Model mayhem, Net Portfolio, Net Model – endless social networking sites for creative people are springing up with the intention of making it easier for photographers/stylists/models/makeup artists etc to source each other out, hook up and collaborate. Featuring detailed area based searches it’s very easy to meet a specific need for a shoot; within minutes you can seek out a red haired model with blue eyes in your town, check out her portfolio, drop her an email and if all goes well, invite her to your studio for a casting. Or perhaps you’re looking for a hair stylist with a certain skill, or a make-up artist with body paint experience? Likewise, potential models in need of building a portfolio can search for a local photographer with a studio to shoot their pictures. On the surface it seems like one of the best networking resources around. But is it all it’s cracked up to be?
Check out any one of these sites and you’ll notice that 99% of the casting calls and almost every model profile bears the abbreviation TF* - meaning the model/stylist/etc will trade their ‘time for’ pictures. I can see the benefits of this method of working if you’re a beginner in need of a little more experience for the sake of expanding your portfolio but after a couple of weeks of exploring the sites it’s starting to become clear that, even down to amateur hobbyist models, hardly anyone expects to pay for a photographic service. Which is a shame because there are some truly talented photographers with seriously impressive portfolios on these sites that deserve the business. So why is photography so undervalued?
Ah ha ha, I suspect it’s that pesky digital revolution again! As digital cameras become ever more affordable and the market is flooded with keen amateurs eager to turn professional, competition for paid work is rife. Genuine professionals are having to fight twice as hard to prove the commercial value of their creative and technical skills. As the newcomers drive down the working rates, grabbing at any job that floats their way and offering to shoot it for less, clients sacrifice quality of work for the sake of saving a few pennies.
But this is no reason for you to start working for nothing! I think it’s terribly important to insist on payment if you ever hope to make a living as a professional. After all, if you’re anything like me you will have invested time and money into your business and it only makes sense that you should expect to see a return. In my case I’ve put in five years gaining my qualifications and learning my art inside and out… not to mention three subsequent years of training in the real world establishing a business. On the monetary side of things I also have studio rent to cover each month, insurance costs for my equipment, council rates, public liability plus website and promotional charges to meet. And that’s before I even start shooting! Afterwards I have to pay my assistant, the retoucher, the stylists, the catering… there’s a lot more to it than the wrong but often perceived notion of that lone little man with a camera, snapping away in a white room.
Working for free as a photographer is in no-one’s best interest. For starters, how will we ever drag ourselves out of this economic pickle unless we are prepared for money to exchange hands? After all, we all want to earn money and if we have the means, why shouldn’t we help others earn it too? But ultimately, working for free means compromising on the standard of the job all round. No skilled professional in their right mind would prioritise a freebie above paid work so you may struggle to pull together a really awesome team (and keeping them on board for future projects will be even trickier). Also, you may be able to fit a model in for a quick shoot one afternoon but it could be days before you find the time to edit the pictures, organize the work load and submit it to be retouched. And again, your retoucher may have other commitments that your work will have to fit around. A job that could have so easily employed two or three people and taken a week can end up taking a month or longer to complete. It’s unprofessional, messy and unnecessary. After all, a model is expecting to earn money as a direct result of the pictures, so why shouldn’t the photographer (and all their evil hair/make-up/retouching minions!)? Tsk! The only good things in life that come for free are fresh air, mountains and trees. Investment into business is something we all need to do for ourselves.
Clients need to believe you’re worth it but you will never succeed in giving off that impression when your actions actively state that your work is worthless. Whether you’ve been in the industry for years or just starting out on your first year at college, if a client wants your images, they have a value. Remember that!
