Each and every photographer and graphic designer gets asked a time or two to work for free at some point in their career. Whether they need the exposure, to create a book of work for creative exploration or simply doing a favor for a friend - it can, it will and it does happen. As that creative becomes more established, more popular and quite frankly the best at what they do, securing those freebies will get more challenging. More importantly overhead expenses become larger along with the popularity. We have insurance to pay, equipment rentals and purchases to make to further business interests. Some photo shops may have staff, building lease expenses, health insurance costs and we all have those dreadful taxes to pay. Regardless, notoriety and business prosperity has a price and it is seldom free.
I can’t say how to get a free photo shoot or a free business card design or website done for you. What I can tell you is how NOT to get that free photo shoot, business card or website. For the sake of this topic, let us focus on the photo shoot. Keep in mind, we are speaking only for ourselves here as our processes are different than most.
Everyone has different goals, different objectives and varying ways of achieving them. What we all share is a biological and instinctual need for self-preservation. As an extension of that instinctual need we all have desire if not the drive, to look our best, to be our best and to realize our highest potential. That is a big order to fill. How do we do all of that? Well, you do that by managing expectations. How do you manage expectations? You determine what you want and need, you gather resources and you do research. You would then remove the extraneous and superfluous elements and choose the best option within your means. Then and only then do you execute your plan from a well versed, educated and informed position of strength and knowledge. PERIOD! You have a well thought out plan because you know what you want and you’ve measured and anticipated the likely effects of different actions you may take. From all of this, your probability of coming to a predictable outcome is all but assured.
What is this guy going on about you ask? Well, everything is that way. Life is all about choices and compromises which all lead to an outcome based on cause or in our case… “ constructive input” and a bit of chance. Let me give you the real world example of how one might go about improving their chance of getting anything around these parts.
“Hi, my name is Jasmine. I have been an admirer of your work for some time and I have been eager to do a shoot with you. I particularly like your work I saw on Facebook with Bethany when you mixed denim with leather and several other separates. The detail, the styling and the entire look is the path I’d like my portfolio to take. It is like portraiture meets high fashion. It is all beautifully done. I read on your other social media page that you do not often take TFs or trade work but I would hope you would consider me a candidate should a need for such work as I’ve mentioned comes available. Perhaps an idea or something creative and exploratory may spark your interests and you have a need for someone with my look and talent.
I’ve modeled for Hennessy Photography on a fashion shoot (images attached) as well as several shoots with Forte Images along with many others. I’m also sending my site link along should you like to investigate further. However, I’m very interested in the way you style and light your clients and models. I’ve gone so far as to comment on the pages of other clients and models you’ve worked with and they all say you are very professional and driven to get great results. You may have seen my comments on your Pages as well ;) I am comfortable doing my own make-up for a test shoot or trade if you would consider working with me. I’d love to hear your ideas should you think me to be a TF candidate. I welcome an opportunity to meet you in-person or message if and when it is convenient should you think I am a good fit for whatever you may have coming up. Thank you for your time and consideration and please let me know if you have any follow up questions or would need information on my schedule.”
That is ideal example of managing expectations toward a positive result. How do I know the results were positive? I know because we photographed and published that model nearly five years ago and we have photographed her multiple times since then. Guess what? I never ever charged her. We’ve improved each other’s style over time despite my having a position of superior experience at that time. She has become extremely well known and respected regionally and internationally for her style, her beauty and her extraordinary talent. She went further to become the cover model of several publications both domestically and internationally and walked in many international high fashion runway shows. Most important of all, she still models with no sign of letting up.
Now what does all this have to do with TFs now? First of all we haven’t taken as many TFs as we once did because TFs like any shoot is expensive to NOT get paid for. They don’t always cost less. They are never free in the truest sense and sometimes they cost more. As a result, it needs to be worthwhile. But unlike paid assignments which are comparably easier, a TF candidate has to meet Jasmine’s professional benchmark and that isn’t difficult but it does require effort. That is the interesting part. Something as delicate, intimate and sensitive as how you look and your online reputation is often relegated to “Hey! Like your work. Wanna shoot?” People have simply become lazy. They want everything right now with no effort, insensitive of the costs, the workmanship, the hours upon hours of post work, the overhead, the scheduling challenges, etc. The general passerby is blatantly unmotivated to do great things. To be frank, shoots are expensive and the higher quality is that you expect, the more effort you need to put forth for it to be successful. Consider if I answered yes to a Let's Shoot free requests without any information than thumbnail images of a person. How much could I really complain if I never met or even spoke to a person before agreeing to a free shoot or I have no idea what we're shooting and I didn't ask? Just how upset could I be if a failed to convey what I considered basic information and the shoot ended up being a total bust?
