I do free shoots, but I also make an invoice for the shoot to show the costs even though at the bottom I have the 100% discount. This way they know the value of what they are getting for free. Most of the time after they see the invoice they do want to pay me something. I learned this way of dealing with free shoots from photographer RC Concepcion. It works very well.

Best quote ever “ I don’t have money but I want things “. Love it. Gonna use it.

I feel like this podcast needs to be heard not only by the photographers, but also by every single person who thinks photography is easy. Everything that was said in this podcast is like a pure gold. There's so much truth in this, and I encountered pretty much every single thing that was said here.

What happened to me sometimes, I just say "of course" without thinking. Now, I always say "Let me think about that first". Even if you say yes, it gives your "yes" more value.

Just shot my nieces 1st birthday. 1200 pictures (too many group photos, so I snapped like 10 photos per group so everyone was ok), raw, and my sister one day came to me and said: "hey, I want everysingle photo, raws." I said: "no, thats my job, even though I dont work with this kind of events, its my name there". She insisted, my mother also, so I said: "Ok, you want the raws, you will have the raws, but I will not edit any image, do it yourself". She said ok. One week later, she was asking if I was going to edit the photos because she didnt know how to edit the way I do, etc. I just said: whats the point of having all my raw files and I will edit? nonoo, now you edit and thats it. Maybe its the last time she will ask for raw hahaah

I have a variation on the 'bad experience'. I had friends who told me they would pay me for the wedding shoot, we agreed that I would be there from early morning untill late late at night. Since they were paying me and they were my friends, I decided to make it a real good shoot, and that I didn't need to make any money off of it. So I rented an extra body and two lenses and 'hired' a buddy photographer (and paid him!) to come along and assist me as well as do some photography as well. Worked out great. Absolutely great pictures, if I may say so myself. Couple was extremely happy with the first quick results I showed them on a laptop. And that was even before post-processing. The morning after their $$$$ wedding party they went on a three-week $$$$ honeymoon cruise, flying from Amsterdam to Florida to board this posh cruise ship. When they got back, I had their prints, album, slideshows, the works. And they were VERY happy with the end result. I'm still waiting for my money. This June, they have their 5th wedding anniversary. I don't think I'll be at the party.

We stopped our photography a little more than two years ago, because We undervalued our work. We couldn’t purchase equipment because we were pricing out our services incorrectly. We did ALOT of weddings for almost nothing, now I will not touch a wedding. I am happy we never lost the passion for photography we just lost the passion for giving out free and discounted services.

Absolutely agree with the comment, that just because you're a landscape photographer don't mean you're ready to shoot a wedding.

At a car show and spot a Mustang modified with gull wing doors. Take a few shots and the owner approaches me and and ask if I'm a pro, I say I was. He asks if he can see the shots I took and I show him. He asks if I could email them to him, I say yes, go home process 11 shots from raw files and send him low res email friendly files telling him to pick 3 and I'd send high res files should he want to print. He picks 8 of the 11 and asked if I could photoshop out a woman standing behind his car in his favorite shot (you can't make this crap up). Give an inch take a mile. An old friend called these type of people "muzzlers", wanting everything for nothing and often getting it. Only family and very close friend view the end of my "for free" lens anymore, muzzlers need not apply. Great vid, couldn't agree more on weddings; did plenty and the pressure I put on my self was a thousand times greater than any client. The only wedding I'd ever shoot again would be my sons, assuming the wife would even allow it. Cheers.

A friend told me the local chamber of commerce hired a photog to shoot up to 30 headshots of members for $300 total. My jaw dropped at such a ridiculous price. Two weeks later I found out that the photos were so bad they decided to just toss them and forget the shoot ever happened. That news was satisfying.

friend :"Hey, i would love you to come to my party on Saturday" me: " oh cool, i'll come " friend :" but don't forget to bring your camera with you " 😒😒😒😒

Yep, yep, yep. Was asked to cover a wedding for a family member who was genuinely broke. I was happy to do it - until I tried to establish what shots were needed, etc. Total lack of cooperation. I basically had to pin her to the wall to get any response. Then on the day, I was treated as if I was intruding. I once saw a photographer post on a bulletin board asking what gear to take to a wedding shoot. The first three responses were: "don't do it". Good advice.

I did a wedding for free once. I will never do a wedding for free again... I will never do a wedding again...

Takers have no boundaries, givers have to set the boundaries. People will not value your time so definitely preset a time and stick to it, people getting free nything might show up late.

