never do for free. u can start cheap but never for free. either that, or u can tag along as a 2nd photographer to someone first.
read again.so you're saying even if you volunteer your services as a backup photog, u should still charge? :dunno:
never do for free. u can start cheap but never for free. either that, or u can tag along as a 2nd photographer to someone first.
never do for free. u can start cheap but never for free. either that, or u can tag along as a 2nd photographer to someone first.
why not do for free? my experience is that people demand less if they understand you are learning and you are doing it free.
Any nominal fee that you charge raises people expectation. Any "ang pow" that you sheepishly ask for translates into complains if your pictures are not up to standard. But if it's free, people do not have a right to complain..
Impt thing is to communicate to your clients what u can and cannot do. Be outright, be frank and no one can fault you. You will be suprised that many people dun mind pple who wanmt
throughout the years, you have many wedding photographers who blast every single newbie photographer comming here to advertise cheap services. I think they are just insecure chaps ( you know who u are...lol)
this is where you are sorely wrong.But if it's free, people do not have a right to complain..
this is very wrong, a photographer who shoot for free does not mean he/she has less or no responsibility to deliver quality photos.why not do for free? my experience is that people demand less if they understand you are learning and you are doing it free.
Any nominal fee that you charge raises people expectation. Any "ang pow" that you sheepishly ask for translates into complains if your pictures are not up to standard. But if it's free, people do not have a right to complain..
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this is very wrong, a photographer who shoot for free does not mean he/she has less or no responsibility to deliver quality photos.
unless the photographer tell the "customers" directly he/she is taking them as guinea pig, if they still engage the photographer, that is their choice and be responsible for any outcome.
in real life, people who complain a lot and very demanding, are those people look for cheap or free stuffs/services.
Where no payment is being made, the other person will be hard pressed to hold the photographer liable for poor quality photos.
A photographer who shoots for free and for no return at all, can even argue that there is no contract binding him to the other party; and hence, with no liability as to the results.
Yes, the customer can complain all they want, but whether the photographer needs to take credence or even deal with it is another question altogether. If a customer wishes to broadcast a complaint, the photographer can rebutt by saying "the job is free" and let the audience judge for themselves who is being reasonable.
I do disagree that people who complain are people who look for cheap or free services. There are many people who are demanding (reasonably so) when they are paying for top notch stuff. My own personal view is that the level of my demand will depend on how much is paid. If I got something for free, I won't bother to demand; if I paid top dollar, the person better jolly well do a good job.
yes, but this is just theoretical logic.
unfortunately, as with economics, and many other branches of study, theoretical logic can fall apart when it comes to humans.
you get all sorts. yes, of course freeloaders cannot take up the issue, of course they shouldn't have a right to demand more.. but in reality, sometimes people do not care about this logic, or the fact that they are getting the service for free.
in short, all that is needed to make demands is a mouth.
from another point of view, just because a person is unwilling to pay for a service doesn't mean that he is going to have low expectations. i think it is only fair to acknowledge that this happens. do we have low expectations of everything that is "free" in life?
take for example, our "free" newspapers, if they printed nonsense, are you saying that no one will complain? by your logic, no one has a right to complain..
never do for free. u can start cheap but never for free. either that, or u can tag along as a 2nd photographer to someone first.
this is where you are sorely wrong.
if the client is mean enough to ask people to do it for free, you can bet he will be thick-skinned enough to comment that your photos are horrible even though you did it for free.
as to why you shouldn't do for free or cheaply, this is my view. my view is that most of the people who don't know what they are doing and therefore will incur reasonable complaints should just go home, learn how to photograph properly before they dare to start taking on proper jobs (i.e. not favours for friends, or brother's wedding.. meaning, people that source them out).
there are so many people out there who just think that with a professional camera, they are good enough to shoot for people, they don't get the consequences, or the fact that they are not worth the money they are charging. and then there are also the bunch that think that going for free is fine..
it is not, you just encourage exploitation of photographers as a whole. i have encountered many many commercial companies (some of which are not SMALL FRY companies) shopping for free photographs for anything..
from publications to book covers.. their compensation per se is "oh, we will credit you".. despite the fact that the resultant usage generates profit for them.
both ends of the scale should wake up their idea. if you can't shoot, go home and learn and brush up before pretending that you can and charging. if you can't shoot and do it for free, you should still brush up first.
by "doing photography for free" i am talking about offering services to any tom, dick or harry that "oh, i will do this for free even though i don't know you." if you want to build up portfolio, can always offer to be backup for friend, and treat it seriously, read up before you go, try to make the best effort you can, so that you will improve faster.