The topic for today’s post came from hanging out in different groups online, as well as questions that I have been asked repeatedly by coaching students – how do I get clients, how do I build a portfolio when I’m first starting out, is it wrong to work for free? I’m willing to bet that photographers aren’t the only people that contemplate this. I am sure we aren’t the only industry that is offered intense gigs in exchange for exposure, or struggles to get clients to put value in our services without being able to show what we can do, or have testimonials and reviews that let potential clients know that we do, in fact, know what we are doing and don’t suck. Here’s the thing though, in an oversaturated and often severely undervalued market the other photographers do NOT want to see people working for free. It hurts their hearts. People rant and vent online about how all of the fauxtographers (aka fake photographers) are ruining the industry by giving it all away for free, or at such a low price that they can’t possibly be making a profit and they are bringing the entire industry down. People get passionate and HEATED on this topic.

So then you start to see all of these new photographers who want to do well in the industry but are at a complete loss at how to get their first few clients.

Fair… why on earth would you shell out hundreds of dollars to have someone take pictures of your family, or even crazier, let them handle you brand new, less than 2 week old baby – with no proof that they actually know what they are doing, can deliver a valuable product and provide a good experience at the same time. Of course by the time you are starting to look for clients you WILL be ready, properly trained after taking the time (and potentially money) to educate yourself, but how do you prove that without having solid testimonials or a portfolio to back you up? It’s going to be really, really hard.

So… should they work for free? Or not? Or an experienced photographer that is looking to try something new, switch their style and target a new clientele… or is experiencing total crickets in their inbox and either misses shooting or needs fresh images to post to social to keep it active. What SHOULD they do?

A lot of people aren’t going to like this answer. But my answer is, yes, sometimes we need to work for free. Sometimes it is going to be the most effective and fastest way to build your business, make connections and get reviews or testimonials. You might take a little heat – I can pretty much guarantee I will take a little heat just for saying it, but its true. AND there are ways of doing it without complete dragging the industry down with you, or ending up known as the cheap photographer.

Now I’m obviously not recommending that photographers, or any other person offering a product or service, spend much time in this free zone – in fact I would rather you spend as little time there as possible AND end up making a little bit of money (more on that in a second) while you are at it to help offset your costs. But I do think there is value in offering a up your product or service to the RIGHT people, under the RIGHT circumstances for free. Think of it as an unpaid internship. The value you are receiving in this trade is the experience, the referral and the portfolio.

There are tons of careers that start out with an unpaid internship – or in some cases you actually have to pay to play. University and college educations do not come cheap, but we invest in our education. This is the same principle. You are investing in experience. Experience is huge. It is 100% worth the trade. It will give you confidence. It will give you information on your ideal client – who they are, how to find them and what they want or need from you. It will give you credibility. In the case of someone who is just starting out it will also give you insight into if you are even headed in the right direction.

Ok, so I need to stop for just a quick second and tell