I did a couple free when I first started out, but it quickly because a nightmare. I have a huge family; 18 aunts and uncles, 47 first cousins, and countless extended family and friends to go along with each of those people. And that's just my side, let alone my wife's family and friends. I'd do a shoot, post some images, and then get 30 messages within minutes asking if I could shoot this or that on this or that date, for free or course, because family. The messages would usually start out something like, "Heeeeey cuz..." I will do some for free still if I know someone doesn't have any money. Some of my family is really poor, but they still love their kids and want nice pictures of them. But still, some people just take advantage of you. I did a favor for my niece's husband's sister once. Even though their parents have money, they wouldn't pay for her to get senior pictures and told her if she wanted them then she had to pay. Well, she didn't have any money of course and my niece asked me if I'd be willing to take a few pics of her, just so she'd have something to put in the yearbook. I agreed. Big mistake. That girl had an elaborate four season shoot planned out. She had me traveling all over the place and hiking around with all my gear etc. After I'd invested four separate shoots and over 40 hours of my time, I had to tell her I just couldn't do any more for free. And get this, her tight ass parents had the nerve to get offended! I ended up writing up a Facebook post explaining why I shouldn't/couldn't shoot everyone for free. So now, when any family member besides my parents, sister, nieces, and a couple of older aunts and uncles asks for some pics, they know they have to pay. I do give them a discount and work with those that are truly poor. I usually just tell them to give me what they can, if anything. I worked hard and spent a lot of money on my gear and software and a lot of time and money learning how to be a photographer. Don't come to me looking for a handout, when you can afford to pay, just because you think you can take advantage of the fact that we're family.

LMAO, I'm not a photographer but this translates well to real life too. The first half of my life when I was a kid, we lived in a tropical place, on the beach and I swear my house was like a goddamn hotel, family was always there, didn't think much of it until I was older and realized we were basically a free hotel with free food too. After we moved to the cold Midwest, people rarely visited, also maybe a handful of my parents friends and family reciprocated by offering their places to stay. People are the same no matter where you go.

I did.a free wedding for a friend at church. They contracted a photographer and the night before the wedding she was robbed and about 20k of Canon gear was gone! I got the call 2 hours before the service. They were chill, but I made them disciplined to get most of the standard shots. They were so glad...but what you say is right. Do NOT underestimate the time needed in post to get it out. Weeks and weeks needed! The risks Chelsea relates are spot-on. It approaches a lose-lose because of you are sloppy people are mad. If you are diligent, you lose income if you are a pro. Think twice...no, three times before doing it.

No matter what service or product you provide, it's about respect - from them respecting you to respecting yourself. I don't charge for photographs, but I did run another business. The few times I had grief from folks asking me to cut my price or do it for free, I asked, "Do you work for minimum wage or free? I don't. I'm proud of my work and it's worth it." It doesn't have to be nasty, but respectfully done. Especially with cameras- we all know good gear is NOT cheap. Equally important is your time - that isn't cheap and how many hours have you spent refining your craft? Live by that and you'll be fine. :)

The translations were painfully true :D I had a 50% discount on headshots during the last Christmas holidays (5 best shots edited), it was the 24th of December, the guy shows up one hour late (my family is waiting for me to prepare for the Christmas dinner..), he brings his wife and baby to the shoot because he interpreted it the way that he can get 5 different shots of any kind..total madness but I did it anyway and made sure it would never happen again :P

For years on end, I've filmed and edited video for a friend. When after several 'favors', I told him my equipment was too expensive and I had to survive financially, he just got someone else to make a video-clip for him and denied doing so when confronted. I've got a lot of stories like this. When you are really struggling as a creative freelancer to survive and provide for my wife and kid, behavior like this really hurts. This is a good video, really helpful. Planning ahead is such a good idea. Thanks Tony and Chelsea.

as a mechanic i see this all the time with vehicles , people ask a "favor" and expect me to wave my magic wand and fix 10 years of zero maintenance on the car in 2 seconds for nothing .......... when in actual fact the car needs 2000.00 just in parts and a weeks worth of labour just to make it road worthy again .

This is great advice, not just for photography, but for any creative medium. I do some freelance as a concept artist and animator and I would be asked to do free art all the time. Outside of very close friends, I almost always tell people no. Believe it or not, doing free work or really cheap work really hurts the creative industry as a whole since it skews people's valuation of creative work making it harder for everyone who isn't the top tier to charge sustainable prices.

I photographed my cousins wedding for free, with the outlook of gaining amazing pictures of the grounds and venue as a bonus. It rained heavy all day. The pictures all had to be shot indoors (including groups) leaving me with hours post production and no real extra portfolio images. Consider all outcomes before you say yes.

I have done shoots for friends gratis and felt that many times they did not appreciate the amount of work that was required. They seem to think that I just activated the shutter and poof.... great pictures were the result. I agree that most people don't appreciate the work involved. Thanks for the great video.

I had a woman ask me to photoshop a wedding dress on her and make her look thinner, she wanted it done for $20 and expected me to work from a 2x3 wallet size photo.

