A recent blog post over at Rock and Roll Bride has raised a few eyebrows, and a few tempers, over on the DWF Pro Business Forum.
What’s the trouble? Well, Willow Tree Photography, a UK based company is offering free photography until the end of the year.
Not a contest. “provided they are free on your chosen date,” says the blog post, “Willow Tree Photography will shoot the wedding of anyone who contacts them for FREE.”
“Talk about kicking the pro’s in the teeth”, says the opening post, especially for the photographers on Rock and Roll Bride ”that have paid good money for advertisements”.
It’s an interesting business model, and one argued most passionately for in Chris Anderson’s book, called appropriately enough, Free. (And available for, you guessed it, free, here or as an audiobook here.)
Is free a sustainable business model for photographers, if only as a way of getting your name out there? Feel free to discuss it here or in the forum. As always, membership is required but trials are FREE!
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5 Comments at "The Ethics of Free Photography"
I haven’t read Chris Anderson’s book, though from the reviews I’ve read there is a flaw in his rational.
Perpetual motion machines are subject to losing inertia. Anderson suggests providing free content for use to leverage sales of other products and services. Given the dynamics of marketplace, supply/demand, etc. This technique will only work in a limited fashion before gravity sets in.
There are still no free lunches. If this technique is used by all, it greatly dilutes the marketplace by increasing supply of cheap (free) goods and services.
It’s pointless for a photographer who has built a reputation to give away his or her most valuable service.
However, I would understand free engagement sessions with off peak time & location limits (like 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoons in one park) in order to drum up business in areas hit hard by the economy.
R’nR Bride is taking a very big risk with this new photographer who is trying to build a business. If the the couples end up disliking their photographs – or if the studio fails – then RnR looks bad for partnering with them. And what about the photographer’s clients who have already paid them money? How do they feel about this?
I’m not against working free for friends and relatives to launch your business. I did it ten years ago (after working as a paid assistant and second shooter to pros) and created a nice portfolio. But, I knew the people very well, and they knew my skills and any limitations well in advance.
A well established professional has no need to shoot for free unless it’s for a charitable, family or other issue that he feels he wants to do. I can see newbies doing it to bring in POSSIBLE business, but it’s not a sustainable practice for a business. If one is starving for business then shooting only for free is a possible way to sell other products associated with the wedding.
As far as the “ethics” of it, I don’t see the two associated at all. Anyone can give away anything for free. Ethics has nothing to do with it.
Hi there… I’m Kathryn… aka Willow Tree Photography.
Here’s the thing… I love photography… have taken photographs for many years, but only set up my business this year. Although I feel confident at taking photographs, I wanted to build up my wedding portfolio to show potential wedding clients what I could do. The trouble is, being a new business, people are often reluctant to book you until you can show them (more than once) that you have what it takes. I had numerous people telling me to offer my services for free which I was reluctant to do because I understand the value of photography and the time and effort that goes into producing good quality images. I loved a lot of the work featured on Rock n Roll Bride, I like the style. I had photographed weddings for friends and gone along to various weddings as a second. However, none of the weddings were Rock n Roll Bride Style which is what I needed in my portfolio to aim at that particular market.
In the end I caved and asked Kat if she would feature my offer for free wedding photography. This was purely to gain experience of this style of wedding. It was not my intention to undercut the market, take business away from other togs or anything else. It was not to practise my skill as a photographer but to add to my portfolio… how can I aim at this market if I don’t have any examples of these types of weddings? I also paid £200 to feature the post – all’s fair.
Believe it or not there are some couples who genuinely can’t afford a wedding photographer, or a cake, or a posh venue, or a wedding car. Some people really are on a shoe string budget, but they go ahead with the wedding anyway, because they love each other. And just because a couple might be on a tight budget, doesn’t mean they don’t have a touch of Rock n Roll style. I didn’t turn anyone away who enquired and one of the first couples to take up the offer were Katy and Jim… two art graduates who married in their local church, whose friends and family made everything for their wedding. If it weren’t for my offer, they would not have had a photographer and that would have been a real shame because they were some of the loveliest people I have ever met and their style was just great. I am so pleased that I was able to capture their day for them. You can see their wedding photos on Rock n Roll Bride… Kat liked them so much that she featured them last Monday.
http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/10/jim-katys-diy-fabulous-whimsical-beach-themed-wedding/
Kat wasn’t risking her reputation because she had already seen examples of my other wedding work – No other photographers lost out on the gig because this couple couldn’t have afforded to pay them.
I hope this has shed some light on the subject.
Kathryn
Kathryn, how much “out of the pocket” money are you having to put out to give your services for free ? Is this something sustainable by you ?
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