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I think the whole idea of this being work for $0 is incorrect. The "pay" comes in the exposure and authority the photographer will build after doing this. If

I think the whole idea of this being work for $0 is incorrect. The "pay" comes in the exposure and authority the photographer will build after doing this. If you're going to hire a wedding photographer, all things being equal, if one says they did the photos for a show that you are familiar with, or appeared in magazines you're familiar with - that is worth a great deal in marketing value. A smart photographer can build enough authority after doing this whereas they will never have to market themselves afterwards.

sli 5y ago
Your "smart" photographer will find themselves hungry and behind on rent while they're busy pretending that they're definitely gonna strike it big once they've got all this exposure. You can't cash in on it, it's not guaranteed to do anything for you, but money will always pay for food.
JackFr 5y ago
> If you're going to hire a wedding photographer, all things being equal, if one says they did the photos for a show that you are familiar with, or appeared in magazines you're familiar with - that is worth a great deal in marketing value. Not really. No one knows wedding photographers by name. The absolutely most famous wedding photographer in the world is .... who? If you’ve gotten a customer far enough in your funnel that you’re able to boast about the Netflix show, the bulk of the marketing is done already. That might seal the deal sure, but regardless they’re gonna want to see examples of your work. Finally, wedding photographers aren’t vanity purchases in the sense that there’s no designer label to show off. All there is are photographs. And if the photographs are great, no one cares who took them.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Also I wonder if such exposure will have negative effect overall. That is getting timewasters that are not actually interested in your product, but your experience at show. A appearance on show might make you competitive against someone at similar price when doing head-to-head comparison, but someone who is cheaper cause not offering free opportunities might beat you. I really doubt there is very great up-side.
calibas 5y ago
>The "pay" comes in the exposure and authority the photographer will build after doing this. This is the line every questionable business uses when trying to get freelancers to work for free. It's well-known and despised.
- supernova87a 5y ago
  If it's well-known, then why do people agree to it?
  - calibas 5y ago
    When you're new to freelancing, you generally have a lot of free time and it's better to take any job, even unpaid, than do nothing at all. It's more out of desperation than someone actually believing unpaid work is fair. Edit: For a little perspective. Whatever job you do, please come to me and do it for free, I'll post a good review for you online.
rurp 5y ago
The Oatmeal gives a good response to this. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure As others have said, your argument is popular with business owners trying to avoid paying money to workers, but in reality it largely just excludes anyone who is not from a privileged background.
- sixQuarks 5y ago
  I’m actually coming at this from a marketing based background. It’s just obvious to me how a photographer could take huge advantage of this, but of course they would need to know how to promote correctly.

sli 5y ago

Your "smart" photographer will find themselves hungry and behind on rent while they're busy pretending that they're definitely gonna strike it big once they've got all this exposure. You can't cash in on it, it's not guaranteed to do anything for you, but money will always pay for food.

JackFr 5y ago

> If you're going to hire a wedding photographer, all things being equal, if one says they did the photos for a show that you are familiar with, or appeared in magazines you're familiar with - that is worth a great deal in marketing value. Not really. No one knows wedding photographers by name. The absolutely most famous wedding photographer in the world is .... who? If you’ve gotten a customer far enough in your funnel that you’re able to boast about the Netflix show, the bulk of the marketing is done already. That might seal the deal sure, but regardless they’re gonna want to see examples of your work. Finally, wedding photographers aren’t vanity purchases in the sense that there’s no designer label to show off. All there is are photographs. And if the photographs are great, no one cares who took them.

Ekaros 5y ago
Also I wonder if such exposure will have negative effect overall. That is getting timewasters that are not actually interested in your product, but your experience at show. A appearance on show might make you competitive against someone at similar price when doing head-to-head comparison, but someone who is cheaper cause not offering free opportunities might beat you. I really doubt there is very great up-side.

calibas 5y ago

>The "pay" comes in the exposure and authority the photographer will build after doing this. This is the line every questionable business uses when trying to get freelancers to work for free. It's well-known and despised.

supernova87a 5y ago
If it's well-known, then why do people agree to it?
- calibas 5y ago
  When you're new to freelancing, you generally have a lot of free time and it's better to take any job, even unpaid, than do nothing at all. It's more out of desperation than someone actually believing unpaid work is fair. Edit: For a little perspective. Whatever job you do, please come to me and do it for free, I'll post a good review for you online.

rurp 5y ago

The Oatmeal gives a good response to this. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure As others have said, your argument is popular with business owners trying to avoid paying money to workers, but in reality it largely just excludes anyone who is not from a privileged background.

sixQuarks 5y ago
I’m actually coming at this from a marketing based background. It’s just obvious to me how a photographer could take huge advantage of this, but of course they would need to know how to promote correctly.