Photography is not just about pressing that shutter release button and the shutter sound. The equipments aren't free and the knowledge or experience of the photographer are priceless! For me, if my parents and brother ask for any phtotographs, I will give it to them for free. For any other relatives or friends, I will definitely charge them a little. At least I would get some money for some nice meals and new equipments.

I am a landscape photographer and I am just learning now. People just assumed if i shoot landscapes i can shoot portraits too. I know i cannot pose myself. Forget about posing others. After they insist i go. Take them to location and shoot. Then they say they arent really good. They also say when they take pictures from their mobile, it is much better than my photographs. Doing it for free and get some awesome advice!! Thats an experience!! 😁

I did a free wedding for a mate in a capital city on the other side of the country (Australia). I went a few days early to scout out locations. My wife and kids came too. He paid our airfares there and back and rented a house for us to stay in with him and his bride. We had a great time. Did a pre-wedding shoot. Met most of the wedding party days before the wedding as they were dropping in for drinks BBQs etc. Once home I just sent them pix as they were edited. Unfortunately they split up before i'd finished editing :( Got some great pix for my folio though.

Hi Chelsea and Tony. Since I watch all your videos and have bought your books I think it is safe to say we are friends. I'm sure you wouldn't mind flying over to England to take a few shots of me and my wife, Oh, and also my dog. :)

My worst experience actually did not come from expressly free work, as a matter of fact. Most of the free work I have given was well received by the recipients and their friends and families (I must be doing something right...). My worst experience came from a shoot that I was going to be paid for but that I had agreed to do because I was a friend of the person asking. My friend was a representative for a local corporation that wanted headshots for new executives within their organization. My friend contacted me with a group of other photographers she knew based on previous experience and asked if any of us might be interested. I said I would be interested and outlined what my pricing criteria would be and what the client could expect. My friend had seen quite a bit of my previous work and set a date for me to take the headshots with strict time criteria that each shoot could not last longer than ten or fifteen minutes and that they should be outdoor shots in front of the business's location despite my initial protests at these limitations and the work they could expect with those criteria. A few days later, my friend canceled the shoot with me because she had heard from one of the other photographers she had contacted along with me who had agreed to do the work for $15 less than I had, which the company had initially wanted to pay per shoot. I thought this was fine, and I held to my principles. Then, a day before the initial shoot was scheduled, my friend contacts me again asking if I would be available to shoot anyway. Against my better judgment, I acquiesced. I shot, and my friend reviewed the images before we finished and indicated that she liked them. I asked if they wanted to try any other looks, and they said they did not, so we parted ways. I sent the shots that afternoon only to receive an e-mail within the hour from my friend saying that my shots were unsatisfactory and that they had found another photographer to supply headshots instead, so I would not be getting paid since they were not using my work. I was livid, and I decided never to offer work for that company again. When I asked what the issue was, my friend told me that my shots were not as sharp as some samples she sent and that the colors were odd. The sample images were shot with a Canon 5D Mark III, and I shot with a 5D Mark II. Unless they were pixel peeping, sharpness should not have been an issue since we used the same lens. Also, the Mark III sample images were much softer upon my inspection at the 100% level. I learned my lesson that it is perfectly fine to let some work go.

The problem is the word "free". Nothing is free. It's either at someone else's cost or my own cost. If I don't get paid, then there is a cost to me - and that cost in time has a dollar value attached to it. So I always tell anyone who asks - exactly what it will cost me to do a shoot where I'm not being paid. It helps. And if it doesn't, then I don't want to do anything for a person who doesn't understand the process. And I always make sure I explain the most invisible part of the process - the post production. Anyway, thanks for posting this and speaking honestly about it. I'm very appreciative of this post - and your others, as well.

If it's your work, just say :"don't ask me to do for free the only thing I do for money".

That with boundery is very important. If friend ask me about shooting his wedding, I would say that I would only shoot their portrait, and few group shot, so they would have something nice on their wall. But I would not spend 8-12 hours that day following them around and shoot everything. I can work for an hour and make them a great photo, but I will not spend the rest of the day and evening not having fun, and work for free. Everyone will take photo with their phones anyway. It's nice to have great photo to put on the wall, and that's what I will make them for free. Tell them exactly what your are going to give them, and if they want something more they should pay either you or a professional. Rather if a professional if you want to have fun at the wedding.

