Shooting on speculation and or just for exporsure

markjtrickey · May 12, 2009

I was recently approached (via email) from an employee of a dog day care facility who asked if I would be interested in coming to their grand opening of a second location. She was referred to me by a man who I met at a local dog friendly bar taking pictures and I was described to her as someone who just goes places and takes pictures.

She indicated that I would have space to setup a table and a local radio station would be there and it would be good exposure. This was my first hint that she was not expecting to pay me.

I did come back and told her that because all she was offering was speculative shooting that I would charge a small fee to at least cover time and travel.

I think that caught her off guard because I have not heard back. My dilemma is that the event would be good exposure and free advertising. My experience is that I would not make a much if any off of print sales from the event.

My question is did I lose a good opportunity at some exposure by asking for some upfront payment, and if I decided that it would be worth it to go without being paid how would I approach that with the client.

Keep in mind that I am a beginner and exposure is worth some time and effort to me, but I do not want to cement in a reputation as someone who always shows up for free.

Cygnus Studios · May 12, 2009

markjtrickey wrote:

Keep in mind that I am a beginner and exposure is worth some time and effort to me, but I do not want to cement in a reputation as someone who always shows up for free.

There are certainly appropriate times to shoot for free. Branching in a new direction where you have 100% control, testing new ideas, 2nd shooter, or working with non-profits.
Others may or may not agree, and some even add other situations to these. It sounded like a pretty good chance to get your name out there. I don't see how visitors to the facility would know that you were shooting for free.
You could have set up your table, passed out flyers or business cards offering a special rate to shoot the animals of the visitors.

Since you have already spoken with the owner of the facility about being paid, you may have to work some magic to get back in. Sounds like it is worth a shot though.

Blaker · May 12, 2009

markjtrickey wrote:

She was referred to me by a man who I met at a local dog friendly bar taking pictures and I was described to her as someone who just goes places and takes pictures.

THIS is what happens when you give your stuff away for free - you become known as the guy who works for free, and get referred to people who don't want to pay for services!

markjtrickey wrote:

She indicated that I would have space to setup a table and a local radio station would be there and it would be good exposure. This was my first hint that she was not expecting to pay me.

Keep in mind that I am a beginner and exposure is worth some time and effort to me, but I do not want to cement in a reputation as someone who always shows up for free.

So, it's not clear in your post, does she want you to photograph her customer's pets for free during the grand opening?
Or is she giving you an opportunity to set up your own table, take photos of the pets, put them up on your website, and make sales to the owners of the pets you photographed?
If so, you could have your table set up with examples of your work, rate cards, and business cards with your smugmug addy - take photos there - give the owners your smug mug business cards so they can order prints from a special gallery you've set up for this event.
You could also have a sign up sheet so people could make appointments with you for their pet portraits.

markjtrickey · May 13, 2009

In the email before I quoted a price she indicated that I could take pictures of what I wanted and they could refer the visitors of the event to my website to purchase prints if they choose. The issue I struggled with is that from experience this type of shooting does not usually generate a lot of print sales if any.

Upon further reflection I started thinking of the advertising and exposure benefits, hence this thread.

While I usually do shoot just on speculation it is always at places I would be anyway. I.E. I'm having fun just being there. This is the first time I've been asked to specifically show up at a certain time and place.

Cygnus Studios · May 13, 2009

If this were offered to me, I would work the situation to add potential extra benefits.

1. Ask the owner of the facility to allow me to place business cards at the counter.

2. Ask the owner to allow me to hang photos of dogs and other pets at the facility.

3. Ask the owner to allow me to visit the location at future dates to shoot the various animals staying at the facility.

This owner sees many people on a regular basis. This owner probably knows other area business owners.
Volunteering a few hours of your time to meet a hundred potential clients doesn't seem that bad to me.

I understand that there is a belief on the internet that if you start off shooting for free that you will be required to shoot for free the rest of your life, but there are always other options in life.
As long as you control when and where you volunteer your services, and work out other forms of payments (such as advertising, ect) shooting for free can not only add to your portfolio, it can help expand your business.

markjtrickey · May 13, 2009

I'm really leaning that way myself. Now I find myself in the uncomfortable position of unwinding myself from the previous offer. Any suggestions on offering a change of terms in a professional manner.

