Commercial

Business Branding Portraits

First Impressions

The power of imagery in todays online world could not be more important. It takes 0.2 of a second for a visitor to your website to form an opinion based on what they see.

We then make the decision to trust someone within 100 milliseconds of seeing their face.

Quality images of yourself, your team, your products and your office is key to attracting clients, being and staying in business. It is often something small businesses put way down on their list when starting a business, but it should not be … first impressions still count. In fact they can make or break a business.

Do I really need business branding portraits?

So isn’t the photo of you at your cousins wedding where granted, you are dressed well and look really nice enough?

Wedding Guest by Lensi Photography

Wedding Guest by Lensi Photography

No it isn’t.

What about the shot of you speaking at a conference or corporate event? After all it is still about business, taken in a business environment?

Awards Event PhotographyAwards Event Photography

Awards photography by Lensi Photography

 

No, thats is not good enough either.

Forbes cites research that says you have milliseconds to create the right impression, that is not a lot of time to prove yourself. Good headshots and branding images show your clients why they should choose you above a competitor. It shows you are serious about your business and professionalism.

Competition

Imagine both your and a competitor both have clean cut polished websites, but your profile shot is the selfie you took in your car on the way to a wedding and theirs is a professional one, who would you choose to work with?

It is important to show the human side of a company but you can do this AND look professional. You can opt for with relaxed business branding shots, you can dress in clothes that tell your story, which may not be a corporate one. Your first job in business is to sell yourself.

Different Types of Business Branding Portraits

1. A relaxed portrait

Not everything in business has to be corporate, especially if this does not tie in your business or your personality.You may not be looking at the camera, laughing or seem to be caught off guard. The skill of your photography in creating and capturing this will be important.

Ruby London Business Branding Portraits by Lensi Photography

Ruby London Business Branding Portraits by Lensi Photography

 

See some of our business branding portraits geared towards YOUR business here. We like to tell the story of the person behind the business, show some of their personality and who you are buying into.

2. A Lifestyle Portrait

You may be doing something in the shot relating to your business, training, working in the office, making something.

Lifestyle Business Portrait

Lifestyle Business Portrait

Your business branding portraits may be in a lifestyle orientated, or studio based, business branding portraits come in a variety of guises.

3. Modern traditional business portrait

This may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it it literally a modern twist to the traditional portrait, where the subject is centred, looking directly at the photography with a neutral background.

Photographer Portrait by Lensi Photography

Relaxed Business Branding Portrait by Lensi Photography

 

We will work with you to help you decide the best style for you.

4. Environmental Portrait

This may be taken in your place of work or somewhere similar. You may have aspects of that work place in the image, so for example a teacher with a classroom in the background.

Environmental Business Branding Portrait

Environmental Business Branding Portrait

 5. Editorial

A created posed and styled editorial type shot, where the industry based props and the environment are an important part of the shot. These take longer to plan and execute, so there will be fewer shots in a session.

Editorial Business Branding Portrait by Lensi Photography

Editorial Business Branding Portrait by Lensi Photography

6. A Basic headshot

Anthony Headshots by Lensi Photography -HR6770-4High or low quality imagery can make or break your business.

Contact us NOW to give your business the best chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography Show Masterclass and Mentoring

“Sometimes the best dreams you will live, are ones you cannot even imagine right now”.

Feather in Cap

I have already achieved more in my career than I imagined all those years ago when starting out. Delivering a Photography Masterclass at The Photography Show was a new feather to add to the cap.

Being asked to deliver a Turning Pro Photography Masterclass at The Photography Show an event I used to attend myself as student and as an emerging photographer is a 2021 highlight.

Made more special by the fact that I was sharing a stage with greats Rankin and Charlie Phillips. My journey to becoming a full time photographer was not a conventional one. Like all great photographers, I did my degree in something completely different! I spent most of my life in other careers and changed careers in my mid 30s.

 

 

I like to think that as an average working class person with no particular privileges in life, my story and path could inspire others, and it turns out … it did! The Google Reviews, Inboxes and Emails from other people who my story resonated with proved testament to this.

Google Review of Turning Pro Photography Masterclass

Other women approaching middle ages, other working class people, others trying to make a go of it without any links to the industry. The Turning Pro Photography Masterclass was for designed with them in mind.