Had a friend ask me to photograph his son’s high school band’s last performance before college and told me he would pay me. I drafted a contract but had no chance to present it before the concert. I showed up well before the event and shot a few hundred photos from rehearsal time until it was over (about 4 hours). I showed him and his son the JPGs and they liked about 60 of them. I gave my friend a proposal for processing the 60 RAW photos but he said that there was a misunderstanding and he only intended to pay me for a handful of photos and NOT for the actual shoot! I was wondering if when he was married, he asked the wedding photographer to shoot the ceremony and reception but would only pay him for three or four prints that he chose. After he refused to pay for the photo shoot and the photos he and his son chose, I told him I would rework the proposal. I came up with another proposal that offered about four package choices, each with a specific number of photos processed for a flat fee. He ignored my proposal and offered me $50 for what he termed: “Your efforts” and added that what they would like now are 8 images. What about my shooting efforts, drive to and from the venue, sample edits and presenting the photos for their selection? I took the unedited 60+ photos he and his son liked the most, burned them on CDs and sent them to his home. He obviously misunderstood this and thought it was a gesture of kindness, sending me an e-mail of thanks and later, a check for $50. I returned the check in the the unopened envelope having written on it: “There’s no need”. I have heard from him once or twice when he left a voice mail on my phone and eventually he must have understood the REAL gesture I was thinking of when I completely cut him off!...

Related to the point about the person not realising the value of what they are asking for.... I'd add a con of free photoshoots is when you get messed around after doing it for free. For example, I set aside a couple of days last year for a charity photoshoot, where I ended up hanging around for hours on end and half-shooting only 1 model that didn't even make the final cut, because the organiser had also shot them with their point and shoot. It felt like a complete waste of time, although it had value as a learning experience for dealing with awkward people.

Sometimes a piece to fix your car is 20 dollars, however the reason for paying 200 to fix your car is because it took an hour and a half to find the problem.

Thanks guys, AT LAST!! great video and I think this is a subject that needs to be brought up more regularly. I hope this is the first of a long series of videos like this one as this 'free work' philosophy has to end. Being a professional musician, I can vouch for what Chelsea says when she's referring to music at some point, but allow me to bring to the table my testimony re photography on two (the only two times that happened btw). The first time was at a very close friend's birthday party and the second time happened recently with a Hong Kong Vogue's Model (yes you've read it correctly). My friend is like a sister to me and I was the one to offer my services. And I will redo this. Only for her and her family though. Period. The problem was the guests. The moment they saw a professional DSLR with a lovely lens on it, there was a line from New York to LA to get their free shots! Wtf (What the f/stop!?) It was the end of my lunch pretty much, but what's worse was that I had a caravan of mums with their sprogs all queuing up to get their kids immortalised by the (literally at that point) starving photographer! It got worse. The workload of post-processing files was endless, needless to say, but when I found out from my friend that one of the mums was using my shots to submit it to an advertising agency for her child to perform on TV/press adverts, I hit the roof!! The 'lovely lady' (euphemism open to foul language here and go down heavy here pls) didn't tell me that at that time, and she took advantage a few great shots! Sadly I found out only after these were sent to her. Case study Nr. 2. The HK Vogue's Model. I met her in London in a social occasion and her story checked out. She worked for Vogue (although was no longer active as a model). For me it was a learning curve and an opportunity to shoot a model so I accepted but with reservations. These photos were supposed to be uploaded on her blog and were given to her with the mutual understanding that she wouldn't tamper with the composition/editing image quality of my work. Famous last words, I'm afraid... When I finally saw my uploaded shots, they were cropped, composition was 'decomposed' to put it mildly and what's worse her attitude was totally unappreciative. She now was expecting regular weekly 'free shots' turning up wearing $3,000 clothes, but 'not being able' to afford a photographer! This is where I drew the line. Guys, if people don't understand photography they can go ahead and shoot their weeding with their Samsung/iPhone (and these crap*y lenses these phones comes with), but if they want a proper job done, they need to be prepared to open their wallets and they better be loaded too. People don't have the clue that hitting that shutter button is ONLY the end of a loooong process (sometimes years) and learning curve that a photographer needs to go through before delivering quality shots. Understanding light, exposure, composition, lenses, flash, learning timing and most of all, learning HOW to see, learning how to deviate from the rule of thirds eventually, and last but not least, purchasing several thousands dollars worth of gear plus travel expenses etc. Time is money and we don't survive by eating 'fried air' or by exercising 'good-will gestures'. But it doesn't end here: appreciation and respect for our work will be completely missing when these people get pictures for free, and we, only help destroying the business and art of photography, whilst delivering the wrong message! Just think about that... I'm done, now they'll have to pay for every single shot. Thanks Tony & Chelsea for bringing this up, and yeah, To Be Continued...

I take bad photos. No one asks me for free shots. Hell, no one would want me to photograph them even if I pay them 🤣😂

This is SOOOOO VALID. I just did a cousin's wedding. I was only supposed to help out and ended up shooting the entire wedding FOR FREE!! Then I was rushed for the pictures. Im glad I was able to help, with it being my first camera, But it was draining and exhausting. On top of it I gave them.a monetary gift on top of paying my own way and shipping equipment home.

