Pay to Play
Written on March 17, 2008
(By the way, I love when APE writes posts like these, so I can piggyback off of it.)
Anyways it generated over 100 comments and not much more really needs to be said but here’s my humble take on it.
Others might disagree, but more than any other editorial category, great fashion editorials really help those photographers get noticed…and hopefully the exposure eventually leads to more elite editorial work and the lucrative advertising work.
Obviously the elite names have sizable budgets and rates for their stories…and even more so if they happen to be on contract. This subsequently means that there is less left over for other shooters.
As APE said, it has always been done this way and unless something changes (and one can’t really be sure what that change would be) it will continue to be done this way.
When Alexey Brodovitch was at Harper’s Bazaar, he was the one who discovered the likes of Penn, Hiro and Avedon, and helped push their careers to their legendary heights…nowadays names such as Fabien Baron and Dennis Freedman hold that power, but fashion editors have a tremendous amount of power now as well in helping make a photographer’s career.
No decent fashion photographer worth their salt would use sourcebooks…the only one they would use is Le Book (which of course mostly aimed at the fashion world). For them, fashion editorials are their effective advertising tools for themselves and their work.
At any rate the photographers who work for free aren’t ruining it for the others…because everyone is doing it. Editorial doesn’t pay, advertising does. That’s one of the first things I learned as an agent…you do the editorial for the creativity and hopefully one day that leads to the advertising work. Editorial work is where you learn what sort of photographer you can be, where you learn to really manage a budget, where you learn how to direct a crew, and learn how to work with the photo editor and art director on creating a great story.
Besides, ask any editorial staffer if they’re happy with their salaries and I don’t think you’ll get many positive answers. It’s just the way it is!
At any rate, the smart photographer will make no money in fees but can easily recoup costs and earn money on the side by owning their own digital equipment, doing their own retouching…common tips of the trade.
Agreed - all of the above is true. Let me add this thought:
Production values and opportunity separate the good from the great. Our egos may not let us all admit this, but there is an enormous amount of photo talent out there. If you want to climb the ladder and a magazine will give you access and money for production - grab it if you can. Write it off as a marketing investment if that makes you feel better.
Copyrights, creative fees, personal style, it means nothing if you don’t have opportunity, no one knows who you are, or you can’t feed yourself.
I wish you had posted the above on the APE thread! I felt alone over there, and people just didn’t get it. I was also amazed at all the people overspending on non-paid editorials, not owning their own stuff, etc. Phew.
Hahaha. I love the photo you used for this.