 

Why I wanted to be and do different

I have attended so many photography workshops and left with no real tangible points that I can implement to pursue my own path. I have heard of photographers that were financed by well off families and partners, dads that gifted 2k cameras and parents that were partners in their business.

Many people do not have access to these privileges. I wanted this to be different and be an example of someone who made it without things. I showed the council estate I grew up on; the comprehensive school I attended and gave delegates homework! As you do!

I wanted delegates to implement actions, once they had left my Turning Pro Photography Masterclass , that I had implemented to get to where I am today.

Actions implemented at the Photography Masterclass

Actions implemented at the Photography Masterclass

Mentoring via Patreon

After the show I received so many messages about mentoring I decided to formalise what I already had in place and set up a Patreon page. I was already informally mentoring many people, I lecture at Sandwell College, Dudley College and Walsall Studio School. I have been part of the Blast Series of Workshops for Multi Story and also delivered to BIMM and Birmingham University. Imparting knowledge in photography is not new to me.

In my work with UK Black Female Photographers, further helping emerging photographers in their career. This seemed like the right time to formalise my mentoring of emerging photographers.

 

Real World Lessons

I want merging photographers and creatives to have access to real world lessons and mentorship on how to make a living from being a creative. Most of us cannot afford to work just for the love of it.

Although I also do love my job, I also like having a roof over my head and nice things. I have also noticed a gap in the knowledge colleges and Universities provide around this, as many lecturers are not working photographers.

Google Review for Harris Museum Photography Workshop

Google Review for Harris Museum Photography Workshop

My aim with all of my workshops, any further Turning Pro Photography Masterclass the Photography Show may want to book me for (wink wink) and mentoring; is to build the next generation of photographers with real world skills and knowledge.

I just hope I am remembered in their speeches!

 

Food Photography like a Pro

Follow our simple guide if you want to photograph food like a pro. These food photography tips will help make the process of photographing food easier.

Food Photography

We were commissioned by Divine Cuisine Caterers for a food photography shoot of the Caribbean food they specialise in. Although they had been in business for a while they had not had professional images of their food.

Why are professional images important?

Why are professional images of your product important? Think about when you are shopping online, imagine you know nothing about a product except what you see online. What convinces you to buy into that product? The images and the website. Business through word of mouth is excellent, but if you want to also attract business from outside of your circle, business from bigger clients your window to them, the first thing they will see about you online has to draw them in.

This is why professional images are important. A photographer is providing a company with one of their most important marketing tools, their images.

So how do you go about approaching a commission like this?

# 1 MOOD BOARDS

Understand what images the client is trying to create, what type of look, feel, lighting, textures and styling. If they are unsure take the direction in this.

Create a colour palette and mood board alongside your client. These points will help to create a clear idea of the direction of the shoot. It will prevent dissatisfaction with the final results, in a scenario where the client wanted something completely different.

A mood board can be created on photoshop, pages, canva, Pinterest, or Milanote.

We created a colour palette of bright vibrant colours we felt would compliment the Caribbean Food we were shooting and the spices used in the creation of that food.

food photography mood board

Colour Palette

Hire / consult a stylist. The main subject (the food) in food photography is only part of the picture. Depending on the company you are shooting for this may already be provided and you may work with the person fulfilling this role on the shoot. You may be able to style the shoot yourself if you have the skills for this. If not you may need to work with a  stylist. We styled this shoot ourselves after a clear understanding of the clients needs.

#2 – LIGHTING NATURAL VS ARTIFICIAL

There will be photographers that advise about using natural window lighting and others that are in the artificial lighting camp. I am firmly in the second, natural window lighting is great … if you can get it; but this is England! We often have grey gloomy days, and days where the weather, shadows and colour temperature fluctuate greatly. This just makes for an inconsistent shoot and lots of post processing.

We were also working in a kitchen with no natural light. As a photographer we need to be prepared to work in a variety of conditions and still be able to execute the shoot for the client.  So for consistency we used flash. This was diffused to create a soft shadow on the food and mimic window light as much as possible.

A constant light could be used just as effectively. We always light the food from an angle behind and use reflectors in various places to fill shadows.

The other benefit of using artificial light is that the scene can be set up anywhere and is not limited to shooting near a window.

#3 – STUDIO OR LOCATION

Some commissions will be easy to transfer to a studio, others are easier to shoot on location. This was easier to shoot in the catering premises where the food was being cooked, we had access to lots of extras that we decided to use as the shoot evolved.