This was a great video. I am far from being a professional but I do stand my ground on this. I was asked to come to a meeting about a event shoot and they attempted to back me into a corner and tell me I should do the shoot for free because I could get so much exposure. After 10 minutes of tell me they could just take photos with their phone and print them at Walmart. Telling me that I’m just shooting and it is easy and print do not cost that much. I told them thanks and left the meeting.

I did 4 free weddings and 4 free familyshootings this year. I decided that I schould getting ready quickly to charge money for my work. Now I´m in relaxing mode with plenty of good images for my portfolio and working on my website. I had only positive reviews on my work, but I was also very clear and honnest, about my missing experience. I proberbly delivered way to many pictures, but I think they liked the many pictures even if there was a few not crystal clear among. I'm starting up in march 2019

It may take a while, but learning to say no can be very liberating for you. I was a wedding videographer years ago, before becoming a photographer. I learned to say no then; which makes it easier for me now, as a photographer. And, to Tony’s point, I don’t do weddings anymore because I don’t have to. I may shoot one every 3 years or so - and then only for family (close family). If you’re fortunate enough to shoot what you enjoy - do that, and leave wedding photography to wedding photographers. Great show today, can’t wait till you do the follow on - what should we charge. Keep up the great work!

I'm not a wedding photographer. I prefer to shoot landscapes and still lifes for my own enjoyment. Several years ago however I got talked into shooting a wedding for a friend for no money. Lots of work getting the shots and then even more time spent sorting and editing. By the time I got the shots to the bride the wedding was annulled a few weeks later. Never again!

I just want to say, I really admire both of your desires to help other visual creatives find inspiration and knowledge to continue doing what they love. Hitting a creative block is one thing to slow an artist down, but when issues in ones personal life start to diminish motivation in their craft, it get's extremely hard to get up a do something when you are in such a dark place of your emotions. Thank you both so much for being a positive presence in my creative education. It's influencers like you who show me the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel...

My sister asked me to come with her and her family to the Grand Canyon and to bring my camera. The sun was high and harsh, and I experimented with some fill flash. LOL! She only wanted a couple of shots and after some serious post processing, I made her a 24x36 print. She loved it so much, she cried. I was so relieved. That was my first taste of the pressure behind capturing another person's family memories.

Doesn't matter if they are family or friends. If they're always nice, it's free. If they're OK, it's the normal price. If they're assholes, it's 1.5X the normal rate.

This musician went through a list of people he had hired to record his album. He asked me to shoot for his album cover and he was going to send the photos to a graphic designer to do the layout. I told him I could also do the design, but he said he already paid the designer. I took the photos.. I think they came out amazing. We went down to this river and shot on location there. He used two or three for the album... then when we discussed pay, he expected it to be for free. I shot that with a 1600 dollar lens and 800 dollar camera.. well, I learned my lesson. Set terms always or as Chelsea said, "set protocols." But I will certainly keep my eye on his album sales, and we definitely ain't cool anymore.

Oh man Tony, your free photo translator is spot on!! Great episode guys!!

I know you all have stories about times you’ve worked for free. Let it all out! We’re here for you 😭😭😭

If people want free photos from me, then they'd better be ok with it being one of my ideas and be suited for it. Their idea/concept? They pay. OR it has to be something that is better than what I have in my portfolio.

Chelsea has the remarkable talent to look away from any camera right when it becomes the 'active' camera in the footage. Either that, or there's an LED that warns her which camera is 'active' so she can look away :)

I won't even do a paid wedding anymore..lol. That's some real work.

This is by far my favorite video from you guys. A lot of it resonated with me. I have luckily survived my shoot for free experiences. There is so much truth to this one, it's not even funny. I think you also need to be careful of doing something at a steep discount. Folks tend to ask for more when you charge less. Usually when I give a break on a service, I also reduce time and deliverables also. Of course, I outline this in a contract. I even use contracts for me free stuff (when it happens), stating what service they are getting, what the service normally costs and what the client is receiving. For example, if I am doing a creative shoot and I ask someone to model for it, I outline the number of images they will receive. Usually it is whatever images I decide to use for a blog or post. Never would I do a free shoot that the client plans on monetizing for their own gain. Although I agree with 99.9% of what was shared in this video, I think I would have had to experience it myself for me to be a believer. As a full time working photographer, I think there has to be a selfish benefit from shooting free.

I did a nearly free wedding shoot for a friend... My aversion to being the lead photographer at another wedding has lasted years longer than the marriage...

Perfect comparison from photographers to musicians. :) I really liked this video, thanks and keep it up!

