snaps and hookers.

photography is a bit like prostitution.

the people who pay for photography are not unlike the people who pay for sex. you go that extra mile when you don't have a friend who will do it for free, or you're so desperate, you'll pay anything.

i mean, why pay for something you can get for free?

this came up in a conversation with a co-worker about a new online publication our paper is doing, a one-stop roundup of music and entertainment in the area. not the prostitution part, but paying for photographs. with a new, purely online publication, a big issue has been how to come up with revenue to keep it afloat. across the board, ad revenues for web are down, so they're thinking "outside the box". since we do artist profiles and bios, and i'm going to have to shoot a lot of the portraits, one idea that came out was to give the photos to the artist to use to promote his or herself.

sounds harmless enough, but looking at it a little longer i realized this is bad news.

why? because as a freelancer in town, i get jobs to photograph shows and portraits for bands, which i can charge my own fee for. it gives value to the product i give the artist. and a lot of freelancers do the same thing. it's how photographers earn a living. so yes, it's an undercut to me personally, but worse, it upsets the value system for all photographers when people find professionals to do work for them for free all the time.

so in effect, if this publication were to give away our written bios and professional portraits to every artist (100 to 200 people just to start) to use to promote themselves in press kits, album covers, press releases, web sites, etc etc., then what happens to those writers, photographers, promoters, PR people who make livings on providing these valuable services to those musicians?

they get nothing.

and not that it's a bad idea to help people out. but you can't do everything at a cost to you when you're in a business like this. if you do that, you won't be taking pictures for long... you'll be putting in double-shifts at the coffee shop or the restaurant to make rent.

so photographers, get some compensation for your work, let it keep that value for the people you photograph.

and ladies, remember to get paid.