{"id":63796,"date":"2017-08-24T20:28:50","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T03:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=63796"},"modified":"2017-08-24T21:16:21","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T04:16:21","slug":"your-photographic-labor-is-not-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/24\/your-photographic-labor-is-not-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Photographic Labor is Not Free"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"CAMERA
CAMERA MONEY USD by ANNETTE KIM<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear photographer,<\/p>\n

Your labor is not free. Your time, life, and energy and resources are not free.<\/p>\n

Then, why do you give up your precious labor for free?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thank you Cindy<\/h2>\n
\"Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s
Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s creative boostrapped standing desk. At Ryokan in Uji, Kyoto 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This essay is inspired by Cindy Nguyen and her essay, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My Labor is Not Free<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD PDF: Your Photographic Labor is Not Free<\/a><\/p>\n

What is Labor?<\/h2>\n
\"EURO
EURO CAMERA MONEY by ANNETTE KIM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okay, so to me… \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Labor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is generally physical movement that is kind of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unpleasant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

For example, it might mean having to do taxes, commuting, doing expenses, or anything else you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like doing.<\/p>\n

The tricky thing\u00ef\u00bc\u0161we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Labor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d anymore. We just use the simple term, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is used all the time, to denote both<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Creative Labor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unpleasant labor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

For example, as a photographer, I enjoy my creative labor. I enjoy interacting with my subjects, I enjoy composition, I enjoy clicking pictures. I enjoy choosing my favorite images, and post processing them.<\/p>\n

Things I do NOT enjoy in photography\u00ef\u00bc\u0161having to deal with fussy clients with all these \u00e2\u20ac\u0153opinions\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enjoy having to send lots of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153back and forth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d emails. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to commute. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to having to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153photoshop out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153physical imperfections\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in my pictures, like getting rid of pimples, acne, or moles.<\/p>\n

What do you value an hour of your time?<\/h2>\n

\"CAMERA<\/p>\n

Anyways, a lot of photographers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see their Labor as costing them anything.<\/p>\n

Consider, the time needed to commute to do a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shoot. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you drive on the 405 in Los Angeles (the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest parking lot). It might take you an hour to get somewhere. Then an hour and a half to get back home. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 2.5 hours. What do you value an hour of your labor? Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say the average person earns $20 an hour at their 40-Hour workweek ($40,000 USD a year salary). That means the cost of your commute cost you 2.5 hours x $20 = $45.<\/p>\n

Lost opportunities<\/h2>\n
\"What
Fiat currency. ERIC KIM x THE MONEY TEAM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also consider the time you already<\/em> invested in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153communicating\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with your client. You might have spent a few days, messaging and emailing your client back and forth. The actual time isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t important… the bigger cost is the INTERRUPTION COST or the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153opportunity cost.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d For example, wasting your focus on this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free shoot\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for two or three days TAKES AWAY from your focus to do more important things, like spending time with friends or family, building your personal portfolio website, or contacting other<\/em> clients (who will actually pay real money for your photographic services).<\/p>\n

Do you like looking through thousands of pictures?<\/h2>\n
\"YEN
YEN CAMERA MONEY by ANNETTE KIM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also consider, if you do a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shoot, all the time needed to look through all the pictures, choose the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ones, and having to post process them all.<\/p>\n

For myself, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shot a few weddings \u00e2\u20ac\u0153for free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for friends, family, and people I like. I really enjoyed shooting the weddings. But having to sit down at a computer and choose the best pictures from 2,000 Images is stressful to me, and not fun. And it is hard to post process pictures, especially to make skin tones look good. And when you have mixed lighting, or when you use flash.<\/p>\n

One tip: to reduce the time needed to post process your pictures, shoot RAW + JPEG, and for 90% of the Images, just use the JPEG images.<\/strong> If the jpeg image looks really bad, then refer to the RAW file and fix the white balance, or the exposure.<\/p>\n

Show me the money<\/h2>\n
\"Suits
Suits in front of currency exchange. London, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyways, also, realize that the danger of doing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for this arbitrary \u00e2\u20ac\u0153building your portfolio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153for potential future collaborations\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is all bullshit.<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work for free anymore, when it comes to photography, unless it is for friends or family that I really really want to help, or for non-profit or charity things I care about.<\/p>\n

\"Back
Back of Japanese suit. Tokyo, 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The simple rule:<\/p>\n

\n If someone or a company is making money from your pictures (either directly or indirectly), you MUST CHARGE MONEY.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also,<\/p>\n

\n Choose cold hard cash, over \u00e2\u20ac\u0153uncertain future prospects.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Choose a CERTAIN GAIN (money) over the fake bait, that somehow you will get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153future clients.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The problem of selling your photographic labor for free\u00ef\u00bc\u0161You will only attract more leeches, who will want your labor for free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Practical advice<\/h2>\n
\"Suit
Suit with newspaper. Beverly Hills, 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not against doing your creative labor for free.<\/p>\n

For example, it might be a good idea to do Free creative labor for VERY BIG and high-end luxury companies, or prestigious brands. If you play your cards right, your photographic Labor might lead to you charging $30,000+ for your labor.<\/p>\n

But my biggest suggestion is to ALWAYS BE SKEPTICAL. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a sucker.<\/p>\n

\"Suit
Suit Istanbul, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That means, know that when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re making a decision in your photographic services, never get strong-armed or forced to do creative labor against<\/em> your own free will.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let friends, family, or anybody pressure or guilt you into making pictures for free. YOUR LABOR IS NOT FREE. Every hour you spend on your photographic labor, is one hour SUBTRACTED from time doing what you might really want to do… like reading a book, writing a poem, enjoying an espresso at your favorite coffee shop, or reading a bedtime story to your kid.<\/p>\n

\"SUIT
SUIT with phone in London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When people try to force or pressure you to give away your photographic labor for free, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153explain\u00e2\u20ac\u009d yourself.<\/p>\n

My suggestion\u00ef\u00bc\u0161Just smile and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry, I cannot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And change the subject.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
Woman and suit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nassim Taleb says in his book \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bed of Procrustes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/p>\n

\n Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d more than once if you really mean it.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153NO\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the most powerful two-letter word in your vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Say NO to shit you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wanna do. Say NO to toxic people, toxic relationships, etc.<\/p>\n

\"eric
London, 2012. Suit and French fry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Above all, say NO to giving away your photographic labor for free. Charge money.<\/p>\n

I always trust money more than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153reputation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153potential opportunities\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153respect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

Always put more weight in shekels than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153exposure\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

BE STRONG,
\nERIC<\/p>\n

\n

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101<\/a><\/h1>\n
\"\"
ERIC KIM x HENRI\u00c2\u00a0NECK STRAP<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 by HAPTIC INDUSTRIES<\/a> \/\/ Portrait by Benjamin Thompson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want to make a living (or a killing) from photography, download:<\/p>\n

\n PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANUAL by ERIC KIM<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS 101<\/h2>\n

\"CAMERA<\/p>\n