Why do photographers charge for their work?
Why do photographers charge for their work?
The question seems rhetorical and the answer blindingly obvious. But in today's ever increasing society of "I want it for nothing" the value of work produced by a photographer - and a whole raft of other vocations - is being eroded. Partly to blame is, in my opinion, the willingness of those starting out to simply give their work away in return for supposed recognition. Companies on social media who ask people for use of their images (for free, of course) are not doing it for the good of your health. They are doing it to promote their brand and therefore to make money. It is exploitation in direct form and you, the person who worked to produce the image, will get nothing for it in return but instead the dilution of the very value you seek to acquire by utilising your skillset. Then there are in fact the more unscrupulous ways of devaluing someone's hard work - those who simply steal it. Not solely an attribute of individuals who don't want to pay for imagery to use in their blogs or publications but large entities that publish well known newspapers have been known to do this as well. This is the primary reason why anything I upload to social media is heavily downsized and/or often watermarked.
Let's take a look for a moment at what it costs to be a photographer. First off you need the gear. A competent professional level camera will generally set you back at least £1500 new or nearly new. Since a photographer in the field earning money from what they do will not want to risk losing a job to equipment failure, many pros will carry two camera bodies. That's £3000, but for a couple of good quality lenses you can easily bump that up to £5000. Then you're going to need some accessories; filters, tripod, remotes, perhaps some flashes, a decent bag. Anything up to another £1000 for that lot. In the same way that traditional photographs on film were developed in a dark room, most of the time to get the best out of digital imagery it also needs to be "developed" in software. Noise reduction, changes in exposure, local retouching, removal of dust spots etc. For all of that and for the cataloguing and storage of the images you need a decent computer system and software. Depending on how much power you need this will start at around £1000 but only go up from there. So we're at a minimum of £7000 now and we don't even have liability insurance, some cash saved away for repairs or a rainy day fund and neither has the photographer even stepped out of the door. Call it £10,000 to be on the safe side, and that's only for someone starting out. Some lenses alone cost more than that.
The financial aspect is only a part of the equation. Part of what you're paying for when you ask someone to carry out a service is their skillset. The desire to chase the shot in their minds eye and the sheer grit and determination it takes to stand in the rain waiting for a bird to grab a fish, or to stand on a motorway bridge at 5 o'clock in the morning waiting for the sun to appear in between some clouds, or for the photographer to travel a lengthy distance to photograph something obscure and interesting in an artistic and tasteful way. While I'm not a professional (still quite a way off myself) I can relate to some of the above points as a budding hobbyist and stock photographer. I currently see stock photography as a way of helping me get out and realise my hobby and as a bonus it helps to fund some of the gear I use. But even then, the ever decreasing royalties as the constant pressure from people to have something for nothing (or as close to it as possible) constantly puts a squeeze on the hard worker trying to earn a living from their skillset. I dread to think what it's like doing this full time - but perhaps one day I will get good enough to find out.
Next time you ask for something for free, no matter what it is, consider two things - who are you potentially harming in the process and is what you are getting really free?
My gear: Sony SLT-A99 & A77ii. Various lenses and accessories.
I'm now on Insta AND Facebook!
https://www.instagram.com/expl0rethis/
https://www.facebook.com/cal.fraser.77
My personal website: https://llum.co
I sell on various stock libraries and would be happy to discuss any private sales of images.