As a working freelance photographer myself, it brings me no joy to say this, but there are rare cases where working for free can be a justifiable means to get ahead. Now, this is obviously a contentious subject amongst artists in general, but photographers in particular have expensive photography equipment, cameras, laptops, hard drives and so forth that can rack up to a serious sum of money, and we should absolutely be charging our clients not only for equipment costs but of course your skills, style and experience as a photographer, too.
When I became a full-time freelance photographer in April earlier this year, I was thrown feet first into the heavily competitive wedding photography market (see my website here). Before becoming a freelancer, I was shooting weddings previously on a much more casual basis and had a full-time job to support myself whilst I built up experience shooting weddings as they came about slowly through word of mouth.
As a freelancer I’m a bit more reliant on bookings to give me a regular income to pay the bills. It’s become apparent working in this space that there will always be someone willing to undercut your prices in order to get the job and I’m actually not that annoyed about it – let me explain. I don’t think it’s sustainable in the long-term, but for a photographer lacking experience and looking to get ahead, perfect their craft, expand their book of contacts and build a portfolio, working for peanuts could be the way to go – BUT only until the point you’re able to start charging for your services, which you should do as soon as you can. I would also add that even when working for free (or cheap) make sure you retain the copyright to your photos in your contracts.
I would always encourage those looking to try this method to discount their rates, rather than working totally for free – with the wear and tear on your equipment and car mileage you definitely don’t want to be making a loss when shooting a wedding.
Giving away freebies can be a particularly powerful tool on social media sites like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram where you can run competitions on your photography pages. This could be asking the public to follow your account, share and like your posts in return for having a chance to win a free photoshoot – this helps grow a dedicated fanbase, potentially more valuable than the face value of charging your photoshoot alone if it nets you more leads and income in the long run.
Going back to weddings, this could be running free engagement shoot competitions – not only is this great marketing material to run on your socials, but for the lucky couple that win your contest, you’ll have hopefully established a great bond with them on the photoshoot and they’ll be more inclined to use you as their photographer on the day.
Other benefits that can come from this, where I think it could be worth working for free: working with pro photographers, and again this totally comes down to how you feel about the whole situation, but if it allows you to work with a specific pro photographer that you aspire to, or allows you to build really strong contacts then I think this has the potential to be beneficial in the long run. Lastly, there is of course philanthropy and if you’re doing work for charities you may not want to take a fee, or you could choose to donate your fee to their cause instead.
Related reading
- 46 ways to make free money from photography
- Yes, you can make money with your camera (even from landscapes)
- How to photograph weddings – Wedding Photography Guide
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: [email protected].
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