Cheapskates
The hottest places in hell are reserved for clients who pay caterers and designers and writers and venues and stylists and makeup artists and valets and literally anyone but photographers
The balls on some people. The chutzpah. The unmitigated gall.
I’ve rushed over here straight from the desolate hellscape of social media where I was yet again triggered, this time by a post in search of a photographer.
“Hosting a dinner in NYC in partnership w/ [XYZ Corp] at a $15M home. Notable creators and founders in attendance. Looking for a NYC photographer who would work in-kind to document the event! ❤️”
In case you’re not hip to the lingo, “in kind” means donate your services. Work for free.
The heart emoji means “I’m a shitheel but I don’t want you to know.”
At times like this I like to ask myself who else at the event might be working for free. Not the party planner, certainly. And not the host, of course. The caterer is no doubt charging a reasonable fee. And the valet wouldn’t work for free. No, it’s unlikely anybody else at the event is donating their services. But the photographer? Sure, the photographer is.
Because we’re suckers.
When you work in an industry that is perceived as fun and interesting, pay is low and the hours are terrible. What could be a more fun career than photography?1
One thing that comes to mind is ditch digging. Or the mortuary sciences. Porta potty sanitation. At least those jobs are paid.
When you work in an industry that is perceived as fun and interesting and there’s a glut of supply, well then there are more desperate workers than ever, all just looking for their big break. Maybe this is the one. Maybe this time is different.
[Narrator: This time was not different.]
It never is different. And it never is a good idea to do these freebie jobs. Never.
Before you come at me, hear me out. (And subscribe first.)
The sales pitch goes like this: There will be a lot of “good people to know” at this party. And it’s in a lovely location so the photos will be great for your portfolio. And your work will be featured prominently, so you’ll get great exposure. And you never know, maybe it’ll lead to a paid gig next time.
You do know. Or at least I do. It won’t lead to a paid gig next time. I’m sorry but it won’t.
The exceptions? They are so few and far between as to prove the rule.
Freebie gigs are predatory, especially in 2025. The people requesting them may not realize quite how awful they are — because, after all, who voluntarily pays for something you can get for free? — but that doesn’t mean they aren’t taking advantage of desperate photographers who take them on with hearts full of hope and pockets full of… Well, certainly not money.
You’ll notice when you get into discussions online about such gigs, there will be a small but vocal group in support of unpaid work like this. They’ll say things like, “If you’re a new photographer looking to break in” or “if you’re trying to build your portfolio” or “this is a great opportunity if you’ve got that hustle mindset.” The one thing you’ll notice is that the people perpetrating this misinformation are often… clients. It’s not photographers touting how wonderful free work is, it’s the people saving money in search of “collabs.”
Free gigs have always been a problem, but they’re worse now because they’re easier to fill. Social media exploded freebie outreach. Instead of having to gird yourself and call around and say directly to an individual human, “Are you willing to work for free on Saturday night?” you can just cast a social net and wait for the most desperate to come quietly to you.
Our ranks are greater than ever, and so rates are pushed down and clients know it. It’s simple economics. And the economics are cold and unfeeling. They break down like this: if you take free jobs instead of paid work, you establish that the going rate for this kind of thing is $0. And soon enough you will find this business model unsustainable and so you will go do something other than photography — you know, the kind of gig where you’re paid in currency rather than good wishes. But fear not, cheapskate clients, there is an army of hundreds lining up to take the place of this soon-to-be-former photographer. Next man up. It’s a great business model if you’re on the demand side, not so much for the suppliers.
Oh, and the side effects? One side effect of an endless line of new photographers taking free work is that the work always remains free. Whereas if photographers stopped taking free work as a whole, collectively? Well then clients who actually need the work done would actually have to pay for it. And voila, suddenly photographers are being paid for their work. Just like the waiters and drivers and decorators and literally everyone else involved in the event.
There’s a saying about working for exposure: “Don’t do it.”
Okay, that’s my saying, actually. And I just coined it. But there’s another one, really: “People die of exposure.”
