Ryan Britton
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Upload & Sell: Off
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 p.1 #13 · DH's (Strobist) Work for Free initiative | |
The concept in principle is a benevolent one. The problem is in the execution. People WILL abuse that and people HAVE. Not all will, but there is a sufficient number such that it will be detrimental longer term to the photography industry as a whole.
Photography doesn't always need to cost money. Payment can be made in other ways, and sometimes you can end up with more value by bartering goods and services. For example, this past summer we set up a bride/groom shoot with a couple friends of ours. We received flowers for free from a florist we've worked with in the past in exchange for usage of the resulting photos to promote herself.
Shooting for the sole sake of bettering yourself is a noble purpose, but that doesn't pay for new equipment, equipment repairs, insurance, not to mention any living expenses. Now, I get what he's getting at in his post but the Strobist crowd is largely amateur bordering on pro. And based on the responses in the comments, people are TOTALLY misinterpreting it, thinking they have a green light to go shoot anything and everything for free as long as they can justify it with "It's for my portfolio."
As a counter offer, why not shoot at a reduced rate in these cases where you want to expand a bit? Or if you're looking to experiment in a market you're already at, get your safe shots at your normal rate and play around once those are done. Reserve free for a cause you truly care about, and, while the IRS still doesn't consider service value tax deductible, you yourself can consider it a donation to that cause. Photo credit is worth less than the paper it's printed on and is not an acceptable or sustainable form of payment.
Value is largely a perception. The notion of supply and demand affects value, but it does not solely determine it. People need to FEEL that your photography services are worth the price and shooting for free will not do that. It is very, very difficult to ever go up from free with a client but unreasonably easy to go down to it.
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