Exposure or Exploitation? Do you work for free?

[Disaster_Area]

I've had this blog post rolling around in my head for a long time... but it always sounded too cynical or pessimistic. I used to do a lot of "for exposure" work and it never really amounted to anything... here's my thoughts:

Exposure or Exploitation?

Do you guys do "exposure" work?

 

[photogdave]

Very well written. I think you presented your points quite objectively without sounding cynical.
I've always tried to offers similar advice as I watch the value of photography-for-hire decline to the point where I don't even bother anymore.
I witnessed the ultimate example of the "photography is worthless" attitude many years ago when I worked on cruise ships. The passengers who didn't want to pay $20 for a studio quality portrait would wait until the end of the cruise and ask for them for free because we were "going to throw them out anyway". Sometimes they would even blatantly steal the print right off the wall because they felt the photos should be included in the price they paid for the cruise.
We didn't get any respect off our fellow crew members either. They thought we had the easy life "flitting about the ship clicking a button" and not doing real hard work, like standing on the bridge and pushing buttons!

 

[Disaster_Area]

It's getting harder and harder to get a paycheck (it's easy to earn it, getting a check in the mail is the tough part). There's so many people willing to work for exposure, there's no reason for companies to fork out cash. And the worst part is that more and more, media outlets are happy enough with mediocre free work instead of high quality paid stuff. News and magazine articles are here today, gone tomorrow... quantity seems to be the order of the day, not quality.

Google is partially to blame for this. Google page rank is in great part determined by the amount of new content on a website and how regularly it updates and many companies will pump out as much content as possible to take advantage of this.

 

[back alley]

i shoot for my own pleasure so rarely think about sales or money...

the local farmer's market, where i shoot most weekends, was looking for a camera to hire and i offered mine as a volunteer...not wanting to sour the experience for myself.
this is an exception for me and i like the idea of being a volunteer for something that i enjoy doing anyway.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well, I've been on the other side of the counter here, and I can tell you that the money isn't always available, at least in book publishing. I can also say that I've asked friends (people I already know) if they are interested in contributing work that wouldn't otherwise appear in print -- in other words, mostly personal work -- if they'd like to have pictures in my books "on the simple terms of ruthless exploitation: a free copy of the book, nothing more". Both amateurs and professionals have been quite happy. And established professionals have also submitted work for free to the Rotovision Pro Lighting Series, though of course their contact details appear in the back, so it's a selling tool and they get several copies.

Otherwise, no, I don't give much away, except to friends and to causes I want to support (e.g. the Tibetan cause). Even 20 years ago my day rate was +/- GBP 1000: pay me a grand a day if I don't want to do it, but I'll spend a grand (only for a day) if I believe in the cause.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Disaster_Area]

I can also say that I've asked friends (people I already know) if they are interested in contributing work that wouldn't otherwise appear in print -- in other words, mostly personal work -- if they'd like to have pictures in my books "on the simple terms of ruthless exploitation: a free copy of the book, nothing more".

Oh, I agree, this is the type of free work I still do. I recently contributed a shot of mine to a local musician heading off on a Canada wide tour because I love his music and I know he busts his ass doing what he loves.

My write-up was more targeted at the job offers I get from people I don't know from Adam. I've gotten quite a few job offers from magazines asking me if I'd like to go shoot an event, fashion show, club or contribute articles to their website etc only to find out they only "pay" by giving a by-line. These are companies that are clearly in the money making business, the person contacting is getting paid so why should they think I shouldn't? One of them even wanted me to pay my own transport and hotel costs to go shoot an event for them. And of all the free "exposure" work I've done in the past I haven't seen a single tangible sent in increased revenue from this exposure.

I definitely agree on contributing my time to worth while causes though. I don't have the spare cash to donate money to all the causes I'd like, so when the opportunity arises the least I can do is donate my time.

 

[isoterica]

I think if you are just shooting for pleasure or shooting maybe.. to show some exhibit work.. it's more about pursuing your passion than the dollar. However if you are looking to make a living I think you worded your post well in that charity work can reap other work but not all shoots should be charity work.

I hear the same thing too about uploading your images to the web full size so that people can 'enjoy' them and watermarks are a no because they 'ruin the viewing experience' which I think is a lot of bunk. If you want full sized, ask me.. we will work something out.

There are ways to get exposure without exposing yourself to giving it all away. I think you should keep your post, it's honest and to the point. Anyone that sees it as negative either hasn't experienced it yet or doesn't care about offering it free. I will add that people who give their images away for free because they enjoy the pleasure it brings others aren't necessarily foolish, they have just chosen a non-monetary path.

 

[Disaster_Area]

I will add that people who give their images away for free because they enjoy the pleasure it brings others aren't necessarily foolish, they have just chosen a non-monetary path.

I agree, if you're not out to make money from photography... share your passion with as many people as possible! There's nothing anywhere that says "You're -this- good, now you have to start charging people". I can understand why many photogs stay away from this. It can be a hamper to creativity and enjoyment to bring money into it.

It's people that are trying to make money from their craft and giving it away that are hurting not only themselves, but all of us trying to make a buck.

 

[claacct]

“we’re too cheap to pay for a photographer”

Isn't that more like, photography is no longer a trade commodity and we see no reason to pay for something when can get it for free and either way our customers won't really care?