Everything you said is so true. I am not a pro photographer, just hoping to be one some day. I do a lot of free work as a practice at this point and it hurts so much when people that I considered to be somewhere between acquaintances and friends don't appreciate the work, the time and the soul in their shoots. They don't understand the effort it takes me to come up with great shots and the time is spent beyond the push of a button, as you said. Especially since I am doing this beside my regular job which helps me buy the gear that I use. I truly need to learn to just say no to people I don't fully trust that appreciate my gift to them. I am so tempted to share this video on Facebook, but I'm afraid they would still not understand where it's coming from. And BTW, I am so inspired by all the content that you provide. I used to prepare for Microsoft certification using Tony's books, now I'm improving my photography from Tony's books. I have the deepest respect for what you and your entire team are doing for us, photography lovers!

My first wedding I shot 4,000 pictures... plenty of safety shots 😂

Personally I never even consider charging family & my best friend. I literally refuse to charge them. Everyone else however learns very quickly just how much I value my time. :)

Time is the most valuable asset we have , when you say yes to other people you’re saying to yourself that your time is not important

People usually do not value what they get free. The more you charge them for it then the more they value the pictures.

I really like the new studio setup. Seems a bit more relaxed than the old one. For that matter, seems like you guys have been trying to have more fun in general with your videos lately. I dig it! Thanks for the entertaining education.

I’m so glad you both did this video. I get so sick and TIRED of people, mostly strangers, bugging me for free photos. I shoot family and close friends for free only; other than that I charge. I’m providing a service. The gear I’m using cost more then what you pay a month in bills and yet you want free photos? So FREAKING ANNOYING. Love this video.

Recently, I looked for a photgrapher for my wedding - just the ceremony, half an hour before and half an hour after for group shots. I didn't want any post processing and I wanted all the photos. It's approximately 2 hours of work ( the ceremony was 30 min) so I wanted to pay approximately for half a day of somebodys work. It was impossible to get to those terms with any photographer. We finally made the deal with friend of a friend who was a beginner. It turned out great, and we both were happy from the experience.

I’ve been involved in photography for over forty years now. But less than one year for pay. Weddings are a blast to shoot when you are a guest and you were not asked to shoot. It they are excruciating when it’s all on you and you haven’t been in that position much before. My wife and I have covered three now for pay and only one has been for someone we didn’t know. Through school, college, and owning a motorcycle dealership for forty years with my parents, I have never felt so much stress. The last one was for a friend at a reduced rate. I need the experience and recent wedding examples. You are right in all of your comments about weddings. I was physically sore after one. I can’t sleep good for a week before and a day after. Surely it will get better.

Best free photo shoot I did was for a friend who was going to the same gym and knew I always carried a camera, so she asked me to take a few photos. It was right at "golden hour" as the setting sun was casting beautiful yet diffuse lighting. I busted off half a dozen shots and emailed them to her, with the only post-processing work being resizing the images for her intended use (online avatar / profile pictures). It was maybe 7-8 minutes for the shoot, and at most another 5 minutes for the batch resizing before sending them in an email.

I arrived at my friend's wedding and the panicked groom and best man said their photographer bailed on them, and "could I pleeeease?" So I took over. I didn't even have my "wedding flash" that reached further than 20'. The most nerve-wracking thing and no stores were open to buy more film (this was 25 yrs ago). One great thing was, I knew the couple well and recognized they were very stressed, so between the ceremony and the reception I took them to a local playground and said "play". Some of the worst (the church) and the best shots I've ever taken. I got so much word of mouth business from them and our friends...they got it free but I said to others I needed $ and all good friends were OK with it. The ones who wanted freebies were people I barely knew.

I had one experience that I was told to be paid only $300 for me and a friend to record a church concert for about 2 hours. My friend was a second shooter. This was my first paid shoot I ever did. And no contract was signed. On the day of the shoot we arrived and I was told they only could afford to pay $100. I felt bad for my friend cause he left a different job to work for me so I paid all my money to my friend and did the work for free. It also took over 5 hours to do the job. It was terrible. The thing that was very interesting though was that the footage we recorded somehow did not record audio from their feed. And the concert had no audio. Only silent video with scratch audio from the second cameras. Glad I did not have a contract there stating what they would receive. The whole job was a mess and refused to take future work from the client.

Love this video because I'm a full time photographer in Chicago and I tell you what,.. I started in 2005 doing lot's of free work (still doing today as a volunteer for charity and ball's events).. and now I have my own studio with thousands of clients across the country.. doing like $10k to 15k per month.. most because the "word of mouth" .. wow, God is great!

Generally people don't work for free, so why do they ask a photographer will work for free? I support my friends by paying to support their business, so supporting what I do is just the right thing to do. In the past I have photographed weddings and other shoots for free only to get negative feedback, so because of this I do not shoot for free. I pay for gear, models and props so why do others think feel they are entitled for getting it for free. People need to understand I have over four decades of experience and multitudes of investments in equipment. I have shot several weddings and now that I'm old now I leave all the running around to the young. I like photography I don't want others raining on my parade. A grateful request will not go unnoticed!

