So you’ve gotten pretty good at photography. Now what? If you’re like a lot of people, the idea of turning this creative outlet into a career might sound like an enticing next step. Many of us struggle with how to get started though.
The producers of the Netflix show Love is Blind -- Kinetic Content -- appear to be currently soliciting photographers to shoot five weddings over the course of five consecutive days that are scheduled for the next season of the show. Unfortunately, the role is unpaid.
It's no secret that Reddit makes huge amounts of ad revenue off content that's often posted without the copyright owners' permission. But did you know the company is also asking photographers to use their photos for commercial purposes without any payment... or even credit?
It's one thing when a non-profit asks for a freebie, or an influencer offers "exposure" for your services, but what just happened to photographer Tim Wallace is on a whole other level. Wallace was recently asked to provide free prints to a millionaire, who didn't "have the budget" to purchase them for their $12 million "coastal retreat" home.
Photographers have been speaking out in recent years about getting asked to do work for little or no money. A new research study is now suggesting that one of the reasons photographers get lowballed is because they love their jobs.
Working for free has a huge stigma attached to it, and for good reason. If you don't know how to work for free properly, you can be taken advantage of and devalue other photographers' work in the process. That's why there are, in my opinion, only 3 reasons to work for free.
One of the often recurring discussions among professional photographers is whether or not we should ever work for free. I’ve been known to rail against those who do and against clients who request free pictures... so why did I recently waive my own rule?
Here's a short comedy sketch that creatively sums up what photographers and other creatives often experience: being asked to do free work in exchange for "exposure."
The issue of businesses asking photographers to work for free has been a hot issue in recent years, and now we have some citable statistics that shed more light on it. According to a new study in the UK, 87% of photographers were asked to work for free in 2016, and 16% said yes.
Requests for free spec work is a big problem for photographers, who lose out when clients demand free photos in exchange for "vague to nonexistent compensation." To show how ridiculous the idea of spec work is, Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo had a guy approach people in other businesses with requests for free spec work to sample their products and services before actually committing to paying. A barista, chef, personal trainer, and architect all responded with indignation; watch their reactions in the 2.5-minute video above.
What do you say as a photographer when you’re asked to shoot for free? What if the one asking is a good friend, an old friend... a friend who really ought to know better?
What if they promise great “exposure”?!?
Photographers often get asked to shoot for free in exchange for experience, exposure, future work, and images for their …
Ted Forbes of the popular YouTube channel The Art of Photography just posted …
Editor’s note: This video contains strong language that is not suitable for some environments. In 2007, famed science fiction …
You don't exactly have to be telepathic to know where this Boston-area photographer is coming from. He/she was probably checking over his accounts receivable, wondering how he was going to make it to the next gig, when some clueless would-be entrepreneur contacted him with a fabulous opportunity to do head shots of his entire staff in return for exposure and goodwill, aka bupkis.
A strongly worded letter has gotten a surprising amount of attention in photograpy circles recently.
It was written by UK musician Whitey (aka. NJ White) in response to a TV producer who requested to use his work for free, and it's gotten popular because, even though it was written by a musician, photographers really seem to love Whitey's no BS response to a request many of them are familiar with.
In another "sign-of-the-times" type of story out of Australia, the company Tennis Australia has been in hot water with photographers for over a month now over a classified ad posted on News.com.au. The ad called for photogs with "previous experience," "a strong knowledge of tennis," and their own equipment. The pay? There is none.