I read that there are three things to consider when accepting a photography assignment. I don’t remember what they are. Ha! From my own experience though, I think there are 4 — compensation, networking, notoriety. and experience. You should look for two of these things when accepting a job.
Let me get back to my client Kings Island for a second. When first offered the opportunity to photograph rollercoasters it was through a staffing/freelance agency that I’m no longer associated with because the pay was less than 1/3 of what I would normally charge for my work. I took the job because allthough the compensation was not there, the opportunity to shoot something in movement was. I love concert and sports photography, partly because I love capturing action. This would be a new experience for me so I had to take it. So my first example goes against what I was saying. Yes, it is true, I sometimes undervalue my work, just to get an opportunity to do something most don’t get to. I think this comes from saying yes to everything that came my way when I first started. I wasn’t sure what I was worth and I wasn’t sure of my abilities.
Now I’m pretty confident of what I can do and what I am willing to do for most sessions. With the experience comes less and less opportunity to accept an assignment for money and experience. Most of the time, i need to find a way to get paid for my work and find others who I can work with. It happens all the time at weddings. People see me working and interacting with the bridal party and family, and I’m always asked for a business card. So there’s compensation and networking.
So what about notoriety? I don’t believe it exists. Really though, I put the least amount of stock in this. People love the service I provide for them, whether it be studio headshots, senior portraits, real estate photography, or corporate event photography, but it never brings me notoriety. I’ve shot commercially for Ford and Home Depot, but I would never take these jobs if I ever expected notoriety. I don’t even get notoriety if musicians use my photography with permission.
As the opportunity for new experiences in my photo sessions diminish, I would hope notoriety would increase, but I haven’t seen it yet. The two most valuable for me at this time is compensation and networking. Of course, I’m still going to get opportunities to photograph things that will make me accept a pay cut, just not as often.
This week, I took one such job. I was compensated for my time and my mileage (but not even by the US standard rate). I did however, get more action shots of people running and jumping and dancing and all kinds of difficult to capture movement.
This is Winter Guard International, “the Sport of Art”. For my client, it was turn and burn, spray and pray while they bank on the potential that any images would be purchased. They don’t even want me to shoot in RAW format. They want everything as is in JPEG format with no edits. That’s fine, as long as I remember to change to RAW format for my next session.
For me, it is exciting and at times moving. It does encompass the most difficult part of sports photography, having your eye on the action when it happens. When you use a telephoto lens(And primarily in a vertical position for these), the rest of the field goes uncovered. For sports photography, I have trained myself to keep both eyes opening while shooting. The telephoto camera eye zoomed in on the action, and the other eye open to the next potential shot. With sports, you generally get a cue with a puck or a ball, but with Winter guard, you don’t. There’s several moving pieces on the stage at once and choreographed in a way that they all move together at the same time. There aren’t refs on the field inadvertently guarding all of the best shots on the field, but there are the flags.
Those damn flags! My shutter speed doesn’t have to be cranked up as much as someone hitting a golf ball or sprinting down the field, but that’s good, because the lighting isn’t exactly that of a pro soccer field. In any event, it was a new challenge that helps me get to where I need to be as the best photographer in Columbus … oh there’s the notoriety!