on being asked to work for free

dear photographers,

stop complaining about people asking you to work for free, if that's happening for the most part it is your fault.  why?

• the presentation of your brand is weak or inconsistent.

• you can afford to hire yourself

• you have not done your due diligence to educate  clients

this does not mean once in a while people don't ask me to work for free, this does not mean that i don't work for free.  what it means is that i work for free when it is beneficial to my company or worth my time. even the $10,000 plus wedding photographers work for free but when it benefits them. 

one of the best ways you can avoid people asking you to work for free is to strengthen your brand.

brand

there are entire books written about this but i will go ahead and list a few premises:

• you are your brand: 

• appearance matters, you should be well dressed and groomed in a manner that's consistent with the message of your brand.

• website, logo, email should speak high volumes and be consistent

• have great work and it should be well presented

• impeccable customer service: how well do you answer the phone from the beginning of the interaction?  are you returning emails on time? are you delivering on time? etc.

• your brand should be consistent: presentation, marketing materials, social media, pamphlets, website, invoices, your attitude, the way you dress and speak et al.

...and the list can go on

you can afford to hire yourself

n.b consumers associate price with value.  i cannot afford to hire myself, i am too expensive. i’ve spend, sometimes 15 hrs a day honing my craft, i have read hundreds of books, and study thousands of videos, inturned, carried other photographer's bags, paid for and attend seminars, workshops fell and rise and worked extremely hard. my craft is worth what i am charging. the time i spend documenting other families is valuable time spent away from my own family. my time, expertise, and the art i produce is valuable. if you are not charging your worth, how can you expect people to respect your time?

education

the key is to never say no to a person asking but rather to do your due diligence and educate them as to why you won't work for free. i have had this happen before and based on the education i provided, it turned into event work, a wedding, and more event work from the entire family.  don't be afraid to let people know the cost of doing business, also that you pay insurance, and taxes. educate.

keep kewl!