[séamuis]

Amazing how many here missed his point. I wonder how many that did miss his point shoot for a living.

im an active photojournalist, so not quite the same as him in regards to 'for a living'. but if theres a chance I missed his point, how about you enlighten me and the rest of us? I think his point is rather clearly stated, but his idea of what it would actually cost per photo is flat out wrong at best, (and ridiculous) and the way he presented it makes that even worse.

[eddie1960]

I think he was making the point that his work has value and it costs money to make and therefore you should not expect to get it for free. If you steal it and use it he will bill you what it would cost to buy the gear and go take the 1 picture (punitive not what he would sell it at )

As someone mentioned, THIS single photo didn’t cost me $6,612, but if you wanted to create it, from scratch, that is what is involved. So I consider it the replacement value if it’s stolen, or how much my lawyer will send you a bill for if it’s found being used without my permission.

Now I think he expressed himself poorly but his intent was clear. You don't expect others to work for free neither will I so don't ask.

Where he's wrong of course is that magazines and papers not only ask togs but artists and writers for free product for exposure. 15 years ago this would rarely have been the case but the digital world has changed all that and people will give product for free (generally young people who think it will jump start their career aspirations - it won't in reality it will undermine them)
The easiest and smartest answer is, I'm sorry but I do not provide free images, however in the interest of developing an ongoing relationship with you for image sales I will offer a one time discounted License for your use of...... If this is unacceptable to you then i wish you luck in your search for a suitable image from another source and perhaps we can do business on a project you have a budget for in future. Please see the rest of my portfolio at..... for examples of the type of work I do that may be of interest in future

Then If they take his image and use it send a punitive invoice (though his calculation is excessive) along with copies of the correspondance

always works better when you are professional

But I wholly understand his frustration. AFAIC all artists should be compensated see above a few posts

[Steve Beswick]

All I know is the guy overspends on his gear.

[Docrwm]

I think he was making the point that his work has value and it costs money to make and therefore you should not expect to get it for free. If you steal it and use it he will bill you what it would cost to buy the gear and go take the 1 picture (punitive not what he would sell it at )



Now I think he expressed himself poorly but his intent was clear. You don't expect others to work for free neither will I so don't ask.

Where he's wrong of course is that magazines and papers not only ask togs but artists and writers for free product for exposure. 15 years ago this would rarely have been the case but the digital world has changed all that and people will give product for free (generally young people who think it will jump start their career aspirations - it won't in reality it will undermine them)
The easiest and smartest answer is, I'm sorry but I do not provide free images, however in the interest of developing an ongoing relationship with you for image sales I will offer a one time discounted License for your use of...... If this is unacceptable to you then i wish you luck in your search for a suitable image from another source and perhaps we can do business on a project you have a budget for in future. Please see the rest of my portfolio at..... for examples of the type of work I do that may be of interest in future

Then If they take his image and use it send a punitive invoice (though his calculation is excessive) along with copies of the correspondance

always works better when you are professional

But I wholly understand his frustration. AFAIC all artists should be compensated see above a few posts

All I can say is that it is really bad practice, and self-defeating in the long run, to give away your services/product. People will rapidly come to value what you did/provided at what they paid for it - Zero, and come to expect it at that price from then on. If you later try to charge a reasonable rate they will often see that as excessive or worse and typically jump ship to another provider. As said, it's better to charge what is appropriate (whatever that is) in the first instance, or at worst offer them a 1 time discount as a prospective long-term customer. Just my experience as a professional who only has his time and expertise.

[eddie1960]

All I can say is that it is really bad practice, and self-defeating in the long run, to give away your services/product. People will rapidly come to value what you did/provided at what they paid for it - Zero, and come to expect it at that price from then on. If you later try to charge a reasonable rate they will often see that as excessive or worse and typically jump ship to another provider. As said, it's better to charge what is appropriate (whatever that is) in the first instance, or at worst offer them a 1 time discount as a prospective long-term customer. Just my experience as a professional who only has his time and expertise.

Exactly. It's never in your best interest to offer free services in the hopes it will bring paid services. What it will do is set an expectation of free services.

[Jasvox]

Amazing how many here missed his point. I wonder how many that did miss his point shoot for a living.

I think we are having fun with it more than missing the point.

Jason

[Don From The Radio]

The guy has THIS on his Facebook page.



Anything he has to say about photography is null and void.

[Bruce]

I thought this was a very 'Dry' post (humour that is), but he forgot to factor in his own time (or did I miss something). I don't know too many people who work for free.

[Rupert]

If you consider what I spend on feeding my Squirrels, providing them housing and medical care, repairing damage they cause to my home, and the psychiatric bill I pay for trying to determine why I do this.....this shot must be at least a a half million dollars?

...and all they do is ask for more.....
[IMG] [/IMG]

Regards!

[Hey Elwood]

Nice Rupert

[JohnBee]

The guy has THIS on his Facebook page.



Anything he has to say about photography is null and void.

lol

I hope that's photoshoped
Then again, I suppose it could fit in with some of Ann Getty's type of work.

[luftfluss]

The dude is an idiot. I wonder much $$ he paid for any repairs to his car, since by his logic he should pay for the mechanic's tools & equipment, too.

[Jasvox]

Now I know why the Ipad is priced twice as much as the nearest competitor.

Jason

[séamuis]

Now I know why the Ipad is priced twice as much as the nearest competitor.

Jason

haha, thats a clever point! in all honesty though, a lot of businesses seem to be adopting this idea and model of worth. look at the crap companies have been puling lately. like the verizon 'pay a fee to pay your bill' nonsense.

[D4rknezz]

I may not agree with his writing style or his photography , but i think there is a point there that he is trying to make, for the rest of us.

Our equipment isnt free, the same way our education that leads to our professional work, wasnt free. In truth, most of us gets back in salary what it cost to educate ourselves in several years time. This isnt the same as photography. Most of us wont ever make that money back, for various reasons. But the amount of money, time, learning spent on it slowly matches up what we paid for our education.

Its not like I ate at mcDonalds or wendys so I need to pay for the whole building - its really more of the idea, i think. The cheapening of skills.

Our skill is viewed as cheap. And as long as we only do it for a hobby to entertain ourselves - its totally fine, i guess, that no one pays us. But it will hit a lot more if we were trying to do this for money, and no one appreciates photography because the skill is widely seen as cheap.

I am a programmer, I get paid to work on the computer. I am not going to ask you to reimburse you for my education - but err, if you need any programming done, i will ask for some sort of payment. Same with all of you and your main jobs, I am sure.

After my first wedding photography that ran me over 60 hours of work (wedding and post processing...), for free, I know that slowly things can't be free anymore. Yet no one wants to pay for photography, unless they have to. And the only reason people pay for wedding photography these days is because they are too busy getting married to take self shots. Otherwise....today, everyone takes self shots. How is your work better than everyone who takes their own picture - when everyone bench mark photos against their own and their friends?

Finally, there is NO WHERE in the article that says the author is going to charge you 6000 dollar for that shot...thats uhh..a little soft on the rocks. It says, the shot costs HIM, 6000 dollars...so please, dont expect it for free.