If I had to think about it, about 90 percent of the work I get can be stemmed from a contact I met on a job I did for free, especially in the beginning. And if I were honest, its probably closer to 100 percent of the jobs. When I first picked up a camera I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew that if I offered free work, with my two rules in life I knew I could count on myself that no matter what were to come from this job, it would be beneficial. Just think about it, no matter what every experience is a learning opportunity and if you do the job for free normally people really admire the fact that you are willing to sacrifice for them. If it’s a photography job, they usually let you have the rights to the photos and because theres often new growth to come out of the shoot, its really a win-win. To be blunt, regardless of the things that would benefit me from the job, I was lucky to even get chosen for the job, and that humbling, yet confidence booster, was always at least one thing to take away from a shoot. But its really not about you, its about what you have to do to succeed at the job. And that takes, ethic, morals and values. If you take these 3 things seriously, theres a pretty damn high chance you wont just get great results, but your contacts will grow as well as your skill and your experience as a worker.
Now there were shoots where things didn’t work out or I didn’t do my best, but I can count on one hand all the times Ive worked on a shoot where I left a job feeling like I failed because I either didn’t give 100 percent of my effort, or I had an issue with someone. I don’t like to be considered an example of anything, but I have to say though I am proof that if you bust your ass and show people you know how to work hard, and you actually want to work hard for them, many will respect you. And that is a better than having skill, ability, or talent. Having never judged a job or a gig, I learned a lot from working with all types of people. From paroles to trustees, Ive learned one thing, businesses run on trust and interests. And trust? Its earned. Its earned through hard work and support of the interests. Bust your ass for someone and what they believe in? And they will remember you. Bust your ass for someone, and the thing you were busting your ass for turns out great? Dude, you’re golden. It really all goes back to two things… Give a shit, and don’t be a dick. This is the ethic I learned from the greatest man in my life, my father. No matter how hard I work, I know that he worked harder at some point and it pushes me forward. (So Dad, thank you and I love ya.) But how well does this all work within balance? There must come a time where this ethic becomes costly, on you, your time and on your price. The balance is explained in its breakdown, what’s more important? You? Body, mind, health, spirit. Your time? You could be doing something else that could benefit you more. Or your price? How much does this all mean to you? Whats your worth. Better question, what’s its worth to you? How will this job better you? Will you learn more about something after this? How many people will you meet from this? What would you really be doing if you weren’t doing this? Is there a better situation to be in? I cant answer theses questions for you, but if your reading this because you like how I work or the work I am putting out in the world, then these are the questions I ask myself. Over, and over, and over again. And 99 times out of 100, it’s a no brainer.
But let’s get into it, you may say that its not worth it to work for free. And yes I AGREE. Some things aren’t worth it. You need to figure out what’s more important. You need to know and understand what exactly makes up your worth. To me, the most important thing is time. And time is money. Travel time, time working, time shooting, time editing, time thinking about the job, it all adds up to a value. But yet again, what’s the value of experience? I’d say one would value that pretty high. Doing work for free will at least give you two things, experience and knowledge. Whats the value of knowledge? Again, valued pretty damn high.. And if you take the job seriously and give a shit about it, you’ll gain more than just that. With all of this, a job is great to learn and grow from, but the best job is the one that challenges you. What you gain most by taking on challenges and doing things that may seem too difficult, is that you expand the threshold of what you thought you could accomplish. In short it’s an awesome confidence booster and will make you want to go even further the next time. And if you fail, and the job was too challenging, you’ll learn from that more than any other experience I can ever explain or give examples for. Cut to last week where I’m currently sitting outside of the location I’m on call for as a Gaffer on an Indy film, and I’m FREAKING OUT. The level of production is a hell of a lot bigger than me and I’m definitely under certified and out of my league. As I try to think about what this shoot will require of me, I am absolutely terrified. So im here, way too early and im listening to my Harry Potter audio book because I know its comfort and it’ll calm me down a bit. Now the production scale of the film industry is weird, an Indy Film can cost absolutely nothing or, could cost a million plus dollars, and this movie seemed to be right in the middle. I don’t know a whole lot about this tier of Indy filmmaking, but I saw an opportunity for a pro bono job awhile back and took it, networked during the shoot, met this films director and she’s taking a shot on me. Its my third day, its back breaking work and I have no idea if I’m getting paid or not. But does that really matter? This is “free” education, and ill be gaining experience and skills I didn’t have before it. So I will go into it like I go into everything, I’m going to give it my 100 percent and do everything that’s asked for me, and more. I Just received a text from my producer and they’re ready for me upstairs. Here I go, wish me luck.
(PS. I did just fine that day, and the next day - more about this production in a future article)
Now recently one of my favorite musicians was about to start his “resurgence tour” and I thought this may be a good opportunity to reach out and see if he could use a photographer. Have I ever done band photos, or live performance photography? Nope. Did that matter? Nope. Did I ever want to? I don’t know, it just seemed like an interesting opportunity. So with nothing but blind faith and good manners I decided to reach out to him through instagram. Again following the same path I’ve traveled countless times before, I offered them my services for free. At this point with a website and social media filled of examples of good work, I had some leverage, and I guess they agreed because they gave me a shot. Now, this is kind of a unique example, I was about to work with an idol of mine so I didn’t care if they offered money, because I wouldn’t have taken it. I’d do anything to even talk to this guy let alone work with him. And what an amazing feeling it is to genuinely do something for someone. One of my favorite things is to capture someone’s moment in time, document that life moment and give them a physical tangible representation of it, AKA give them a developed photo. So not only did I really, really want to work for him I wanted to give him my all. Not just give a shit, but treat this job like its life or death. Essentially, I wanted to return the favor. I’ve enjoyed this mans art for 15 years! How lucky am I to have the opportunity to attempt to do the same!? That night, I believe he saw that passion and that love in my craft and myself. I believe he realized that not only was I a serious photographer but there was something else, he saw my love and ethic. And I believe these things transcribe the photos I took. After the shoot he was extremely thankful and humbled, and it was the best response I could have gotten. That connection with him was 100 times better than really great photos, and thats why you do it. And you do it, again, and again, and again. No matter your work experience, level of technical skills, or talent you have. Nothing trumps passionate hard work, and I think the photos are proof of that.
(And if you want to see the Fred photos please check them out here!)
If you’ve read to this point, I thank you. This article and my approach to work and life are pretty self involved and individualistic, I get this isn’t practical for everyone in every situation. I’m extremely lucky to have been able to pick and choose the way I live my life. I don’t have many responsibilities my parents had, or a single mother has, or what you have. I’m blessed and privileged to be able to have done this. But I know me being blessed and privileged had little to do compared to my ethic, morals and value of my work. At the end of the day theres a joke in my family about what Ive done and my “faking it till I make it”, taking on bigger responsibilities and titles I shouldn’t have without true training or schooling. Truthfully, I think everyone is faking it, or at least faked it in the beginning. So next time you have an opportunity or a job that you want and you’re willing to sacrifice everything, remember that if you put your all into it, do your job and then some, theres an overwhelming chance you’ll be gaining a hell of a lot more in the long run.