone on my skills. Once I am confident enough that I can deliver professional work THEN I'll start charging. =>
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I've been a translator for over 20 years and early in my career I'd accept some of those work-for-free "opportunities". The only thing I ever got out of them was, at best, a warm fuzzy feeling if the cause was really worthy. But working for free has *never* benefitted business. I'm sure it's the same in the world of photography. So don't work for free if you want to make a living off of making pictures! It's not worth it.
But, as an architect, I get approached all the time fore free architecture design work. I try to avoid it since I barely have time for life these days...but I always hate being in that position!
Family and CLOSE friends will always be free, of course. I get to do my baby brother's senior photos, actually! But if someone else asks me for specific work, they will be paying, unless there's a very compelling reason to not charge them.
You should always get something for your work. (Note - that doesn't necessarily have to be money. But never do work for nothing.)
Bartering is sometimes just as good as cold hard cash. I do a lot of "free" work for non-profit organizations like animal shelters and Habitat for Humanity. However, since they don't pay me with cash, they will often pay me with discounts, merchandise donated to them from local merchants, and coupons for free meals and deals. These didn't cost the non-profits any money, so it's a win for everyone involved.
But the one question no one ever asked: what about the other photog? Don't worry about whether or not you're good enough to charge people for your serves. Ask yourself this question: am I hurting someone else's livelihood by shooting for free?
Every time an amateur, weekend photographer or a mom-with-a-camera shoots a wedding for free, someone whose livelihood depends on getting paid has a tougher time paying their bills. We need to respect one another and realize that everyone should be paid in some fashion.
If it's your livelihood there has to be a DAMN good reason for a 'freebie', I equate it to walking into a shop and asking for your goods free as you will tell all your friends and be back next week to make a purchase.
Maybe that's 'cos I have a shop? :-p