Know what Your Work is Worth. : A Warning to Starting Out Photographers
I recently went through a terrible ordeal with Liz Claiborne and decided it was best to write about my experience with the company and hope that others learn from my experience. I’ve had my fair shares of crappy clients and clients who take advantage of me, but this takes the cake.
Last year during Fashion Week I had the honor and privilege of meeting Tim Gunn. I was in the VIP lounge for the Project Runway show and he was the special guest speaker. After he spoke, he was kind enough to let us take photos of him and with him. I asked him to pose for me and he obliged and I took one of the best photos I’ve ever taken, though at the time, I didn’t think so. There was literally no light in the booth and I was bouncing my flash everywhere trying to get a decent shot. I spent hours in Photoshop trying to salvage the photo and to my delight, the end product was something I was very proud of.
Tim Gunn’s words really meant a lot to me. He spoke about how he and his company (Liz Claiborne) were trying to change the fashion industry for the better. I honestly believed him. He was so charming and lovable.
I was a sucker.
A few weeks ago an e-mail was sent to an e-mail account I never use that I’ve had since I was 11. They told me they represented Tim Gunn and found my photo of Tim Gunn on deviantART of all places and they were interested in purchasing usage rights for the photo. I ended up calling the firm to make sure it wasn’t a prank and to ask where they got that e-mail from. They told me that they had been trying to contact me for some time and they asked deviantART for my contact information and that was all they could give them (I probably started the account with that e-mail).
I was so excited that I was jumping around in the shower. I was so happy. I’ve kinda been deemed as having the worst luck in the world. It was nice to finally seemingly win one.
A couple days later I get an e-mail from the Marketing Director at Liz Claiborne detailing what they planned on using the photo for. It was a huge list. It was a multi-store, multi-brand campaign spanning over three months starting in March. So I started sending out e-mails and calling around to ask advice on the situation. I didn’t want to be taken advantage of. I was advised to ask what their budget was.
Her response was insulting.
$500. No credit.
I was still incredibly poliet, but I was a bit crushed, to be honest. So I got to work. Four photographers (two of them being professional freelance photographers for 20+ years), two Professors and a FotoQuote session later, I had a price. I e-mailed her back. For everything they asked for, the price came to over $9000 (and this was me being VERY generously low). I asked for $6000 and offered them exclusivity for free from March to May. I took my time writing it and had help from a friend. I detailed everything she asked for and priced it according to APA standards. It was fair. BEYOND fair. I anxiously awaited her response.
“Thanks for getting back to me Jessie.
We will be looking for an alternative image to use, but thank you for the below information.”
Livid is not the proper word how I felt. I believed every word he said about the company he worked for. I should have known better really. A huge corporation like that and they are trying to fuck over a photographer.. I should clarify. They were hoping to fuck over a moron.
To add insult to injury, this is the photo they ended up taking to use:
Look familiar? They even had him put on the same suit.
The moral? Don’t let a big corporation dick you over and not pay you what you’re worth. I don’t regret my decision. The funny thing is, if they had offered credit, I probably would have taken their bullshit offer. But $500 and no credit does absolutely nothing for me. These narrow-minded companies think that they are the only ones suffering from the recession. Guess what, buddy? I guarantee I’m suffering more than you and have had to cut back way more than you’ve had to.
I can’t even wear the Liz Claiborne blouses I have without feeling so heart broken. I’m incredibly disappointed in Liz Claiborne.
Taking a stroll around Bryant Park is always a nice way to get photos of people doing normal, everyday things. Here’s a guy taking a smoke break and observing his surroundings.
Today’s photo is the 300 Spartan’s who gave their lives to kick the shit out of the Persian Empire. These guys are just bad asses, there’s not really much to say beyond that. I’m glad I got to take their photo.
Meet my uncles Dan and John. Dan (the one on the left) is the man who introduced me to conventions. He and I share many things in common. He nurtured my love for anime and Star Wars. He’s incredibly crafty and works well with an assortment of materials. John (the on of the right) is incredibly intelligent. He spent three years in China setting up cell phone towers and spreading the word of God. While he and I do not share the same Religious ideals, we have many a good discussions. John lives near me in Jersey while Dan lives in Iowa, where I spent my high school years.
Last night I attended a Mass (as in Church) for the first time in over nine years. It wasn’t a terrible experience, I actually enjoyed it. It was hard work and I was exhausted afterward, but good to know nothing has really changed since my absence. I was asked to take photos of the Mass by one of my clients because it was a big deal in their culture. Monday is a big holiday for them (not Columbus day). The Mass was in Portuguese, so I only understood so much. I went to Catholic school for ten years, church 3-4 times a week. Yeah…
I was going to post something else today, but I have a job tonight and so I will post that on Monday. Today I will post one of my photos from my last visit to my jewelry client http://www.tre-femmes.com She is my most regular client and I love coming up with new ways to take photos of her gorgeous jewelry. This photos isn’t a good representation of some of her more extravagant work so much as a nice photo that I had taken.
If you haven’t noticed it at this point, I love shooting pictures of birds. To me, they are incredibly dynamic. In fact, the photo that made me want to be a photographer was a photo I took of a seagull. I love wings a lot. The way they move is so breathtakingly artistic.
The picture today gives me the willies! I had a lot of trouble editing it because of how creeped out I am of spiders. This guy was about an inch and a half long. The web was HUUUUUUUUGE. He has a buddy next to him too that was a bit smaller. I was so worried that one of them was going to jump at me and bite me ;~;
The whole time I was editing this one, I had that one Cowboy Bebop song stuck in my head that plays when Spike falls out of the window. Dont’ ask me why. I have no answer.