For this type of shoot a relatively small space is needed, we set up a studio of about 1m squared in the kitchen.

Food Photography BTS, Caribbean Food

Behind The Scenes Food Photography

#4 – LENSES

Nothing can beat a good macro for food photography. We used a Sigma 70mm Macro and a Canon 50mm f1.8.

If you do not have one of these an alternative may be a 50mm or 35mm. Take advantage of the lowest aperture setting, shoot f2.8 or below on standard primes and f5 or below on a macro.

Aim to have something in focus and other objects that give context to the food out of focus in the frame.

#5 – ANGLES

Unless your client has a clear brief to shoot at a particular angle, we always shoot a range of angles. We use the formula 25 degrees, 75 degrees and 90 degrees for each set up.

Caribbean food photography, lensi photography, food photography

Caribbean food photography, lensi photography, food photography

This will give the client a good range of images for their food photography, as items will look different at various angles.

#6 – THE UNREAL

Styling for food photography like a pro is styling for how it will look in a photo and not reality. By this we mean the main consideration in styling is what it LOOKS like, not what is logical or would taste best.

This may include undercooking the food item, adding garnishes that you would not normally have with that dish, but look right in the photo and using props such as cocktail sticks and double sided tape to hold items at a particular angle.

We also used contrasting colours that still stayed within our colour palette to dress the dishes, which looked aesthetically pleasing.

The contrasting green mint against the white cream and brown chocolate flakes and dar red cherries, which bring the eye to the dessert. The red tea towel also compliments the red cherry sauce in the desert.

#7 – STYLING

If you are styling the image think about EVERYTHING in the frame.

The shape of the plates, cutlery and glasses. The colour and shape of accessories like salt and pepper pots, the colour and texture of the surface you are shooting on.

We tried three different cutlery sets with this shoot. One felt right, the other two were totally wrong, which we could see as soon as we put it next to the food.

#8 – HERO CONTEXT

When styling it is important that the accessories give the correct context to the ‘HERO’ – the food your are photographing. For example, burgers accessorised with a knife and fork would make no sense, coleslaw accessorised with Worcestershire sauce again would not make any sense .

Surround your hero with ‘sidekicks’ that support it.

Do the dishes match the colour or style of the food?  Are the sizes of the accessories proportional? Your HERO still has to dominate the image, it still has to be the biggest and be centre of the frame. Just like Batman could never be smaller than Robin, and still always takes the lead role. Imagine your main item is the ‘HERO’.

Use the ‘sidekicks’ to help tell a story to the viewer.

Accessories such as herbs, condiments, and utensils can tell the viewer how the dish is made. This is a styling method we used for this shot.

curried mutton, caribbean food photography, lensi photography

Divine Cuisine Catering curried mutton and ingredients

Cutlery, tins, glasses, jars, fabric, pots and dishes can speak of the origins of the food. For example if you see a tagine you instantly link this to its North African origins.

food photography

Tagine by Caroline

Place items around the ‘hero’ to add depth, meaning and a story to the photo. A top tip is that some of the unique accessories can be found in second hand shops. Most other accessories can be found in everyday high street shops. These were some of those we took to the shoot.

food photography props Birmingham

Food Photography Birmingham

#9 – LAYERS

Food photography is very much like many other types of other photography.

Layering adds depth to a photo. Photographers speak about this in newborn photography, fashion photographers speak about it in fashion photography, even street photographers speak about this. It may also be referred to as foreground and background interest.

It is a part of your styling and important in building your image. You may want to play around with placing objects in different areas, taking  the shot from the same angles, and deciding on the best photo from the group.

#10 – TRIPOD OR FREE HAND

Shooting with a tripod can allow you to make small changes to a scene and compare them all. This will give you an exact like for like comparison.

This is also important for shoots where you may want to shoot a range of ‘HERO’S’ but have the setting exactly the same. We did this on a cocktails shoot for Bottega Birmingham.

New Logo

Once everything is shot and edited, it is worth thinking about your whole package, will you need a new logo and graphic design. How are the images going to be designed on a flyer or booklet or presented on your website?