Why did Jasmine succeed? She did so because she is driven, motivated, focused and she managed her expectations. Just as a paying client would do, she expressed interests in our work. She demonstrated she had seen and even exchanged messages with people we have photographed. She told us what kind of looks she was interested in doing when she referenced other images we had done. She noticed and acknowledged the clause for “Paid Assignments Only” work - proving that she follows us and had been reading up. Yet, she tried anyway. A HUGE observation is that she didn’t let her past shoots play a part in what she wants to do with us. She didn’t have to tell us she was Ms. Universe or Ms. Denmark or whatever because we can find that out on our own should we decide to research further. Those things are only samples of what she HAS done. Jasmine was looking forward to what we could do together because she knew we didn’t care much about the past other than showing she could do certain looks, but more about what she was looking to create with Helios. She didn’t brag or boast. She simply implied that she wanted more and we were the means to getting more; more premium, more looks and better quality results with someone reputable and respected. She was upfront and absolutely clear that she is not to be considered a paying client. The biggest takeaway from Jasmine’s first message was that she was wiling to meet to discuss looks, ideas or anything that might get her a free shoot even if there was a chance we wouldn’t do it. There was humility there. That WAS HUGE!!!!!!! It shows she respects the time, the effort and the work it takes to put a shoot together. She didn’t want to waste our time with mediocre results and we didn’t want to waste hers by not trying to at least find out what she expected from her shoot. She was just as concerned about the results as we were and she took it seriously. She was and is a professional. That is what impressed us most.
Now on to the main point of this all. HOW to NOT get a free photo-shoot. Just be lazy. That will work. Send a message like, “I’m free. Wanna shoot?” Don’t provide any details beyond “my name is…” Pretend you want an estimate and then pretend you have no money after you get one and then ask for it all free. That is disrespectful of our time, effort and expenses. We spend minutes to hours and occasionally days exchanging rates and shoot details for a person to say in the end they were hoping to get it all for free. How about not wanting to meet for the proposed “free” shoot first? That is sure to get you blocked at worst and ignored at best. LOL! I mean we don’t know you. I can’t possibly risk renting gear, hauling lights out, spend hours prepping, formatting memory cards, creating a mood board, calling an MUA (if applicable) setting up a style detail all based on a “Love your work. Let’s set up a free shoot” message. Sounds kinda dumb now that you read it out loud doesn’t it? It happens. What do you want to shoot? Where? When? How many changes? How long will it take? What days of the week? What are you using the images for? Are you willing to sign a model release? Do you understand copyright law? Do you understand image use and the difference between commercial use and private use? These questions must be answered and we can’t get that from “Cool looks. I can shoot on Tuesdays after 1:00pm but before 5:00pm but only on the third week of the month after Labor Day when my escort is available to be on the shoot and the babysitter is free. Oh and can you validate my parking when I get there.” SERIOUSLY??!!!
Okay so I got a little carried away but you would be surprised what we get sometimes. The point is to know who you are soliciting for any work from lawn service to a car mechanic. Would you want a free brake job from a guy walking down the street with no car of his own in sight because he says he does great work? I’m guessing you would not. You would ask for credentials. You would at least look for references. You would want to know if they are authentic and real OEM parts. You would want to know if there was a warranty. But if you were smart you would go somewhere reputable where you would choose to pay a modest and honest price relative to the quality and craftsmanship you expect. Why is design or photography any different? For that matter why is styling or modeling any different? It is NOT. It’s your face, your body and your reputation. It is your business. That is more important than what car you drive. You can buy a different car but you only get one face and one reputation.
Do your homework. Manage your expectations and get to know who you will be working with. Find out what they expect of you and establish what you can expect from them. People deserve your respect of what they bring to the table in knowledge and talent. Understand and respect the expense they may entail even messaging you back not to mention doing an entire free project.
We understand that everyone cannot be Jasmine. Yet, we have had a very small handful of Jasmines in our time. They are few and far between and even fewer have had her level of success because they lack her commitment. We get requests and accept paid assignments most of all because they bypass the BS. They know what they want. They tell you what they expect. They are clear about their schedules when the booking fee is paid. They want to know how long the shoot will take because you may charge by the hour. They want to know if you will shoot on location or shoot in their home or photo-friendly locations they know of. They want to know when the images will be sorted and processed. They would like to know how the images will be used afterwards or it they have a say. They want to know if they are purchasing image use as well and prints and digital copies or just paying for the shoot. They are managing their expectations. Why should free be any different?
If you are expecting a high-quality something from nothing then just keep doing what you’re doing… nothing and see how that works out for you. But I would not recommend that free brake job from the guy you just met no more than we would recommend a free photo or design job for someone you haven’t met nor even shared any details with. But if you want more out of where you are and you have at least an idea about where you're headed or want to be… be like Jasmine. Take ownership of yourself and your path because nothing worth doing is worth doing half-assed.
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