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No! Never work for free
I am appalled to see photographers recommend to the next generation that they ever work for free! It is wrong for a photographer to ever do a job for a client at a reduced rate or free just to get her/his foot in the door — so what kind of hypocrisy permits us to suggest the same action to assistants?
An assistant’s work is of value, even if that assistant is a student. The suggestion of working for free (or a reduced rate just to get in) is exactly the sort of thinking that is threatening our industry. We must stop this! All it does is teach the next generation that they should not fully value themselves and their work, and these same people will have no problem lowballing in the future.
Of course, an assistant with less experience is not (usually) worth the same as one with more experience, and should have a lower rate when working as a second…until you get enough experience to move to the next level of assisting. But do not, ever, devalue yourself and your contribution to this industry by working for free.
Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua
www.burnsautoparts.com
Interning isn’t quite the same as working
I recently had a young guy working in my studio for a couple of days. He contacted me via email and had very little experience, but wanted to spend some time in a studio environment. I was working on a week-long project and already had my crew in place, but I had him come when his schedule permitted. He was looking to gather experience on his days off of his regular job, and I was willing to have him be on set and observe and ask questions while we were working.
It was like an intern situation. He didn’t get paid simply because I didn’t need him there, nor did I have money in the budget for him, but also because that was his approach to getting his foot in the door. He was another pair of hands when we needed, and he knew when not to ask questions, too. Sweet guy, great attitude and, when he gets more experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to hire him.
I don’t recommend working for free unless you are inexperienced. But if you have nothing else to do, do what you can to get out there and meet photographers and other assistants. Nothing goes further in my book than knowing what you’re doing and having a great attitude. Do it all. Phone calls, resumes, meetings, interning, go to APA meetings and introduce yourself, whatever it takes.
Sue Tallon
www.tallonphoto.com
An exception for students
I totally agree with Leslie. If they are not good enough to be paid, then they do not belong on my set — unless they are truly students who are there to watch and learn.
I will never forget a photographer I knew who used to complain all the time about feeling ripped off by his plumber, car mechanic, stylist, power company … yet complained even louder about clients wanting him to work for less.
Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com
Experience is your pay, at first
I would venture to guess we have all “worked for free” at some time or another, in some way or another. It’s part of the deal. As photographers, as assistants, as free-lancers. How we negotiate with ourselves about what we’re willing to do and not willing to do is up to us, our perspective, our attitude. Only you know that, and you need to design that path for yourself.
If you are there at your convenience to observe, ask questions, learn how to use the equipment, have exposure to a real working shoot and lend a hand now and then, you are receiving valuable experience in exchange for whatever you may contribute (which may be very minimal in the beginning). Once you know how to do the job, you should be paid. The better you get, the higher rate you can command. It’s pretty basic and universal, I think.
Sue Tallon
www.tallonphoto.com
‘Intern’ is just a euphemism for ‘free labor’
No, that’s a very dangerous and negative perspective. It is not “part of the deal.” That’s just wrong, and I will never understand why creatives continue to accept that old, tired line! Many of us have not and will never do so, because we have too much passion for what we do and understand the importance of recognizing the effects of our actions in the long-term.
It is not really up to each individual — that’s just an illusion, because everything each of us does affects all of us. Thinking otherwise is exactly the method of thinking that is sending this industry (and other creative industries) down the tubes. We must always look at how our actions and choices affect, not just us, but each of our colleagues and the industry as a whole. It’s all about growing our businesses together, not shooting ourselves in the foot!
Sure, doing a gig for free now might (might!) lead to another gig, but you will not earn as much as someone who did not give it away the first time. You have lowered your perceived value in the mind of your consumer. Period. The more people who do the same, the more the market decides that the actual value is indeed less than what it should be (in the eye of the vendors — that is, us), and then the whole industry is screwed.
Perhaps more importantly, by working for free you admit to yourself, however subconsciously, that your efforts are not of a certain value. When you become a photographer, you will much more easily believe an unscrupulous client who says, “Do this one for cheap, and the next one will be big bucks,” or “The other photographers all do it for half your price,” and the like, because in your head you’ve already limited your own value.
Even interns should be paid, if only minimum wage. It is the concept that each human is of value, that his/her efforts are of value, and that every step in the creative process is of value that we need to be upholding. Yes, an intern is learning, but unless s/he is in a school-based program (where they have requirements to fulfill for their program), then the word “intern” without pay is just a euphemism for “free labor.” We all learn on the job to some extent, but we all expect to be paid for our work regardless. These kids deserve the same respect.
Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua
www.burnsautoparts.com
Unpaid is OK if there is another real benefit
Well, there are other ways to look at this.
I currently have an intern that comes in at least half a day once a week. This person got a second degree in photography but felt that s/he was not prepared as well as s/he should by the school. S/He decided to approach a few photographers (researched from APA/A site), I being one of them, and ask them if they would be interested in having an intern. The first contact was via e-mail and was a very professional first impression (person has a marketing degree).
