I often say of photographers that if you don’t value your own work, why should anyone else? To that end, I love it when people post serious ads on Craigslist looking for photographers who will line up to work themselves silly for little to no compensation. Here’s a prime example:
Parenting network is seeking a photographer who would be interested in a collaboration for taking photos of children (3-5 years old) for the cover of our magazine. We would like to hold a one- or two-day event at your studio. Your studio and our website would advertise the event to draw in parents from the Bay Area. On the day(s) of the event, parents would bring in their children to be photographed for the cover of our magazine.
Parents wanting copies of the photos would purchase them from you. Any that we select to use would be provided by you for free since the event would bring you business. We would also credit your studio in our magazine.
If you’re interested, please reply to the email address above. Serious inquiries only, please!
So, my studio, I advertise for you, I work one or two days shooting parents and kids to be on the cover of your magazine? I then have to sell pictures to the people who may (or may not) show up if I want to make any money? The parents should be happy for the pictures, and you shouldn’t have to pay them or me? OH GOSH, IS THIS TRUE – Please please please tell me where to sign up and how can I keep any other photographer from walking off with this tremendous opportunity?
I think Craigslist should often be called the “We want you to work for us but we don’t want to pay you” list. The sad part is, well, you know they’ll probably have a gaggle of photographers lining up at their door thinking that this is a great deal. (It is, just not for them.)
PS: Shame on the folks at Parenting Network. I assume they all like to get paid for the work they do, I’m sure they pay the printer, the distributors, the website folks, etc., and I’m sure they’re happy collect money from subscribers and advertisers. Everyone deserves fair compenstation, except for the stoopid dum photographers.
