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Come party with me && When working for free is OKAY!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 Posted inALL,BUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

Hey  you :)

It is time to CELBRATE! For real. Why? Because this week marks the THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my blog!

Wow, can you believe it? Absolutely amazing.

Aaaand, could you guess? – I’m in the mood to celebrate. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you’ll have heard all about this celebration :) And if not, sign up and maybe you’ll get lucky ;).

Now back to business:

Last week’s video on discounts for family and friends sparked a lot of controversy as to whether or not it’s okay to work for free when building your portfolio. To prove my points further I thought I’d make a video letting you know when it’s okay to work for free!

You can watch all the goodness right here:

Have you ever worked for free? What did you get in return? What was the outcome? Would you do it again? I know you have a story to share, so please tell us all about it in the comment section!

Stay inspired, stay excited, stay creative.

Big hugs, lover!
xoxo

Posted inALL,BUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

  • http://www.worthherweight.com Taryn Pyle

    Hey there Alex! Love your new video look! I was in B-School and learned so much, and I am getting ready to add video to my site. I was wondering if you would share what equipment you are using? Its so clean and professional looking and wondering if its a big expense or can it be done reasonably. Would love your suggestions!

  • http://www.leahartmanphotography.com Lea

    I’ve done free sessions when I move to a new location to gain a following and get my name in the right circles. As an Army wife, my family has lived in three states in the last five years and nothing gets people in the door faster than a free session. The recipient shares their images like wildfire and not only do I get bookings from their friends and family, but often times, they will rebook at well. :)

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hi Taryn!

    Thanks so much! I’m glad you think it looks clean & professional looking, because it’s something I have really been struggling with as I feel it’s a bit “plain” at the moment. To answer your question, I use my Canon 5d mark ii camera with my 50mm 1.4 lens to do all recording in HD and then Final Cut Pro to edit! But there’s so many different options, you just need to find what’s best for you!

    BIG HUGS and thanks for stopping by :)
    xoxo

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hi Lea!

    I’ve heard of plenty photographers who have a free “booking fee” and then charge for any prints or photographs that people want to purchase. That way there is no risk involved. I thought it was very interesting for business owners in a new location and haven’t exactly established trust yet. Did you ever have any problems with offering your services for free? And was it difficult for you to tell them that their second session would not be for free, and that they would in fact have to pay? Very interested to hear more of your experience with this!

    Big hugs and thanks for sharing!
    xoxo

  • http://thephotogshelper.com Kathy

    I couldn’t agree more with you in regards to working for free to build your portfolio. There is a difference between shooting to learn your camera and what you like and shooting for your portfolio. If you are shooting to practice, by all means shoot anyone and anywhere you can. Get to know your camera and the type of pictures you enjoy. But do not even think about charging for your services and work until you know you can consistently produce those results. If you put work in your portfolio that is “learning” work, you’ll be giving yourself and your clients a major disservice, not to mention the rest of the photography community. You deserve better!

    I love being able to provide my services for the greater good. I volunteer for the Doggie Dash, a humane society event that involves hundreds of dogs and their owners in downtown Portland. This is not my target market, I don’t pass out business cards and don’t have anything but a little byline on my online gallery. I knew this going into it and still feel like I get more out of it. I get to spend the day getting approached by happy, friendly and adorable dogs and it makes me smile. I still love looking at the images…so many smiles on everyones faces and knowing I helped raise almost $400k for local shelters made me even happier.

  • Spencer

    I absolutely work for free when it comes to my personal work, because it usually involves me asking someone to model for me. But when people approach me about taking photos, I think it’s fair to charge.

    I love your work Alex!!! Have a great day!!! 

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hey Spencer!

    Yes, I am in total agreement with you!

    I have a personal rule that if I ask a model to shoot with me I’m totally cool doing it for free. But if I get approached by someone for TFP work, it means that they should love and appreciate my work enough to pay for it. So I politely send them my price list.

    Big hugs and thanks for your comment :)
    xoxo

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Kathy!

    You said it perfectly – there is a huge difference between shooting to learn your camera, improve your skills, etc.. and shooting for your portfolio. Your portfolio represents YOUR BUSINESS and there can’t be lazy work in there, or work that does not represent something that you can reproduce consistently time and time again!

    And Doggie Dash sounds amazing! I photographed some dogs for the RSPCA website once, in hopes that prettier pictures would help them get beautiful, happy homes :) It was an amazing experience! You can see more here: http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com/blog/2010/09/16/seven-dogs-on-day-seven/ Like you said – when doing it for the greater good it’s really not about your target market at all! It’s about giving your talents to something greater than yourself.

