How many times have you been asked to work for free or “for exposure?” No matter your experience and skill, I bet this has happened more than once. But why are there more and more people who aren’t willing to pay photographers for their work? In this video, Jessica Kobeissi discusses this problem and how we can solve it.
Jessica made the video after reading a photographer’s confession:
“A local business wanted me to shoot their fashion show for free so I just didn’t show up and the next day their Facebook page invited me to like the other photographer’s page who did it for free.”
It appears that clients and businesses think something like: “if you won’t do it for free, there’s always someone who will.” And the worst thing is that it’s apparently true. Photographers who are charging nothing for their services are undermining the industry, making it difficult for everyone else to charge what they deserve for their hard work.
Now, I perhaps naively think that these photographers don’t affect your business to such a huge extent. However, they can make it difficult to reach serious clients who are actually willing to pay you money for what you do.
It’s worth noting that there are some situations when it’s okay to work for free, such as personal projects or charity for example. But other times, you should charge for your work. First of all, it will raise your own value. And second, it will strengthen the industry in general and help other photographers to get paid for the hard work they do.
[PHOTOGRAPHERS…THIS is why you’re not being paid | Jessica Kobeissi]
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