The Online Photographer

The Hawkins Axiom

It oughta be axiomatic: "Personally, when I give my services away, which ain't often, I assume I'll never see a dollar from that client, ever." (Josh Hawkins)

I think photographers should use the Hawkins Axiom as a rejoinder whenever anyone asks them to work for free in return for "exposure."

Nonclient: "Well, we can't pay for this work but it will be good exposure for you, and we'll consider you for paid work in the future."

Photographer: "Actually, it's well known in photography that the opposite happens. The only exposure you get from free work is a reputation for working for free, and, if you work for free, most often you'll never, ever get a paid job from that client. So it's considered unwise to work for free for people you respect and want as clients. The idea even has a name—it's called the Hawkins Axiom."

Would that work? Try it sometime?

Probably won't catch on. The takeaway, though: If you want to get paid work from a client, better not work for that client for free.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Mike Cytrynowicz: "Hawkins Axiom sounds good. Like Murphy's Law, etc. Photographer: 'The well-known Hawkins Axiom tells me that if you can't pay for this work, I shouldn't work for this pay.'"

Yvonne: "Perfect, and it could catch on if it spreads around enough. Well said, Josh Hawkins!"

Ed Hawco: "It needs to be catchier in order to catch on as an axiom. How about: The only exposure you get from working for free is exposure as someone who works for free."

Nick D: "The other strange thing I've noticed about clients is that those who want to spend the least are always the most demanding. Clients who have spent decent amounts of money are nearly always really relaxed about the outcomes too. Go figure. My designer colleagues seem to have similar experiences too."

Mike replies: Same with magazine advertisers. A big company that comes in with six full pages won't give you any trouble at all, but the the guy who's bought a $60 classified ad has all sorts of demands and will need lots of handholding.

Sietse Wolters: "In the thirty years that I have been working as a designer I always used three criteria:

1. You have to like the client
2. You have to earn money
3. You have to make good work.

"When you score only two out of three it is still worth doing the job. If you have a pleasant relationship with your client and it pays well, but the results are a bit disappointing, that’s not too bad. If you like the client and you can make great work and you don’t lose money on it, that’s fine. If the client is an asshole, but he pays well and the work is topnotch, that’s okay. But when you score only one out of three don’t do it. Of course starters have to fill their portfolio. And there are always moments when there is not enough work and you have to feed your family (and those of your employees) so you have to grab all the work you can get. But in the end only a nice relationship, only money or only good artwork is not enough if you want to operate professionally."

Mike replies: That's great—very smart. Good advice. Thanks Sietse.

bruce alan greene: "I'm in motion pictures, but it has always been the same situation in this industry: So many desperate hopefuls, that there are many opportunities to work for little or free. And I've had good and bad experiences working for little or nothing. I'll share just one.

"A producer at one of the major media companies was doing a personal project, a short film. There was some small chance that the personal project would lead to a professional project in the future, but that rarely happens.

"But, being an honorable producer, she offered to pay me a small amount. I turned it down and offered to donate my time and even donated $200,000 worth of equipment to the cause. And spent two enjoyable but hard-working weeks on the project.

"The project was completed, but never went anywhere. I have not worked with this producer since (it's been almost a decade now), even on projects for her studio employer.

"But, I am still friends with the producer and we keep in touch.

"CUT TO: three years ago. My daughter graduated from college with a degree in literature. She had no job skills, and no idea what to do. And then, the producer in this story asked me if my daughter might like to see what they do at the studio. Take a little tour. My daughter said 'okay,' not sure what to make of it.

"Two months later my daughter had turned that connection into a job as the lowest production assistant, but she was in. Two years later, she has used that position to get a job as a writer producer at the same company. To my family, this 'freebie' has been one of the best money making investments ever! (of course, all that writing practice in college hasn't hurt her:)

"And the lesson: Don't work cheap or free on a 'for profit' project, and rather than show that you are desperate to work 'cheap,' offer to donate your professional skills at no charge. Show that you are so successful, that you don't need the money.

"For all others, use the Hawkins Axiom."

Blog Note

We have had a death in our family. I will be preoccupied for a couple of days; TOP will return on Friday.

