volunteer photographer

[killerasp]

while the end goal is to make some extra cash through photography, i figured i volunteer my services to anyone that needs a photographer to get more experience.

i put a couple of ads on craigslist over the last couple of days for anyone looking looking for a photographer to take photos at events, fundraisers, parties, and modeling. so far, i got some good responses. i had one person that oversees a dance studio, another couple wanted engagement photos. another was having a birthday party and wanted to take pictures of her and her friends in the park. one woman asked me to photograph her wedding.

nothing solid yet, still talking with these people via email. just wanted to ask the people of DPS if you had any suggestions/tips about what im trying to do.

[zona5101]

Hi and welcome!
Good on you for taking the iniative to get some experience. I can't say that I support providing services for free unless it's for a charitable event or for friends and family. I had to chuckle to myself when you wrote "nothing solid yet"...you mean you can't even give it away!

Good luck in whatever comes your way.

[AnneWynne]

Volunteering your services is a great way to gain exposure. Target groups you want to eventually market to.

Limit what you do for free so you do not get overwhelmed with freebie work and end up feeling undervalued by your "clients". Even folks who get stuff for free are not necessarily grateful in the end and can be very demanding.

You can limit what you do for free in terms of what the client gets in return for modeling for you. Give them a very limited number of prints or negatives, and limit the number you will post process for free. If they want more prints or negatives, charge for it.

If you are wanting to get the experience of the whole event (ie, wedding photograper), treat the client as you would a paying client. No/few limits so it will give you a good idea what you can expect in the future.

Above all, even though money is not changing hands, have a contract that spells out what you will do and what your client will get in return for free and for fee (ed, additional prints/images can be purchased for $x.) Start out acting in a professional manner with your small business and you start out building your reputation.

Good luck

[killerasp]

Originally Posted by zona5101

Hi and welcome!
Good on you for taking the iniative to get some experience. I can't say that I support providing services for free unless it's for a charitable event or for friends and family. I had to chuckle to myself when you wrote "nothing solid yet"...you mean you can't even give it away!

Good luck in whatever comes your way.

haha. what i mean by that is that, nothing has been confirmed yet. people have emailed me asking what they want to do, i reply back saying.."yeah sure..here is my portfolio. let me know what you think. lets talk more" and that was that. the lady with the wedding was definitely interested and she seems very nice. she is really trying to convince me to do it even though i said i didnt want to.

[killerasp]

Originally Posted by AnneWynne

Volunteering your services is a great way to gain exposure. Target groups you want to eventually market to.

Limit what you do for free so you do not get overwhelmed with freebie work and end up feeling undervalued by your "clients". Even folks who get stuff for free are not necessarily grateful in the end and can be very demanding.

You can limit what you do for free in terms of what the client gets in return for modeling for you. Give them a very limited number of prints or negatives, and limit the number you will post process for free. If they want more prints or negatives, charge for it.

If you are wanting to get the experience of the whole event (ie, wedding photograper), treat the client as you would a paying client. No/few limits so it will give you a good idea what you can expect in the future.

Above all, even though money is not changing hands, have a contract that spells out what you will do and what your client will get in return for free and for fee (ed, additional prints/images can be purchased for $x.) Start out acting in a professional manner with your small business and you start out building your reputation.

Good luck

You hit the nail on the head! thanks!!!!!!!

[AnneWynne]

Another way to find subjects is to go to ModelMayhem.com and look for models in your area who are willing to pose in exchange for images for their portfolio. Most will definately be willing to work with you and put up with hours of shooting and maybe even have some ideas for poses, locations, etc. It is a you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back kinda thing. But be sure to have a model release signed (just in case they make the big time, you want to be able to market early photos, gg)

GL

[outbackbon]

i really wouldn't do the wedding just yet - although it makes sense to us that a lower price = lower quality, no-one wants anything but the best for their wedding photos. Doing a wedding without experience is just too risky, you are producing the only record of that for them, if it goes wrong there is no second chance.

The others all sound fine, good on you! - i would love to do something like this, but my parents are NOT supportive of my "photography>study" attitude.

Another thing is approaching models who need portfolio shots - they don't want to pay a photographer, you don't want to pay a model! easy peasy.

Originally Posted by outbackbon

i really wouldn't do the wedding just yet - although it makes sense to us that a lower price = lower quality, no-one wants anything but the best for their wedding photos. Doing a wedding without experience is just too risky, you are producing the only record of that for them, if it goes wrong there is no second chance.

I disagree. I've met lots of people that want wedding photos but want to pay little or no money. Trust me. Two weeks ago I offered to shoot a wedding for $300, and got turned down! The father of the bride said "Forget it, I'll just shoot it myself".

So when you think of it that way, which is better? An up-and-comer shooting it for free, or a relative with a point & shoot?

And not everyone really cares about photos, even on their wedding day. I shot a wedding last weekend in which the groom was really into it but the bride could've cared less.

[killerasp]

just wanted to update everyone on my progress.

ive been posting my ad on craigslist daily. before, i was doing it once a week after it expired. but now, i seem to get at least 1 - 2 replies a day. ive gotten some requests to do some engagements, some weddings, some parties, and some fundraiser events.

ive booked 2 events (cancer dog walk and a glamor shot with some girls for their 25th bday) for over the next two weekends for me to do. ideally, id like to do one shoot per weekend leaving time for me to do my own personal things.

people have emailed me some pretty weird stuff about modeling (nude) which i would not even respond. there are some weirdos in NYC and id like to avoid them. hahaha

[srt]

I agree with AnneWynne about limiting what u r doing for free. Make sure u r getting the experience that YOU need out of it AND more, because you don't want to end up feeling used.
I have offered my services for free at the kinder my child attends for their latest fundraising thing (pictures of the kids on mugs with the kinder logo). Here I am giving them a more professional result free of charge, but I am making sure that I am getting something in return - yes more experience, but also I am getting exposure in my area (child portraits) free advertising not just via the people who buy the mugs but the kinder will also have my details up in their foyer and in there newsletter.

My point is make sure you give these clients business cards or ask them to put their image up giving you credit (Like in the charity events etc) ask them to recommend you to friends etc, try to get the very most out of it!