After retiring from Fortune 500 company where I worked as a staff photographer for 44 years, I volunteered to shoot for the American Cancer Society. I do it as a thank you to the cancer society for its support when my wife had lung cancer. And its fun. It has let me photograph several NFL football games, some very famous people, leading cancer researchers in their labs and some inspiring cancer patients and survivors. Keeps me busy in retirement.

My 1st paid shoot was a friend’s wedding and I did it by myself. I basically did it for free since all I asked for was enough to cover gas and costs of the prints. Took me 2 weeks to edit the photos, and it was an absolute nightmare! Never going that rabbit whole again. I’m still binging on all the episodes. 😁

When I first started photography/videography most of my friends and family would never take a second look at my work. Well it's been 2 years of practicing and composing and buying gear because it's become a passion of mine. Now I get asked for quite a few "favors" or free shoots. The way I justify it is if they're close family or very good friends, if it's not that then I ask can I gain some promotional value from them liking and spreading my work on their social media platforms. As for a bad experience I did a Quinceñera, this is the equivalent of a sweet 16 didn't get to enjoy the celebration I was invited to and was stuck taking photos well into the night great lesson learned.

I totally agree with this. I've never had a paying client let me down without very good reason. I've hardly ever had a free shoot client even contact me before not turning up. I'll only do free shoots for close friends and family and even then only if I offer because I want the images for practice or portfolio, not because they ask.

There's a variation on this. The company that contacts you and says "if you do a heavily discounted job for us, we will put lots of work your way". Answer is "I can' too that, but on your tenth commission I will give you a 20% discount". Be prepared to hear nothing more from them.

I have shot weddings for friends and family before but the last one was for my youngest niece. I hadn't shot much of anything in the previous few years and my lens line-up was seriously deficient. So i tool my trusty old Pentax ME Super and limited selection of lenses to the wedding. I was sweating bullets trying to remember everything I had forgotten about photography. Well it was a good news /bad news deal. The photo's turned out ok, they weren't great but they weren't crap either. The bad news is the marriage only lasted 6 months so I'm sure at some point I will get asked again. And the family went in and bought me my first Pentax digital camera a short while later so at least in this case it worked out.

I hope more photographers will start charging... even if they're not that good, change something.

Q: "Can you photograph my cat"? A: "I hate cats. I'm going to a cat killing party right after this". Friggin' HILARIOUS Chelsea!

ok here goes, my son volunteered me to shoot a wedding "weekend", so he is my son and i said ok , him and i would have a fun weekend , he knew enough to be a second shooter, we had fun! shot probably 800-1000 usable photos, it was a big wedding! so about a month later i met with the bride and her mother for lunch, to deliver the files, they loved the photos. so we finished lunch and i handed her the flash drive and the waitress brought the check at the same time , the bride hands me the flash drive and the lunch check! and says do you mind photoshopping my skin in the pics because i am self conscience about it being blotchy! I was too stunned to speak, she left and i almost gave the waitress the flash drive for a tip. so she'll get her photos{in like 6 months}! thanks i feel better now!!!!!! ps love your videos!!

A friend did ask me to shoot her wedding (for actual money, not free). I don't do weddings though, so I didn't want to ruin it, and passed on the offer ('cause that'd be awkward). She did get a proper wedding photographer who did do a good job though :P

This video was very helpful. I loved Tony's translations :D. When you accept to do photos for free, do you ask people to credit you when they share the photos on social media? It seems obvious, but I have had several experiences where I take photos for free, people post them and don't credit me, so the "word of mouth" benefit doesn't apply.

My very first wedding was a free, and I have to say it was the most learning I've ever done in the span of 7 hrs. the venue was a rundown gym with the bars still attached to walls and the food was served on paper plates. I survived and proud of having 300 images out of 1500 that I gave them and if a person seeing them would never know the images were taken in a place like that. would I do it again No NONO even for 5 k I think I'll pass and knowing what I know I am still surprised I succeeded. Thank you guys for the info you give out its awesome.

8:16 THANK YOU! It's so frustrating to spend a lifetime learning photography and doing the job to have every person with a cell phone lighting up FB with auto focus photos and belittling your work!

For the record, people will most certainly ask a painter to paint their room for free or do electrical work for free if you're an electrician. I have been asked by lots of people I know to do all sorts of things around their houses for free. They figure I have the tools and knowledge, why can't I just help them out.

Shot a friend’s kid wedding and the kid raised his voice and said “take the shot already!” While my camera was trying to focus a backlit sunset. I almost dropped my camera and ran for his neck. But that’s my friends son so I literally smiled and maintained a professional attitude. They complained about some shots were not taken so I put all their pics RAW and jpeg on a thumb drive and dropped them off and now they can find someone else to piss off.

Being new to this I really appreciate the time you guys take to make this type of video. Had many of these situations come up recently and some great information here!