I have several road blocks that I set up to gauge the seriousness of situations like these. Most people fail them. This person did not.
We set up up a plan and all is very well. One thing I stated from the get-go was that on any paying job, s/he would be paid. It might be as a 2nd or 3rd assistant, but s/he would be paid. Anything else and it was unpaid, but I would take the time to teach, provide mentor, etc.
We start every day that we work with a brief “what’s going on” session. They tell me theirs and I tell mine. I hold nothing from them: They see estimates, they see the process I go through, etc. The intern is never without questions.
Yesterday was one of the afternoons we worked. My intern worked on images that needed processing from a shoot I did as a favor for an award-winning AD (who wanted to do a concept that was not presented to the client but was worth shooting). I can’t tell you how much this means to this intern. I am constantly asking if this is meeting his/her needs and I get an obsolute YES! More than YES!
There is nothing evil with working for free if there is benefit. But I will agree that using someone to pocket more money on their labor is not right.
When this relationship is over, will I continue to look to this person for help? Yes! Why shouldn’t I? S/He now knows my ways and system.
You may disagree. That’s OK. I make sure whoever wants to do this with me has clear understanding of the relationship. The interns keep coming, so there must be something worth it here in my world.
Ken Gehle
www.kengehle.com
Observing isn’t the same as assisting
Leslie, I actually agree with your perspective. I do not work for free. That’s an old discussion and I get it.
When I wrote “work for free” (within quotations), I was refering to the things many of us may do from time to time for a good client: burn an extra CD, do a quick retouch on some file they need quickly and not charge them a rush, etc. These are little things I may choose to do in the appropriate situation.
I feel (and am) well compensated for the work I do 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time, I just needed to put food on the table. Reality. Like it or not. I have never done a job for free, and I wouldn’t even consider it. I have done jobs for less money than I would have liked when times were tough, but it is not something I practice. I have turned down plenty of work because clients simply didn’t have the kind of budget I felt was fair for myself and for industry standards. I don’t feel this is a negative perspective and, if you read my emails, I wasn’t advocating working for free.
If, as an inexperienced assistant wannabe, you want to spend time on a shoot in a working situation and observe at your convenience and get experience, then how you make that happen is your business. When this young guy called to see if I’d be willing to have him in the studio, I said yes. He came when he wanted, left when he wanted, was fed breakfast and lunch and did very minimal work — maybe move a light every now and then, but his job was to stay out of the way, ask questions and observe. I have no budget personally for that and I wouldn’t consider charging my client for that, nor did I go looking for him. He was delighted to be there. I and my assistant showed him how to operate equipment and watch the process. He had literally no experience. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Money doesn’t always have to exchange hands for each party to be happy, satisfied and better for the opportunity. I value the efforts of everybody on my crew as well as myself. I was taken advantage of a few times when I was young and just starting out, and I would caution any person interested in getting started to know the difference between working for free and observing for free.
Sue Tallon
www.tallonphoto.com
Pro bono can lead to rewards
Leslie, I have done some of my most “passionate” and award-winning work which has ended up in CA, Graphis and The One Show on non-paying, pro bono jobs. The exposure from these awards led to some of the most lucrative jobs I have done in my career.
Every situation is unique. These assignments gave me the opportunity to work on projects I would not have gotten from paying jobs. In the end, these jobs did far more for me than the relatively uncreative paying jobs I was getting at the time.
I appreciate your concern about photographers and assistants being paid for their efforts, and I certainly would hate to see photographers or assistants let themselves be taken advantage of. But I can’t agree with your “never do that” attitude. I think every photographer and assistant has the right to make those kind of career-defining decisions for themselves.
John Henley
www.johnhenleyphoto.com
Get fair recompense, even if it’s not cash
Apples and oranges, I’m afraid.
There is nothing wrong with a photographer doing a project for “free” if s/he is getting something else out of it. For example, if you are given total creative freedom and know that the final product will be seen by important decision-makers for your work and you’ll get a big, fat credit line, then that might be an acceptable trade-off. Or perhaps the client doesn’t have cash, but they do have a condo in Hawaii that you can use for a week for free — then that works. Or perhaps it’s for a charity in which you deeply believe and just want to give of yourself. That’s fine too. In all of those cases, the photographer is aware of his/her value and is getting “paid” — just not in cash.
“Free” in and of itself, though, where these is no fair recompense (be that money, or trade, or karma), is objectionable. So often, photographers claim to be “teaching” their “free” assistants, when all they are really doing is ordering them to carry heavy packs and get food for the client… if even that. In those cases, it is an abuse of labor and should not be acceptable in our industry. All it teaches the assistants is that it’s okay to abuse people and to lower their standards. That is what I’m trying to make clear.
Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua
www.burnsautoparts.com
No value to assistant? That’s exploitation
It does clear up the confusion, Leslie. In a case where a photographer is not teaching but purely exploiting an assistant, it would be of no value to the assistant, and I agree that it would be an abuse of labor. I just don’t think you can paint all photographers with that broad brush.
John Henley
www.johnhenleyphoto.com