Pixiq

Fresh out of school, many young photographers ask me how they can find work without suffering the various problems of getting paid. Even some seasoned professionals have approached me. With editorial photography in a tailspin, they have taken a forced early retirement (well, it’s generally been forced on them), and are looking for new careers in the pro bono sector. If you haven’t thought about this yet, you should. You’ll save on taxes, VAT if you happen to live in Europe, book-keeping and accountant’s fees, plus the emotional wear-and-tear of disappointment, worry and crude modern commercial values.

This is not as easy as it may seem, because first, there are an awful lot of people out there trying to get the same opportunity. And many of them have much more experience at giving away their work for free than you. This is important to remember. Second, some clients, generally old-fashioned and mired in the past, just don’t respect someone who doesn’t think their work is good enough to be worth money. Sorry, a lot of double negatives there, but what I mean is, if you feel you can give your work for nothing, other people don’t value it either. How weird is that? But this is what some of these people think, and we have to deal with them. 

So, here are some tips that really work. How do I know they work? Because pro pro bono (excuse the pun) photographers use them consistently and successfully. So can you! 

1. Work for charities and NGOs

Hone in on the potential clients who actually expect you to work for free! How simple is that? You are not likely — trust me on this — to meet any resistance. Now, some of you not familiar with this world may wonder why some registered charities and NGOs have this reputation? It’s soooo simple. There’s this general aura of doing good, and also the funding is being donated, not coming out of anything as crass as sales. So, who are you going to spend this money on? You need to be careful, circumspect. Avaricious photographers who want to do it only because they love photography and want to make a living? Ridiculous. No, what you do is like what the cabin attendant tells you in case of de-pressurisation in the aircraft in an emergency — help yourself first. Then look after the others, if you can be bothered. As long as the management are well paid and well funded, that puts them in a great position to deal with all the other people who have less, like the beneficiaries, and photographers shooting these good works.

2. Enter lots of competitions — and read the fine print

Sadly, there are one or two photography competitions out there that give valuable prizes and respect copyright [note from Editor: what’s that?]. Nevertheless, there are many, many more that expect to be able to take your entry images and use them however they like. And if you win, wow! Then they can make lots of money from your donated image. Yes, I know, that ‘donated’ is not strictly speaking true, because you have to pay to enter the images. But that’s even better, isn’t it? Now, the secret of the pro pro bonos [note from Ed: you’re milking this one to death], which I will now reveal, is that you need to look, with a magnifying glass, at the terms and conditions (T&Cs to us seasoned pros). Why are they hidden there? Don’t be dumb. If not, everyone would be trying to give away their photo rights. You need to work at this.

3. Microstock — the next best thing

If you have to weaken and charge, then all hope is not lost. It’s not very manly, of course, but at least by selling your photographs for a derisory sum, you will maintain some moral dignity. The stock business used to be rapacious, gouging clients by charging them in the hundreds for editorial use and thousands for commercial. Fortunately, we’re now in gentler, more reasonable times, and with royalty-free having paved the way, there is now microstock, a whole new economic model that will allow you to charge cents/pennies/sous/kwai or whatever is the lowest monetary unit where you live. And it’s global! If this still bothers you, think of it as a kind of temporary therapy, helping you ease your way into giving it away. 

Now, a word of warning. Some people have actually written books about how to make a living from microstock. What a joke! Generally, they didn’t and you can’t, but they cheated by writing a book about it, and then, even worse, charging people to buy the book. Here, right now, with me, it’s free, just like the subject of this article (who said ‘rant’?....own up!). 

4. The back-door route — approach the CFO

Think outside the box! The Chief Financial Officer and staff are the people who really understand the bottom line. They’re the ones who work hard to reduce and delay payments, so they know where you’re coming from! Sure, they have nothing to do with editorial and commissioning, but if you can get on the right side of them, they can sometimes make a deal, and arrange it so that the picture department is instructed to use you. I’ve heard it said that this is unethical, going behind the backs of the picture editor and staff, but these are tough and competitive times, and if you think and act like a businessman rather than an idealistic photographer, it will give you the edge. 

5. Stay polite and don’t send statements

Many inexperienced photographers fall into the trap, having sent in an invoice for paid work (well, what do you expect....paid work indeed!) of sending reminders. They get exasperated, even rude, and let go by sending statements and calling up. Now look, nobody likes this, and who can blame them? Would you? I’ve even done it myself, until I got smart, and it didn’t win me any popularity contests. Can you imagine what they said behind my back? The solution is simple. Don’t. You’ll feel better, they’ll feel better, and that’s what civilized society is all about. Eventually, the invoice will just be forgotten.