(I will however be at loose ends in the Indianapolis airport at 6:45 this evening—would anyone like to join me there for dinner? You can respond with a comment if you're interested. Please leave a cell phone number. I won't publish it. Plan to bring a couple of prints if you can!)

Please be sure to check out the latest Featured Comments in the previous two posts; many of the comments have raised excellent points and (especially JG's curious experiences) shed light on the peculiar psychology affecting our rather odd, troublesome business.

And here's a fantastic decision tree to answer the question "should you work for free?" Thanks to Yoram for the link.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

No featured comments yet—please check back soon!

How To Make a Million Dollars in Photography

A few more thoughts about working for free. One thing I'm interested in discussing is how badly it works. Tom Kwas notes that he's done work at deep discount for start-ups that promised him paid work later, once they "get their ducks in a row," only to have the same companies hire ad agencies later which then gave the work to their own suppliers. Several others pointed out much the same thing, saying that freebies done for "exposure" only result in more requests for freebies in the future.

Nick D observed that "gratitude or goodwill cannot be assumed," and that's a big problem in my view—half the time when you do people a favor, it results in them being dissatisfied with you in some way, usually because you're not doing more for them than you did!

A few times when I did portraits as a favor, I'll supply one good print of my choosing, and sometimes the recipients are dissatisfied because they didn't get proofs to make their own choices from. I'll explain that that's what I do for paying customers, and that makes them feel like I've somehow given them less than my best. Once, I had a portrait subject absolutely love the portrait I gave her but still wanted to see "all the outtakes," and she got upset when I wouldn't show them to her!

I had another customer who also loved the work I did, but very strongly felt that the price was too high. So I gave him 50% off the bill. And my reward was that he still thought the price was too high.

Another time, I had a customer refuse to pay, but refuse to return the work as well, because he liked it so much. His argument? That I couldn't possibly have any other use for pictures of his family, so I might as well let him keep the prints! I had to show up at his house demanding that the work be returned before he very grudgingly paid me half my bill.

There's that problem: you can't assume goodwill in response to an accommodation. Doing work for free is just as likely to disqualify you for future jobs as it is likely to qualify you for them. And, ironically, charging too little is often just an encouragement for people to think that you charge too much.

I've done what Brad B suggests. He writes, "Yes, there is a problem with peoples' perceptions of the value of things they get for free. One idea I've heard, but never used, it to always sent an invoice, even if your are not charging. List the price you would have charged and then list a discount for the same amount whether it be a 'friend discount' or 'family discount.' This way there is a zero balance, but they can see what they would have been charged, had they not gotten it for free. I'm wondering if there are other TOP readers who have done this." This has worked well for me when giving discounts and doing work for reduced prices. No one objects to paying $75 for materials when I present an invoice that says the price is $750, minus a friendly discount of 90%.

Here's another wrinkle: some photographers won't work for the public. That means no portraits, no weddings. The reason? They want to work for professional buyers who understand how much original photography costs and who have budgets to work with. Many misunderstandings come from working with people who don't know the rules of the game. Some photographers just don't want the hassle.

And (as an aside) that leads me to a little tip. Here's one way to make a million dollars in photography: start an "Angie's List"-style referral, rating, and mediation service for wedding photographers and clients. In my experience, the biggest problem that photographers have with the public is the same as the biggest problem that the public has with photographers. Namely, weddings—misunderstandings, mismatches, and frustrated expectations between wedding photographers and their clients—going both ways. A service that allowed agglomerated independent feedback, that set standards for expectations, and that helped mediate difficulties on both sides would be a boon to all concerned.

There's a real need for this. If some computer-savvy company wants help setting such a thing up, I know exactly how it should should be organized. I'd be happy to consult for a fee. Just please don't ask me to do it for free, or for half price, or in return for the promise of future work.  :-)

Mike

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Malcolm Leader: "As a non-professional photographer I only sell prints when someone falls in love with a shot. I only charge costs plus a bit for my time. Even then, I would rather give away a print free as a gift to good friends. This is what happens most of the time. I can afford it and, this is important, it makes me feel good!