Cygnus Studios · May 13, 2009

It is a little hard to unring a bell, but maybe you could try something like this:

Hi business owner,

During our last conversation about your upcoming event, I quoted my normal rate of $$$ per hour/day.
Considering that any photos taken on this day may not be benefiting your business directly, I thought that maybe we could work out a slightly different arrangement.
I will be more than happy to provide my services for X number of hours, in exchange for XXXXXXXX
I would also like the opportunity to XXXXXX. I will bring examples of my work to showcase to potential clients.

johng · May 13, 2009

to clarify - shooting on spec <> shooting for free. They're really very different. When an outfit shoots a soccer tournament guess what? Very often the photographer PAYS the tournament not the other way around.

The truth of the matter is it sounds like there is no incentive for the company to pay you anything. Offering photos isn't likely to generate them significant business. So you are a vendor - you're being given a free opportunity to ply your wares so to speak. So I don't see any issue with them not paying you. However, as you noted it's not likely to generate many print sales for you. So you have to decide if the marketing benefit is worth your time. Are the people that will be at the event customers that would likely give you paying gigs in the future? That's the real question.

So, I disagree with the notion that you're doing something for free. The company is not getting a free product or service out of you - you're being given a free marketing opportunity. It's just a matter of whether that opportunity is worth your time.

Nikolai · May 13, 2009

Cygnus Studios wrote:

It is a little hard to unring a bell, but maybe you could try something like this:

Hi business owner,

During our last conversation about your upcoming event, I quoted my normal rate of $$$ per hour/day.
Considering that any photos taken on this day may not be benefiting your business directly, I thought that maybe we could work out a slightly different arrangement.
I will be more than happy to provide my services for X number of hours, in exchange for XXXXXXXX
I would also like the opportunity to XXXXXX. I will bring examples of my work to showcase to potential clients.

Good save! If nothing else, worth trying...

Back to OP: there are cetaing things you may wanna do for free initially.
My example: a year ago I started to shoot fashion shows. For free, i.e. no immediate/advance pay. However, due to my doing it the results were:
1) hands-on experience (which helped a lot)
2) exposure (my business cards were very popular:-)
3) I always got somebody from the participants to purchase enough prints to cover my immediate expenses
4) I got good connections with designers, models, MUAs, actors, etc.

As a result, not only I was in the black and gaining experience, my business connections initiated during these "free shows" eventually led to much more compelling assignments. My last fashion show brought me a few hundred dollars and participants keep calling, so I expect more in the future.

I guess sometimes you gotta think ahead, too, especially when you're shifting from a shutterbug to a semi-pro :-)

HTH

markjtrickey · May 13, 2009

I want to thank everyone for their feedback in this thread. This is obviously part of the aspect of starting/running a business that at least in my case has a learning curve. It's very helpful to me to hear other thoughts and different aspects I may not have thought of. I did have a conversation with the client this afternoon and she explained that they did not budget any money for a photographer (I think a nice way of saying we did not plan on paying when we asked you). Hopefully I brought the conversation around in a professional manner by asking about attendance and exposure opportunities and ultimately saying I would show up for free and setup a table etc.

I also appreciate everyone's thoughts on speculative shooting and shooting for free for exposure, contacts, etc. It helped me clarify that in my head. I think I let my initial reaction of not wanting to work for nothing overshadow the potential benefits.

Khristen · May 13, 2009

I recently just paid $175 to set up a booth in our local mall for a mother's day wellness event. I took business cards and my MAC and set up a slideshow of images. I had ordered prints to showcase, but they didn't get here in time and I was totally bummed about it. The booth turned out to be a great success however I did have reservations just like you did at first. I also set up a raffle type deal. I offered a free portrait session, 8x10, 2-5x7s, 4 wallets. That let people know I'm not working for free and also allowed me to reach out and make many contacts. Since people would stop and enter it allowed me the chance to chat them up and give a good first impression.

My phone hasn't stopped ringing since! The $175 has already been made back and my calendar is surprisingly full for the month! I NEVER would have thought I would have had that kind of luck!

So you're losing a few hours- think of the contacts you'll make and the possible photo ops you might get! Good luck to you!!

Shooting on speculation and or just for exporsure

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