The problem with the cliched supply demand duality is the other often ignored step which is demand elasticity. And in the case of photography the demand elasticity for still photos is no longer elastic but almost infinite, anyone who actually pays for still photos is not very smart... So what happens to the person who has taken photography as career? Well, in the words of Rupert Murdoch "I DON'T KNOW!"

lol

 

[dave lackey]

First of all, I assume this has to do with photography, which in my case is my business. I do nothing for free anymore. BTDT and after many years, I finally figured out that you do nothing for free. Even if someone has to pay a discounted or even a nominal fee, I never, ever do anything for free. That's just business.😉

When was the last time you went into a store, or a mega store like Walmart, or anywhere else and they gave you something absolutely free? Most likely never. And if you found something completely free, did you appreciate it as if you had spent a dear some of money for it? No. Appreciation comes with parting with your money and getting something worth it or worth far more than you paid for it but free items are never appreciated.

 

[Disaster_Area]

Isn't that more like, photography is no longer a trade commodity and we see no reason to pay for something when can get it for free and either way our customers won't really care?
lol

Yeah, it seems the more photos our rampantly multi-media hungry society demands... the less we actually stop and look at each image.

A quote I recently read on this forum comes to mind:

"How do you get a professional photographer off your porch? Pay him for the pizza"

 

[claacct]

Yeah, it seems the more photos our rampantly multi-media hungry society demands... the less we actually stop and look at each image.

A quote I recently read on this forum comes to mind:

"How do you get a professional photographer off your porch? Pay him for the pizza"

To give you an example, this evening in Toronto there will be a big march by cyclists against bike lane removal and it will be huge, there might be some scuffles etc... and there will be hundreds of camera people taking pictures... And if something interesting happens most of those people will rush home and post stuff on facebook etc or send it to local news and the whole event would be visually documented simply by amateurs and displayed to the rest of news viewers... Where does the professional photographer comes in into all of this?

You see what I'm trying to say... If you love photography, do it for the love of it, for money do something else or you will lose photography as well as the money!

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I don't do either "exposure" nor "exploitation". I do "how do I get to exposure or exploitation?"

 

[tbarker13]

I shoot a lot of portraits for free because I want to. But in those cases, they are always people I've picked and asked to do it. If someone approaches me, 99 percent of the time, they can expect to pay for it.
I do get annoyed when local fashions shows, etc. contact me - offering to let me shoot their events for free.

 

[Roger Hicks]

My write-up was more targeted at the job offers I get from people I don't know from Adam.

This reminds me of another quasi-Biblical quote from Frostie in the days of That Was The Week That Was (TW3) or maybe Not So Much A Programme, More A Way Of Life (NSMAP,MAWOL).

"And now, a message for the inhabitants of Gomorrah..."

(significant pause)

"Sodom"

(I'm not sure if this works in American, but in English that sounds very like "Sod'em", i.e. "Bugger 'em" = "This is their problem, not mine.")

Frostie (David Frost) was a Methodist minister's son of whom Peter Cook memorably said he had "risen without trace."

I no longer do ANYTHING for ANYONE for free unless either I want to support their cause, or I like them personally. It's tragic that so many expect anything else.

(And one day I'll start making more than beer money out of my website -- working on it now!)

Cheers,

R.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

It's an interesting take. The problem is for most pro's is making enough money and keeping the passion alive over the long haul. Many pro's I knew and really repected growing up now are so soured about photography won't even touch a camera. Which is very sad.



However that make's room for other's to come and give it a go. Best of luck to them. There going to need it. As other's have said everyone has a camera , cell phone now a days.
People undercutting and doing for free has always been a reality to compete with the working pro.

However, I still say there is always room at the top.

 

[jsrockit]

I work a "corporate" job for cash and do photography for fun.

 

[dave lackey]

Volunteer work is admirable but almost impossible to get around here. After 40 years of experience in city/town planning, civil engineering, architecture and teaching at Georgia Tech for years, I have been completely unable to obtain volunteer work of any kind. THAT is what makes one sour, not doing what one likes to do or has the talent to do.

Before the recession, I did a lot of volunteer work for ministries, churches and such and NOT one time did those people understand what it took to do professional work and since they did not pay for it, they never appreciated it. None of that work was photography. Now that I am a full-time photographer, I work for myself. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, no problem, but I will not give away my professional work or services. Even if I charge just $5, it is the message I am sending and that is just the way I do business.

Personal photography? Yeah, I give away a print here and there, mostly to family or someone who is genuine IMO and they are the folks who appreciate it. Just recently gave a couple of 5x7 portraits to an elderly historian and a cool guy on dialysis, oxygen and a heart patient in a wheelchair. Those are the people deserving of a lot more than I can give them.:angel:

Do what you want. If it makes you happy, then that is good. If you can make others happy, that is even better. If I can pay the bills, then everybody is happy.

 

[rxmd]

It happens outside photography, too.

When I started to do PhD research we had fourteen people in our small institute who taught courses for free (myself included). About half the teaching was done for free, including essentials like language courses and basic methodology. We thought it would give us valuable teaching experience and it would be fine to subsist on some survival grant or other until eventually the professor would think of us as soon as there'd be a free paid position somewhere. In effect we were an academic sub-proletariat of extremely high-qualified, but highly dependent people with no appreciation of their own value. I stopped doing that after a semester, as soon as I understood.

Unpaid internships are another such story. Students get lured into how it will give them great contacts and valuable practical experience, so they spend two or three years after graduation working for pitiful salaries, and all the time they accumulate "Willing to work for free" stain points on their resumé.

 

[karlori]

I volunteer with my local groups, sometimes donate my time to help the elderly and did a shot photo assignment including the kids from the oncology clinic, prints were given to their parents or sold to buy them toys etc none of that work will ever get public exposure as per contract but I'm fine with that.

I cover one sports fan club from my city on their "at home" matches document their choreography and give them a dvd with video and pics of it. I was offered money for my time but the guys are struggling to make it already so I decided to do that 2hr's per week for free (don't do PP or anything, i shoot JPEG and drop it off the same day).