Have to share this recent correspondence I received because I found it so insane that someone out there is going to take this company up on this offer.
Summary:
A beverage company (will remain nameless, not alcoholic) reached out to me and wanted me to basically shoot advertising shots for their brand and for me to share them on my Instagram and Facebook account promoting their product to my followers plus giving a license of the images to them for them to use for commercial purposes.
My payment: a case of their beverages would be delivered to me
You read correctly, free drinks and nothing else. One lousy case of drinks.
Time to value your time and effort in photography if you are a professional or an amateur. Donât devalue yourself and everyone else interested in this as a hobby, side income or career.
Outcome:
I failed to respond to their first email.
They sent me a follow up ;
I replied back that I liked their product and if they liked my photography I would be delighted to work with them.
However I was not interested in selling out my social media following (regardless of size) in exchange for free product and would instantly unfollow anyone on those platforms who would.
I donât think I will be getting a 3rd email from them.
We all have had freebie requests but as Richard said, this one is really bad. You should ask whoever emailed you if they do his/her work at that company for a case of soda per week, because they canât pay their rent with soda and neither can you.
This type of thing is very common in the digital age and so many people end up giving away their art for nothing. Iâm glad you did not sell yourself out for several free beverages. âŚJim
The incident Matt was almost duped into is pretty egregious, and I am glad he didnât fall for it.
Like others, I have been asked to submit images for âimage creditâ only, no payment or any kind of perk.
I have sold some images to local non- profit conservation organizations, and although the payment wasnât huge, it was worthwhile, and I helped the conservation effort at the same time.
-P
Did you consider prompting for a phone call with the requester to upsell them to a paid engagement and to discuss mutually beneficial terms?
Perhaps their position will change after you discuss the creative process and outcome. Many businesses negotiations start with a low ball offer. Maybe it was an opportunity to turn them into a future client
Honestly while I would welcome a good opportunity if it fell in my lap it is not really something I would activate very pursue so rather it go to a guy/girl hungrier than I. I just hope that person gets paid enough to eat and not just drink.
Was it coffee? I responded in a curt manner and then a couple of weeks later got practically the same thing for popcorn.
So yeah⌠your âpaymentâ is the props that they send you for you to use in your post.
But theyâll find someone willing to do it⌠They wonât respond⌠they wonât pay actual money. Theyâre hired by the companies looking to promote their products. The money goes in the pocket of the âinfluencer agencyâ and you get free popcorn and coffee.
Iâve had this type of request happen more often since the age of digital. The one that really stands out is the National Forest Service asking to use a bunch of my images in exchange for giving me âcreditâ. I offered to exchange image usage (on a yearly basis) in return for 2 nights of free usage in one of their cabins they rent out to the public in that particular national forest area. The response was that it was against their regulations and they couldnât do that. Iâm sure they found some other willing photographer who had no idea of the value of their work and gave them free usage.
Thatâs bad Tony, when they are offered a deal that cost them nothing out of pocket and they still turn it down it shows they are not assigning any value to what they are asking for.
We used to get them all the time. Another favorite line was âfree visibility for your photo business.â
Sad thing is, the world is full of the innocent who wonât hesitate to take up their offer. We always consoled ourselves with: âGood. That will take them out of the pro photography gene pool in a hurry.â
