Not every Craigslist “photographer wanted” ad is hogwash. One “photographer wanted” ad I answered turned out to be a $25,000 monthly shoot. Before we all begin scouring the Craiglist photographer ads, we need to be able to read between the lines and ask ourselves a few questions. What is in it for me!
In this economy, you may find a few honest companies that have reduced budgets and need a professional photographer. Check out their website and do a bit of research. Most of all, approach with caution and do the math. How long will this job take and will I make any money?
Yesterday a local photographer friend emailed me a Craigslist Photographer Job Posting, and asked if this was a good prospect to pursue. Lets take a look at this ad and dissect it. My thoughts are in regular type, the ad is in bold.
Freelance Photographer (Seattle)
We are looking for an amazing freelance photographer to conduct informal editorial shoots featuring local businesses in the Seattle Area for our online publication. This is a great opportunity for college students and photographers looking to publish photos on a nationally recognized forum.
We are looking for a gullible & naive photographer whose parents are spending a small fortune on college education and gear and living expenses. Our office overhead is so expensive that we need a photographer to shoot for minimum wage or less. After all, we have to pay ourselves a livable wage, pay the office lease, utilities, so there is very little left for you, sorry sport.
We need you to be quick and effective with the shoot lasting roughly 30 minutes. We are looking for someone who takes incredible digital photos, has reliable transportation, familiar with the Seattle area and is able to process photos with Photoshop.
Quick & effective shoot with incredible images in 30 minutes???? It takes me 30 minutes just to unload, scout the location, speak with the business owner and staff, and set up a light. Reliable transportation and insurance is about $0.50 per mile at best, not considering the initial vehicle investment. Last time I checked, Photoshop and my computer cost about $3500 or about $9.60 per day. Student camera gear at maybe $6000. The skill level required to light and pose a business staff and shoot incredible images…in 30 minutes….not sure even Annie Leibovitz could pull that one off.
You will be initially compensated $50 dollars for each shoot at 3-5 photo shoots per week. The types of shots we need include one exterior shot, 2-3 interior shots and an action shot. These photos will be taken in a popular restaurants, spas, health and fitness centers, and clothing stores during business hours.
Holy shit Batman, during business hours! What is an action shot? Would this be the snapshot of the store manager yelling at me for asking a customer to keep her snotty kids from screwing around with my camera gear??? The exterior shot, let me just get the Windex out of my grip bag, I want to clean your windows first. Regarding the 2-3 interior shots, never have Tim and I not needed to move a chair or two, are the magazines orderly on the coffee table, do the lights have a dimmer…etc. Interiors need styling regardless of how great they may look to the store manager.
$50 wow! Lets break this down further. 45-60 minutes round trip travel and packing time, 30 minutes shooting (right!!), 2 hours editing and processing images (post processing will be a nightmare). Now we are at 3.5 hours before operating costs, travel expenses, and or creative usage fees. You probably have to sign away your image rights….unlimited usage for the client. OH, you will also get 1099′ed at the end of the year.
After all your expenses, no wait, your parents expenses, you just made $5 and produced zero portfolio work. Probably had a shitty time shooting the “job”. Later you show your photo instructor the images….and he/she decides to flunk you in the middle of the semester….or worse…begins sobbing and reconsiders their future in teaching.
If you fancy yourself a great freelance photographer in the Seattle area and are available immediately please send us an e-mail with examples of your previous work. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you are a complete moron, we will welcome you with open arms. We will even buy you a cup of ice water! Once you leave our office, the entire staff will slap each other on the back for finding another clueless “professional photographer” that just netted us $2000 or much much more….for $50 and zero benefits.
Friends, please also read these two great posts below about how the industry is taking advantage of photographers and artists. Know when you are being fooled and learn to say no.
Job Postings Reveal That for Pro Photographers, the Squeeze Is On
Photographers, Don’t Fall for These Client Pick-Up Lines
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5 Comments
Absolutely side-splittingly funny and ACCURATE article. Well done.
Well, I wouldn’t touch it. more than likely it is to acquire your email for marketing schemes.
2nd, I am in your shoes thank god I have 2 jobs my photography and a second business.
Yea, all my programs computer and equipment only cost about $10,000 or more but I shopped sales and was very frugal and made a few sacrifices.
(yea, that 50 bucks seems real tempting)
No, it is not an email marketing scheme. They create mini websites for the small business owner and charge a premium monthly fee.
A friend of mine shot for a similar company for a month to learn the ropes. Now he produces a 10 minute video and website with PROFESSIONAL images and content for about $8000 per company. His work is not only very creative and extremely well produced, but also $4000 less than what the fly-by-night agency was creating. He offers a much better product for less, and still earns a livable wage.
LOL!!
This is great!
The funny thing? they won’t see where you’re coming from with this reply! They will think you have an attitude cause I’m sure they’ve gotten a ton of people that are taking them up at this offer!
I am soooo stealing this theory haha.
Craigslist is a hell-hole by and large these days, regardless of industry. Nobody ever tells you what their company name is (if any), how much money is really available to make, etc. The lack of quality control is one of the reasons craigslist lost the battle online to grow like some other sites from the era. Craigslist is now a wasteland primarily, far and few legitimate businesses/opportunities are there, or the real waulity ones that are, have been marred by the countless repetitive listings for all the nonsense that is there. Just awful. I actually wrote, in part, about this topic in the past. You can see that article here, although not a fan of suite101′s shady practices…live and learn.
http://www.suite101.com/content/what-employers-career-opportunities–job-postings-say-about-them-a261100
Brandon