Mark W. Lewis wrote a wonderful little article called Top 10 Lies told to Naive Photographers, Artists and Designers where he covers the top ten ways to give away your work when you should be getting paid big bucks.
I’ve only listed the lies but he has some great commentary to help put things into perspective.
1 “Do this one cheap (or free) and we’ll make it up on the next one.”
2 “We never pay a cent until we see the final product.”
3 “Do this for us and you’ll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!”
4 On looking at sketches or concepts: “Well, we aren’t sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy.”
5 “Well, the job isn’t CANCELED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we’ll continue in a month or two.”
6 “Contract? We don’t need no stinking contact! Aren’t we friends?”
7 “Send me a bill after the work goes to press.”
8 “The last guy did it for XXX dollars.”
9 “Our budget is XXX dollars, firm.”
10 “We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we’ll make some money and we’ll pay you. Simple.”
Now, as a new photographer just starting out, you may want to do a few freebie sessions with friends and family to get comfortable with the process. Shooting a friend’s wedding for free isn’t wrong. But then you’re doing them a favor. Eventually, you’re going to have to charge people just to keep from getting burned up. Even if you don’t feel you’re good enough. But when you go from amateur/hobbyist/enthusiast, to trying to make a living at photography, you better well be good enough to charge for your services.
In the end, working commercially, being a terrific artist is about 25% of the task. If that is the only part of the task that you are interested in, do yourself a favor. Don’t turn “pro.”
