Do you shoot for free?

[e.rose]

I think the difference for a lot of people is there is a difference in shooting for free and shooting something for free to help your business.

^^^^This is exactly it.

I ALMOST told that girl, "no". But I found out where she went to school which is SMACK in the middle of my target market, so I saw it as an opportunity to get my name in front of some people who go to that school... and that's what happened.

Vs. the DOZENS of other offers I get from people simply trying to take advantage of my skill in exchange for "work for my portfolio", that actually won't help my portfolio at all.

Shooting with that senior was mutually beneficial to both of us. She got material for her modeling portfolio (which is actually what she *wanted* and the reason she contacted me in the first place), and I got material to market with.

Win/win.

But, like you said, I am also very selective about who I do test shoots with.

I test with makeup artists I want to considering hiring for my sessions, if they contact me for test shoots, and I'll test with anyone like Caroline that I feel actually *will* help my portfolio and/or possibly end up in business leads, but I say no to a lot more "free" shoots than I say yes.

They key is to make sure it will *actually* benefit you, and not allow yourself to be bullied into thinking that it will, when it won't. :lmao:

I also agree with this, you gave a price so stick with it, Have to learn to walk away from sales at times. I got in the habit of discounting my work too much. Hearing someone say that my full price wasn't bad made me realize I need to just go with the prices I set and stop assuming someone won't pay the price.

That's what happened to me too.

All it took was ONE person to pay my full rate, with no argument and no flinching for me to realize that I was fine and needed to stop selling myself short.

 

[12sndsgood]

Yeah, once you start thinking about who your shooting for free versus just shooting anyone for practice etc. you can start actually making free shoots worth your while. I put up a post in a closed group for a test shoot and got contacted by a mom. I though okay is she like a stage mom or something for her daughter, but I started talking with her and her daughter is really good looking and is in the local high school with tons of friends. so my area, and mom runs a agency for actors and dancers etc. and you start seeing where that can possibly be beneficial to me so the possibility of a free shoot is there. Now the other girl who responded who was out of high school, lived about an hour away so really outside of my demographic compared to the first girl I start seeing there isn't a lot of potential for me to possibly gain any work from that.

To add to that when you do just shoot with anyone. people start knowing you as someone who will shoot anyone, start being selective and people will start knowing your very selective in who you will work with and that in itself boosts your rep as a photographer.

 

[MichaelLee]

Yes, but only for my family members

 

[Steve5D]

I guess I'll never understand the inclination to over-think things.

When I started in "concert photography", I didn't just get up in front of Ted Nugent the first time out. I had to have a band bring me in to shoot in some slimy little local dive. The deal I made with them, since I had no clue what I was doing, is that I would give them photos in exchange for them getting me in the door.

After a while, people started asking "Hey, what do you charge for ________?" Where I may have been inclined, prior to that, to say "Oh, don't worry about paying me", now I was starting to say "Well, I can shoot that for "X" amount". Before too long, people started saying "Okay, let's set it up".

I was not shooting regularly. I was shooting, tops, twice a month when I first started doing it. But I was building a reputation as a pretty good "music photographer". That led to other opportunities. Even now, I'm not shooting all the time, but that's okay. If I was in my 30's and had more energy, I'd be pressing it hard. I'm in my 50's, have already had two careers and, frankly, I'm tired. I shoot what I want to shoot. If someone doesn't want to pay me for that, that's fine. I'll go hang on the beach for a few hours.

I still do shoots for free, but only for family and, depending who it is, friends. At this point, though, even friends usually insist on paying me...

 

[I_Shoot_People]

I do a fair bit of shooting for free... I shoot for my kids primary school for free. The school get the images (for free) to use in their newsletters and year book. The parents however need to purchase print or digital copies, I generally give some of that money back to the school and then Parents will book (and pay) me for family portraits...
If you have kids at school then this can be a great stepping stone out into the community for networking and can also sustain a small scale part time business.

 

[minicoop1985]

I did one shoot for free. I got roped into this by being talked up by a couple relatives. If I did a shoot with a model, it would be for free, since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing shooting models.

 

[rexbobcat]

I shoot people for free when I'm doing a personal project or if I know they can't pay but I think the shoot would have potential.

Or if I'm volunteering for an organization such as the Red Cross

Which is a lot. There's just not a huge market of people who want the kind of photography I can offer here. My area is so saturated with either

A. Natural light photographers who use $200 PS actions and "vintage" filters

B. Established photographers who use a more classic, "timeless," approach with very tried and true lighting/poses/concepts.

I'm neither. I don't like the whole whimsical natural light look, but I'm not good enough with lighting to get that classic look.

As a result, I generally go seeking photos and I don't like to charge people when I am the one who approached them lol.

Photos don't generally come to me unless someone is referred to me by a friend or a professor as the college.

 

[martinmaven]

Good advice. Models tend to not generate word of mouth much.

 

[Luda]

I think for free you should shoot if you need more experience, to increase your level or to experiment something new. Otherwise you take more responsibility for paid sessions and as a result you will receive better photos for your portfolio.

Good luck!