Rongnongno Loc: FL

Any time someone asks you anything 'for free', 'to advertise' double the price.
Any time mentions 'for experience' or 'to learn' laugh in their face.

Why?
'For free' is a joke. You will never be able to get anything done for simple reasons:
- 'For free' means you are under no obligation to provide anything unless one is stupid enough to sign a contract.
- 'For free' will prevent you to get paid in the long run.
- It is better to set a price that include your expenses, profit then inflate that price in order to give a 'discount'. This will be a win-win, you get what you want and the other guys thinks he has a 'steal'. THAT guy will advertise you. The other 'for free' will quickly become an issue. Basically if you work for free, your work is not good enough to have any value. Good luck digging yourself out of this hole.

'For experience' is a joke. If you need experience onto anything, become a student or apprentice or something that will be a teaching period. The 'for experience' is another way to devaluate you and your work. If you take this seriously, quite frankly you become the joke. There is no experience gained w/o a serious guide/teacher/mentor.

Quixdraw Loc: x

You must have a kindly face and manner - I may volunteer to do something for free for charity, but I have never been approached as you describe.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I never respond to those asking for free services, other than charities. I do not discount, but I will add value - extra prints usually. I've been doing this after getting burned a few times in the late 60s.

User ID

An associate asked if Ms Diva and I were available for a benefit gig. My universal answer is “Diva keeps the calendar and sets the price. I just play. Talk to her.”

His reply was was “Price ?!?!?!?!? ... this is a benefit”.

The benefit was for the untimely death of a career city detective, due to his own drunken driving, which was off duty so his fat pension (and life insurance) still goes to his family.

I withdrew my “talk to her” remark and told him that he doesn’t know how to run a benefit. Ms Diva NEVVVVUH works for free simply becuz it’s so disrespectful.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

In my business (food distribution) I am asked almost daily for something for free. Or, “do you have a sample I can try”? I either respond with “no, I can’t remember the last time I had anything for free that I could give away”. Or “no, they make me pay for everything”. People assume “they” are the company or business owners. But I am actually referring to my suppliers. I am the business owner, but I try not to let anyone know that. Otherwise the number of free requests would be ridiculous.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Reminds me of this old used car dealer. “Dapper Dan your used car man, I’d give em away but my wife won’t let me!”

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

For thirty years, I ran services in the market research business. Data is the ultimate ephemeral product, especially syndicated data in which a single data set is distributed to multiple customers. If you price your product on a cost basis, each new sale has no cost. Similar to the file containing a picture that you have already processed. One needs to have the firm and unswerving belief that this mass of numbers is a tangible thing of value. Your success, of course, depends on whether the customer shares that assessment.

agillot

i thing you are out of line here .this is what is wrong with kids today they dont get the chance to experience what work is like .when i was a kid i started to spend time in the local car shop , found out that i liked it .spent 50 plus doing that .without that local car shop who know what .with all the lawyers today and litigious society , nobody [ business ] would do it anymore .

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

These posts remind me of something my Dad dealt with. I've mentioned before that he was a professional photographer.
He had taken some portraits for new clients. Beforehand, as he always did, Dad told the clients what he expected of them and the photo-taking session went very well.
Three of four days later, the prints were ready and Dad took them to the clients. Of the ten or so photos he had taken, he had selected the best six; six the number the client had contracted for.
When he got to their place, the clients were pleased with the print, then started haggling: Well, yes, very beautiful photos, we will certainly show them to our family and friends....
But, thinking about it, the price is a tad high, do you think you could give us a bit of a discount.
Dad was already not in his best mood, had a good half hour's bike ride behind him and needed another good half hour's bike ride to get home again. He told the couple, "No, we determined a fair price when we discussed the session before I took the photos, the price is firm"
The couple kept on about even a little discount, Dad suddenly had enough, told them they could have the photos for free, ripped them up into small pieces, threw half of the pieces on the table, the rest into his pocket (so there was no way they could "re-assemble" the photos, and walked out. Several days later, he got a note in the mail: Apologies! Could he please print the photos again. He did, on condition that they paid for the torn up set, as well as for reprints. They did!

BTW, thanks for this thread folks! It has brought back many memories dating back to 1960 and before. Some good, some bad, but still, my memories that I can talk about with my brother; he's 1 1/2 yrs younger than me, but has many of the same memories.

LCD

The one exception I would make is when you are new and green in the photography business. The client will risk having a less than professional performance in exchange for giving you the experience you need to grow on.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Bunk! You shouldn’t be doing it as a business if you don’t already know what you’re doing. It’s a common problem that everybody I know involved in the arts has. People devalue what they do and want freebies for “experience” or “exposure”. Yeah you get exposure. You get exposed as someone that will work for free.

yorkiebyte Loc: Scottsdale, AZ/Bandon by the Sea, OR

That would be a large Insurance Liability nowa' days, yep, yer' right!. No way - stay in school and work legitimately.....

yorkiebyte Loc: Scottsdale, AZ/Bandon by the Sea, OR

Right on!!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

No it still can happen but maybe not as easily in a pure business setting. When my son was young we had dirt bikes, go carts and snowmobiles, as did other neighbors and friends. The kids were taught to work on them all and respect doing a job correctly using the proper tools. My rule for MX racing was if my son didn’t have the bike serviced and ready to go we would stay home. I only recall not going once in about 10 years.

As they got older the work turned to cars and lifted trucks. My son built a 383 stroker engine for his high school senior project. Out of those kids we ended up with a master mechanic and drag racing champion, a automotive performance center owner and a career army master mechanic in charge of maintaining helicopters, as well as a few others in technical careers. So it can be done.

LCD

My first 'paid' photography gig was in exchange for room and board at a city 200 miles away. I told him of my lack of experience but he liked my work and 'hired' me anyway. I learned a lot about the difference between doing photography at a friend or family's wedding and doing it for an actual client. I sorry, but we all have to start somewhere.