The freebie business model is simply unsustainable for the photographer, who goes out of business and is replaced by another, who is replaced by another, and so on. All the client needs is to find out who’s next up at the freebie store. Unsustainable for us photographers, highly sustainable for the cheapskate customer. An unending supply of gullible mugs.
Unless of course we make a decisive change.
What if we simply start collectively shouting down any and every request for a free gig? What if we decry all of them, wholesale, as predatory business practices? What if we agree, for the sake of our own livelihoods, that we simply don’t ever consider doing client work for free? No matter if it’s at a lovely venue, with a famous celebrity, and would look great in our book or provide some enticing contacts. Even then. We’ve got to do what we learned in 7th grade assemblies: Just say no.
That’s what I’ve decided to do. Not that I’ve been in the practice of doing free work. It’s more that I stand up for the idea on occasion. Because the truth is there are some types of assignments where working for benefits other than money can be worth it.2
The exceptions to my “no free work” rule are so rare, and the advocates for free work are so clearly those who benefit from not having to pay us, that I think the only viable solution is to band together and agree: no more. It’s predatory and manipulative, and it won’t lead to paid work. They won’t buy the cow when they keep getting the milk for free.
Please join me. When you see requests for free work, point out that it’s manipulative and predatory, and it’s preying on desperate people hoping beyond hope that this, finally, will be their opportunity to break into the business. “This time it’s different,” they’ll say. But it’s not. I’m sorry, it never is.
The next time you see a for-profit enterprise in search of “in-kind partners” or a “collab” or other charming-sounding words intended to disguise the fact that they simply want to hire a vendor without having to pay a vendor… Call them out. Be polite, be respectful3 but stand up for yourself, and your colleagues. Enough is enough. We’ve got to draw a line in the sand. Even inexperienced photographers — those looking to build their books and gain some experience — even they deserve to be paid.
That’s it, that’s my plea. Join me in protesting, polite as you’d care to be, and try to make the world a better place for photographers everywhere by making it so uncool to ask for free work that nobody does it any more. Let’s laugh those scoundrels out of town. Free work? No way. What are you, some kind of cheapskate?
Or, as it’s called these days, content creation.
Again, these are the exceptions that prove the rule, but in theory certain types of opportunities it does make sense to work for little or no money. If the gig would get you access to a location you otherwise couldn’t be able to work in (a coal mine, for instance), and will allow you to make work that’s special and unique enough that it does actually have value in your portfolio. Or perhaps the work will involve a nonprofit whose mission you support. Or maybe you just think a gig sounds really, really fun. I concede there are occasional instances in which you may want to bend this rule. And that’s fine, you have my blessing. But it damn sure better be rare, and you damn sure better be careful. Just make sure the non-financial value you’re receiving is truly worth it, truly fair. If it’s a party planner looking for a “collab” at an event where everyone else is being paid… Spoiler alert: it ain’t fair. One major tell is the use of that word, “collab.” Another is if the prospect is asking for free work outright, it’s not likely to be worth it. Still another is if their message to you starts with effusive praise. Seriously. That praise thing is a dead giveaway.)
Maybe.
let's say one accepts this job thinking that will get exposure, portfolio photos, etc. just before one is ready to go home after this, is told that cannot use the photos as this is a private party and other shit.
so yes, stay away from this type of slavery. if this will come my way, i have an answer: do you want free photos? get a.i.! i eat bread, not thanx!
Many moons ago, this type of work was done by a photographer who would do the job and then show the client postcard size photographs of poor quality from which the client could choose. As choices were made, the cash-register would start to sing. I assume those days are gone, but what prevents someone from doing exactly that? The event can most likely not be restaged/reenacted... The photographer has the 'client' by the nuts, or am I dreaming in technicolour? Sure, the client will never call you back, unless your work is stellar, but so what, you have made your point, and there are another thousand 'opportunities' identical to this portfolio-building experience? Just curious. I have been away from the business too long, probably....