When I was "pretending" to be a photographer, I was approached by someone to shoot photos of their child's graduation. (someone I know), before I had a chance to respond, I was told that they had already approached several other photographers and found their prices too high, and that they had a good camera and could do it themselves but they didn't want to miss the ceremony. After they were finished I politely told them, I don't really do that kind of photography anymore. I finally graduated to the photography genre that does not include anything that walks in a bipedal manner

My sister in law wanted me to take pictures of my nieces, whom I adore so I was more than happy to do it. When we started she completely took over the shoot and since she is an interior designer she fancies herself as being an expert in posing. After some 'suggestions' I even told her , "That would be fine if they were pillows..." I had to provide polite comments, "Oh really? Great idea! etc" and continued to shoot the way I wanted to. In the end she thinks they turned out good because of her advice but if she looked closely, I never used any of her ideas. After all, they turned out nice because I have a big camera, not because I know how to use it! Ha! Ha! My nieces loved them and that's what counts!

Totally agree... photography is one of the most underestimated work types, imo, for the reasons Chelsea mentioned. What's even more misunderstood is modeling. "You just have to stand there"... omg :) People have no idea what a hard work it is to look good, pose deliberately, and essentially come out good on the shots.

"...this is sort of conflicting with my agenda as a cat killer." 😂😂😂

I've only took my mirrorless camera to 1 wedd, which happened to be my nieces, under the agreement that I'm not taking their wedding photographs (they did get a proper wedding photographer), I'll be taking photos I want to take, I WILL BE DRINKING, and photos that may looc blurred to them probably looked fine to me at the time (see previous provision). Managed to take a decent number of casual/stealth shots that she loved and wouldn't be covered under a normal photography package. I also done their baby pictures which was a bit more structured and I had them get a mood board together - not shots toe be copies, but they needed to explain what was special about each photo. I wasn't drinking on that shoot though.

I've done 3 really big weddings for free, all three were really happy with photos....it is a ton of work! Chelsea and Tony 100% correct, I didn't eat or drink anything for all three weddings, didn't have time....complete exhaustion. After watching this podcast and reading what I just wrote, i take away one thing from it all.....IM A COMPLETE IDIOT!!😂😂😂😂

Well on a smaller scale, I took some nice portraits of "friends" which they liked and put up as profile pictures - without even saying "thanks, this is great". Glad to have that experience in a no stakes scenario - I'm done giving away photos for free to anybody but close family and a few select friends.

I did a wedding for a friend that was a total OMG. They got the photography for free. The mother of the bride was someone who I did a good deal of electronics work for. The family showed up in a limo from the Strathallan in Rochester NY ($$$$$$). We went to a boat dock of a million dollar "cottage". I delivered the wedding pictures to the bride (200 8x10 hand printed). She was very pleased. The mother called me and went ballistic because she had no church photos. They were married on boat dock. Hmmm. My family stopped inviting me to weddings when I would not "just bring along my camera" I also moved to Tennessee. :)

this happens in computer technology too sadly, so people ask me for photo, repair their PC, I hate people.

Great video. I won't do 'actually free' ever. I did some headshots for a close friend recently. I was going to say no as soon as I sensed it was coming, but she straight up offered to make dinner and get drinks after. From a cost perspective it wasn't worth it, but like with your friends, I like the person and they didn't ask for completely free - so I went for it :) On the other hand, during my Masters someone wanted headshots. I said okay, and named an outrageous low price. Like completely short. No surprise, they weren't prepared to pay that. I found that quite funny, they wanted me to work for them, to help them get work - but weren't even prepared to pay me 1-2% of what a full timer would have charged. I learned that is a useful thing. If you know the person, and know they aren't minted (aka students) test the water. Works well with your 'set time' recommendation. If they don't even want to go with that - stay well away.

My first wedding was a coworker at the college I worked at and attended as a photography student. She asked me for a price and because I had never done one I told her I would do it as a gift. Back then was film. I had an old sears brand 35mm I was shooting with. After the ceremony and during the group shots my camera locked up and I couldn't continue with my camera. My coworkers mom had a nice camera and she handed it over so I could finish the wedding. Afterwards I just handed them all the film canisters so they could develope them and do as they please. They where very happy to have the negatives to keep.

This is the most informative video on "How Not To Be The Asshole". This gets a like from me.

Good video. I get asked a lot....when I mention a price list I never hear from them again....I’ve even had people blatantly say they want me because I’m good, and they don’t want to pay a pro!! Backhanded insult right there!

something got lost in translation. "just bring your camera to the wedding" also means that there will be no less than two people wandering around with entry-level DSLRs and basic kit lenses snapping the same photos

i miss this format of videos from you guys.. the solo vids are nice but the podcast and these group vids deff are the bee's knees of your channel in my opinion.. eventhough i did really like your latest mavic air vid