    You are awesome. Thank you for your comment :)
    BIG HUGS! xoxo

  • http://www.leahartmanphotography.com Lea

    Alex,

    No, I’ve never had any problems. When moving to a new location, I hold a “casting call” so that I can be specific about what I’m looking for. Sometimes I shoot friends, sometimes strangers. I offer up to 3 people/families completely free, no strings attached mini sessions – including their digital images. As I said, it spreads like wildfire throughout social media and on average, I get three bookings from each free mini session. And more often than not, the recipient of the free mini session rebooks as well because they got a taste of what I offer and want to get the full experience. It’s been my biggest marketing strategy for the past three years and works like a charm. :)

  • http://www.beforeiblink.com Yana

    I love that this topic is being discussed. Awesome video!

    I started shooting before I knew that it was something I wanted to pursue. Thus, working for free was something I did quite often in those days… But I was so excited about photography that I didn’t even realize it was free work. It was the joy of the job that kept me going, not a desire for profit. People starting seeing my photos and inquiring about photo shoots before I even had any web space dedicated to my photography. Now, a couple of years later, the paid shoots that come my way are still most often the product of word of mouth from previous “clients.”

    I also shoot events for local bands and my church for free. These opportunities allow me to explore photography in different atmospheres and grow creatively.

    Thus, in my journey, working for free has helped me build a stronger foundation for paid work. I’m thankful for those opportunities to grow. And of course, paid work is really nice, too :)

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Yana!

    “Thus, in my journey, working for free has helped me build a stronger foundation for paid work. I’m thankful for those opportunities to grow. And of course, paid work is really nice, too :)”

    That is pure brilliance right there. You have summed up why people SHOULD work for free, and under which circumstances! What an amazing comment, thanks!

    xoxo

  • http://momtriedit.net Kim Young

    I do free work all of the time. I volunteer my services and donate some prints from that session to area foster children. I do senior portraits for free. These kids have enough struggles. Add dealing with living in a different environment that any of their peers and it isn’t fun. Offering them senior portraits helps them feel less different and does wonders for their self esteem. I also do free newborn sessions. That is a time you can never get back. I try to capture it for foster children to look back on, for foster families to remember, and for birth families to cherish. I love it! Since you cannot promote the faces of foster children, there is no alterior motive. I cannot use these in my portfolio or for advertising. I do it to help. Word of mouth has helped, but is never the goal.

  • http://www.orsiphoto.photoshelter.com Orsi

    Hey Alex,

    I’ve only recently come across your site via Chic Critique and LOOOOVE it!!! So inspiring!!

    Right now I’m in the learning/getting experience process so obviously I’m shooting for free. I’m doing a wedding this weekend and the only thing I charge is the equipment that I have to hire to be able shoot it. I’m working on my prices/packages what I want to offer and once that’s completed and I’m ready to go all official, I’m planning on doing a steady price increase every 1-2 month until I reach my target prices. Hope this strategy will work.

    I was so happy when you mentioned Help Portrait because I’ve been meaning to do that for the past 2 years :oops: Are you doing it this year? I would really like to get involved this time and since we’ve just moved house I don’t know anyone around my area who could participate with me. I’ll get on the HP forum and figure out if anyone would be in and see if I can pull it off. Let me know if you were up for it or I’d love to pick your brain how to go about setting it up ;)

    Have a great day :)

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hi Orsi!

    Thanks so much for stopping by :) I’m so happy that you love my site and what I’m doing – it means the world to me!

    Congratulations on your first few steps towards being a professional photographer. They are always the scariest and most exciting, embrace it and enjoy every second of it!

    Your plan to start small, and increase your prices as your confidence increases is very wise. The way you price your business is YOUR decision, and my biggest piece of advice is to always remember that you are running a business, and when making decisions they need to be in the best interest of the business. Often times what’s best for our business scares us, but this fear only holds us back in the long run. So try to put your own feelings/fears aside, and be the best businesswoman that you can be! :)

    Pricing wise, you may find this resourceful, as it contains a lot of information and advice on pricing: http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com/blog/2012/03/26/faq-pricing-your-photography-business/

    And yes – Help Portrait is total awesomeness. I haven’t gotten involved yet, but am hoping to one day :)

    BIG HUGS and I hope you have an inspiring day!
    xoxo

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Kim, what a BEAUTIFUL thing you are doing for these kids. I admire you and applaud you. WOW! <3 xoxo

  • http://www.smread.com Steve

    I am a pro photographer. I work for “free” a lot in the sense that I test with agencies which is to build my portfolio.

    However I’m getting a lot of interest from models that aren’t in the direction I want to shoot (commercial etc.) so for those ladies I now charge.

    You have to have good awareness of potential opportunities that can help you down the road (I assist unpaid with photographers I feel can really help me either with learning skills from them or future paid work) but you have to be careful not to get exploited when you do that.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/vewolff Ve

    Hey Alex,
    i tried to find the blog post on Annabelle’s site with the photos you took, but could not find it. Can you send me the link? I’m really interested to see your work <3