Portraits for Clinic

tirediron · Nov 19, 2014

dennybeall said:
Do you like the company and the people and want to keep working there? Personally I'd be happy to do it and only ask that any expenses be covered. It would be a great opportunity to hone your craft and get a couple of kudos in the process. Everything is not always about the money.

True, but there's also the danger of becoming the 'go to' person, and all of a sudden a whole new set of duties are 'expected'. It's amazing how many things people want photographed when they have a free pro readily to hand.

dennybeall · Nov 20, 2014

Good point tirediron but also when the boss is looking to promote a new supervisor or manager he also may think Oh yea, that guy is always willing to step in and help, let's give him a try at the job... worked well for me for 33 years- could work for this person also.

Braineack · Nov 20, 2014

KmH said:
If one can cover their business costs shooting a job like that for $400 - more power to them.

and that's why she's a full time receptionist and not a poor, homeless, starving photographer with an unreasonable pricing structure.

these are pictures for a website for crying out loud. Bring your camera to work, take some pictures, and move on with life. Someone with an iphone will be willing to do it and they'll just use those pictures instead.

vintagesnaps · Nov 20, 2014

I've done things to pitch in and help at work - covering for someone who's absent, working on a committee/project, etc. To me this seems to go beyond typical work duties but It probably depends on the work situation; with usage of photos online and now on social media I'd want to at least be clear on how my photos would be used and I'd expect some reasonable limits/guidelines. Photos of staff seem like they'd have more limited use than for example photos of the workplace that could be used for advertising/promotions.

cgw · Nov 20, 2014

With respect, what's the opportunity cost of your time as a portrait photographer?

How much time can several low-res headshots and a bit of editing realistically absorb, especially if you have some experience?

Make sure you get credit for the shots but I'd pass on pushing for a payday. I'd look at a few hours work as a way to strengthen your relationship with your boss. You never
know when you'll need a favor.

I don't see this as self-exploitation. Do it or demur.

vintagesnaps · Nov 20, 2014

Photo credits aren't typically used for advertising or promotional purposes so I wouldn't expect the photographer's name would be used with the photos.

Since this is for the company's own website I don't know if they'd use the name or not. If there's no payment or compensation then this might be done for the boss's appreciation or whatever other benefit there might be in doing this for the company.

Stormin_ · Nov 20, 2014

I think it depends on the sort of person your boss is and what made him/her decide to get the photos done.

Was s/he asked by their boss to get some professional photos done for the website? Or did s/he just think "oh, we have a professional portrait photographer on staff, maybe we could do some pictures for the website".

If it's the latter then trying to charge several hundred dollars for the job would simply cause them to say "nah forget it" and do it themselves with their daughter's pink compact. I've seen many rubbish photos like that on websites and in buildings... they are sufficient for small companies without 'perfectionist' managers.

I know that I, unless directed by the CEO or another Director to get it done professionally on the company card, would tell you to get stuffed and would not ask you again for the cheek of asking to be paid for a favour to your employer.

Personally I don't think it's worth the aggravation. Either do it as a favour / for experience or don't do it at all, because it's not worth it if things go sour (and pooping on your own doorstep usually does.)

Braineack · Nov 21, 2014

In the time this thread has gone on. I took 20 headshots of coworkers and posted them on our intranet.

tirediron · Nov 21, 2014

Stormin_ said:
I think it depends on the sort of person your boss is and what made him/her decide to get the photos done.

Was s/he asked by their boss to get some professional photos done for the website? Or did s/he just think "oh, we have a professional portrait photographer on staff, maybe we could do some pictures for the website".

If it's the latter then trying to charge several hundred dollars for the job would simply cause them to say "nah forget it" and do it themselves with their daughter's pink compact. I've seen many rubbish photos like that on websites and in buildings... they are sufficient for small companies without 'perfectionist' managers.

I know that I, unless directed by the CEO or another Director to get it done professionally on the company card, would tell you to get stuffed and would not ask you again for the cheek of asking to be paid for a favour to your employer.

Personally I don't think it's worth the aggravation. Either do it as a favour / for experience or don't do it at all, because it's not worth it if things go sour (and pooping on your own doorstep usually does.)

If I follow that line of logic to its final conclusion, shouldn't I just work for free all the time then? Isn't it rude of me to expect to be paid at all? While it's certainly not all about money, and I do not begrudge doing a favour for someone (I do many thousands of dollars worth of free/charity/favour work every year), business is business and if the boss asks me to pick up a spare of box of staples from the shop next door to where I'm buying lunch, that's one thing, but when it requires several hours of work, and the use of several thousand dollars worth of equipment that I've paid for, I think we're starting to get outside the "favour" category. Would the same boss expect Bill's Plumbing to come in and fix the leaking bathroom tap for free?

Braineack · Nov 21, 2014

tirediron said:
If I follow that line of logic to its final conclusion, shouldn't I just work for free all the time then? Isn't it rude of me to expect to be paid at all? While it's certainly not all about money, and I do not begrudge doing a favour for someone (I do many thousands of dollars worth of free/charity/favour work every year), business is business and if the boss asks me to pick up a spare of box of staples from the shop next door to where I'm buying lunch, that's one thing, but when it requires several hours of work, and the use of several thousand dollars worth of equipment that I've paid for, I think we're starting to get outside the "favour" category. Would the same boss expect Bill's Plumbing to come in and fix the leaking bathroom tap for free?

careful. youll start giving the right people the wrong sort of ideas...

Stormin_ · Nov 21, 2014

tirediron said:
If I follow that line of logic to its final conclusion, shouldn't I just work for free all the time then?

I don't think you understood.

The boss sounds like they are looking for a free ticket.
You then offer them $400 of work for $400.
Not what the boss wanted as they probably don't need $400 worth of pictures for their purposes (unless an offer they can't refuse such as for free).
It's a small, private clinic. Social interactions can have a big impact on your job and happiness within that job. The OP's language already indicates some underlying tension between employee and boss (but where is there ever not).
It would be completely different if you worked for a big company.

Is it worth the potential aggravation for the sake of $400?

I'm not saying you should work for free, no way. But if you're not willing to do this favour for free as implied by the boss then walk away and get business from somewhere you can have a direct client relationship with.

Saying all this, it's tricky to judge situations across the internet with only a snippet of information provided.
Only the OP knows everything in its entirety, including the personalities of everyone involved and how they react / will react. It should absolutely be their call at the end of the day.
Either way talk with the boss and make sure you're both completely aware of what the plan is i.e. don't do the pictures and then slap a surprise invoice on their desk that they weren't expecting. But I hope that goes without saying this time...

Derrel · Nov 21, 2014

And to think we have people advocating that this one-hour, slam-bang mugshot shoot be done at price points ranging from FREE, to $3,500 to $4,000 for a one-year licensing fee!

Braineack · Nov 21, 2014

guess who will get the job?

dennybeall · Nov 22, 2014

Perhaps the key is It's not a job just a favor for a co-worker.

vintagesnaps · Nov 22, 2014

Probably only the OP can determine the work situation and if this is worth doing or passing on this and let the company figure out what to do when they need photos. I would think there's a possibility that if it starts with this and then they want photos taken at an open house or of the shop for an ad or whatever, at some point an employee could feel like the boss is taking advantage of their efforts.

To me it's a stretch from pitching in and helping with more job related day to day duties, such as covering for someone who needs to leave early to pick up their sick kid at school or to help clean upon a busy day, to doing staff photos. And then what happens if they don't like the photos... might end up being a situation of being sorry you bothered.