"In my profession as a registered Professional Engineer, I am required to charge my published rates. Discounts and the like are against the law and I could be fined and/or have my license revoked. This is one of the checks to assure quality engineering work is performed and the public is not endangered. Not a bit like photography, I admit!"

Joe Boris: "Count me as one of those photographers who has 'never worked for the public,' until very recently. After 30 years of shooting for ad agencies (or corporations directly), I'm now using an online referral service to market my photographic services directly to the public. After agonizing over which and how many 'perfect' images to post on their site page (just as I have in my advertising portfolio for years), I'm finding that even when my price quote falls within a prospective client's image needs and intended budget for their shoot, half of the time that client looks only at my quote, and never clicks through using the direct link to view my posted work. So fully half of these people requesting a photographer are shopping price alone, after I've paid (a small fee) for the privilege of submitting a quote to them. It bothered me at first, but now I'm just happy not to be creating images for those who are unable to appreciate the difference between cost and quality. 'Free' would be akin to the seventh gate of Hell."

Dave in NM: "The perceived value of professional services is a contentious issue in every field. There have been occasions when my services as an architectural designer have been considered by builders to be a necessary evil, rather than a valuable contribution, necessary to the successful completion of a project. It's a pleasure when I have the opportunity to work with an experienced or an appreciative client that understands what I'm bringing to the process. C'est la vie. You move on, and try to work with and for people who understand."

Steve Caddy: "I echo the 'working for the public' sentiment. Although I'm not a professional photographer, I was a professional designer for well over a decade and have seen the same pattern play out in software development as well as in various kinds of consulting.

"The big end of town not only appreciates the job to the point that they're have the budget and desire to value the work in terms of its effect (when effect is important), but they appreciate that a lot of the value in great professionals is that they don't need to be directed and managed, and that that reliability and consistency has its own inherent savings—both in cash and opportunity. Not only do professional organisations have the budget, they don't have the nit-pickery. They trust you do the job (the set-up, selection, direction, editing). It's part of why they hire you. More money, less hassle, and—if you do the job well—recurring bookings.

"Private individuals and small businesses don't have that mindset or understanding. They bring their personal perceptions of value to it, not their professional ones.

"The caveat is that this value is always going to be weighed against the market rate. We commissioned a reasonably large piece of work a year or two ago, enough to book one or two photographers out for a couple of months, but time pressure meant we needed to move quickly.

"We had three great photographers, who I would have loved to hire, submit quotes that were more in the realm of advertising or feature editorial rates. Close to day rates multiplied by weeks.

"Our budget was realistic, but didn't cater for that, and we only had time to interview serious people who wanted the work and could turn it around. In all three cases, the guys I would have loved to have hired called back weeks later—'I've been thinking about your project and would love to be involved. If my initial quote wasn't palatable I'd be happy to have a conversation about how I could work to your budget; it's an interesting project after all and I'd love to be involved. If you're still interested, lets have lunch in the next couple of weeks to discuss. Looking forward to hearing from you.'

"By that time we were already in production. I was used to seeing that pace of work from my book-publishing days, where product cycles were months or years long, and I was so annoyed! I was annoyed because we could have had better work. But I was more annoyed, because better people, who wanted the work, could have been given the work had they not seen us as a cash cow, had they been aware of the scope of the project and the rates that their contemporaries were charging. It's not 1995 any more."

JK: "A few years ago a friend came to me wanting a print of one of my photos. 'I'll pay whatever you want,' he said, and I knew it wouldn't be a hardship for him to do so. But I was a bit torn, charging full market price to a friend. So we came to what I thought was a fair agreement: in return for the print, a big full-on dinner at his house made by his wife, who is a legendary cook hereabouts.

"Well, I went to considerable effort and expense with the printing and the framing, as one does. He was delighted with it, and promised our big night of food and wine would be forthcoming. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. There always seemed to be an excuse why it couldn't happen yet.

"After a couple years I finally told him, forget about it. Keep the print, forget about the dinner.

"So I've learned my lesson. When it comes to friends, either make it purely a gift or else charge the going rate. If I'd simply given him a dollar amount he would have paid it, and we'd still be friends."