Goontz
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2009
- Messages
- 1,275
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Austin/Houston, TX
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Wow. What a lowlife. It's a shame that he holds a position of power.
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"When does taking pictures for free cross the line?"
It is quite the simple question, at least from my point of view.
Pretty much only 2 circumstances:
1. When someone else is making money off of your work.
2. When YOU are hurting the industry by not charging enough or at all.
Now this assumes that you are good enough to be charging for your work in the first place.
As far as when to start charging, that is IMPOSSIBLE to say just like that... this is answered on a case by case situation.
I started charging when I felt I was good enough. I decided when I was good enough because I set my own standards and compared my results to others in my chosen field. I then worked my a$$ off so that my work matched or exceeded them and am now charging for my work.
All in all, a simple but effective way of thinking about it.
When should you stop doing things for free?
Whenever you get sick of doing it for free and want to make some money at it.
To be honest (and this is probably the wrong place to say this), how I impact a photographer by doing something I really enjoy doesn't come into play with my decision.
Sorry...
Same as my ability to do some work on vehicles, I enjoy that as well and have helped quite a few people for free - did the thought of a starving mechanic ever cross my mind?
Not once.
My wife and I cook our own meals every night for each other and our kids, and up until this point I really can't say I've ever felt like I was taking business away from any chefs
Get over it. The world does not owe you a living. If you are going into business there's going to be competition, not only from your fellow professionals but from the hobbyist who is only too glad to do it for free because he loves it. If you want to charge for something that can be had for free then you need to deliver something that the freebie can't. Tell me
I'm with JerryPH on this one. I am SICK AND TIRED of getting 10 inquiries in one day, and only 1 of them booking because they don't understand why I don't give away the CD of images with my session fee.
*sigh*
This has gotten worse this year... and personally, I am sick of it.
One local has it up on her website that she gives away the CD and everything for $200 AND she has a part on her website telling the viewers that these images belong to THEM, not her, so she won't hold them hostage for a high price. WTH?!!!!! I am dying to ask her what she plans to do if something happens to her spouse one day and she has to support her family on her less than minimum wage.
One local has it up on her website that she gives away the CD and everything for $200 AND she has a part on her website telling the viewers that these images belong to THEM, not her, so she won't hold them hostage for a high price. WTH?!!!!! I am dying to ask her what she plans to do if something happens to her spouse one day and she has to support her family on her less than minimum wage.
If she really does have a spouse to support her, it may last a while. If she doesn't she won't be in business long.
And the spouse could get tired of money going out the door...
In the meantime, while she is in biz like that, the damage she is doing to some local photog's client base will be irreversible. For instance, a friend of mine locally, has a client who is badmouthing her all over the place because she won't give away her CD for $200. I feel terrible that she is dealing with this - the client has been to the other photog, and is angry that she won't give him the same price.
One day, Ms. $200 CD will be out of business, and yet we still plug along, having her previous, now angry clients because we won't give away our work.
Is shooting for free hurting the business? I don't think so. There's a "free guy" in every industry (photo, auto, carpentry, plumbing -- you name it). He's been there since day one and throughout history. He be there until the end.
I actually dont mind the free guy, nor am I angry at him. When I was gaining experience, paying my dues and building a portfolio, I did a lot of free stuff. Down the road, the people I shot for at no charge began to pay me because I had proven myself. For me shooting for free was great PR, seeds that paid off later -- literally.
If anything is shrinking the photography employment pool, it's technology. 25 years ago, you really needed a pro to get a clear, sharp, well-exposed image. Not any more!
Automated point and shoots (and consumer level DSLRs) are delivering such high quality, idiot proof images that people are foregoing hiring us because the images they are getting (no matter who is behind the camera) are good enough for them. And if they can save a few hundred bucks in the process, especially in todays economy, can you blame them?
Case point #1: I was in a photo store buying a lens. Next to me was a mother buying a DSLR. She had spread several pictures of her daughter's basketball game all over the counter while complaining that the photographer was charging the parents way too much for prints. Her solution: buy her own camera and shoot her own pictures. The technology brought doing it herself within her reach. Now I suppose her decision may take food out of the mouth of the photographer (and his crying kids), but so what. His kids is not her concern.
Case point #2: 25 years ago I ran a small printing and graphics company. We did quite well until consumer level graphic programs arrived. Suddenly, people didnt need us to design their business cards, invitations and letterheads anymore. They did it themselves. Sure, the results looked like crap (to us pros anyway) but (and pay close attention here) it was good enough for them! They saved money and we eventually went out of business. Microsoft those bastards! I shouldve written a letter to Gates about how my kids were cryng and stuff.
I believe thats exactly whats going on in the photography business. Its not the free guy thats shrinking the pool its technology, its progress, its the natural shift of an industry. It happens in every industry. Welcome to capitalism!
I'm with JerryPH on this one. I am SICK AND TIRED of getting 10 inquiries in one day, and only 1 of them booking because they don't understand why I don't give away the CD of images with my session fee.