We recommend a good Graphic Design and Web Design Company such as Creative Media Design to produce your a logo to compliment a new rebrand. A good Graphic Design company will also ensure your booklets, menus, banners and products that feature the new logo are consistent with the rebrand.

food company logo, company logo, rebrand, graphic design, branding, caribbean food, caribbean drink

Logo by Creative Media Design

creative media design, branding, logo design, rum flavours

New logo used as branding on products

logo branding by Creative Media Design

New Branding for Food Company by Creative Media Design

menu design, graphic design, website design birmingham

Menu design, graphic design, website design Birmingham

Menu, graphic design, graphic designer, graphic design birmingham, caribbean food, food photography, food photographer, salmon, caribbean salmon

Menu Design by Creative Media Design

graphic design, menu design, caribbean food, caribbean food photography, caribbean catering

Graphic Design Caribbean Menu

graphic design, menu design, caribbean food, caribbean food photography, caribbean catering

Caribbean menu example

To commission Lensi Photography for your business Food Photography or to have 121 training sessions to improve your own food photography, contact us on info@lensi.co.uk

To commission Creative Media Design for your graphic design and website needs contact them on info@creativemediadesign.org.uk

Bitesize Copyright …

BiteSize Copyright 

This is a short guide for our customers on what copyright means and how for us and for you, and just to clarify the idea held by some that , if you have paid for images, you can do what you wish with them.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright is legal right that protects the use of your work once your idea has been physically expressed. The current copyright legislation in the UK is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You can find out more about copyright legislation by visiting the Intellectual Property Office. 

The photographer (Lensi – as the author of the image) owns the copyright to the photographs we produce on any commission. We own them, but you get the right to use them. Hopefully the following scenarios will help you understand this a little more, incase you are currently confused. We will use a lot of analogies with music because this is often easier to understand for most, as the lines of photography increasingly become blurred with more and more people having access to photography, the internet meaning right click has left people thinking that images on the internet are free to use and hobbyist photographers contributing to the idea that images have little of no value by giving them away in all kinds of ways. 

In the same way that musicians control who can reproduce their music, photographers control who can reproduce their images.

Shops, hairdressers and pubs etc all need licences to play music – photographers issue licences to enable people to reproduce their images. 

When you commission us for a piece of work, we will ask you about your intended use for the images, and your paperwork will include details of the licence that is issued with your commission. All our commissions include a licence to reproduce for personal use for personal commission such as a birthday party or wedding; and a licence to reproduce for that sole business for commercial  / corporate commissions, this means that your business can use these images for all your marketing uses.

Let us highlight this with a few examples.

birthday party photography

80th Birthday Party Event Photography by Lensi Photography

We shoot your birthday party, you want to put the images on a Facebook folder – FINE

We shoot your birthday party you want to print images for your living room wall – FINE

We shoot your birthday party  you want to get t-shirts made up with one of the images on and sell them to your followers – NOT FINE

We shoot your birthday party, you want to print some images to give to your grandma – FINE

We shoot your birthday party, you want to give an image to the newspaper to accompany an article about you – YOU WOULD NEED TO APPROACH US TO DISCUSS ADDITIONAL FEES THAT MAY BE DUE.

We shoot your corporate event, you want to put the images on pull up banners, websites, leaflets, other marketing materials that are not for sale – FINE

corporate event photography

corporate event photography

We shoot your corporate event, you want to put the images up on display in your school as wall art – FINE

We shoot your corporate event, you want to give the images to other organisations that were at your event also – NOT FINE, this is classed as relicensing an image, which you do not have the authority to do. It is a bit like renting and apartment from a landlord, then sub renting that to other people … you do not have the authority to do so. It would also be a bit like buying a CD from HMV (if one still exists in your area) then making loads of copies and handing them out to your friends … this is illegal.

We shoot your event and you want to place images in a book that is to be sold to third parties – YOU WOULD NEED TO APPROACH US TO DISCUSS ADDITIONAL FEES THAT MAY BE DUE

We shoot your event and you want to place images in a book that will not be sold to third parties – YOU WOULD NEED TO DISCUSS PERMISSION FOR THIS AT THE BOOKING STAGE.

But We Have Paid for the Photos!

Some of you may still have  a voice inside saying … but we paid for the photos.

You have paid for the photographers time and expertise in producing these images and a number of prints / digital images. The copyright to the photos will remain with the photographer, and therefore any reproduction without permission would be an infringement of copyright. Remember we all buy computer software that we pay for also, if you look carefully our new copy of Windows 28 (or whatever it is on now) will state clearly what you have permission to do with that software. It will state you can install it on four machines, or that you can use it fora  whole college. The usage will effect how much you pay for that exact same software.

Some photographers control the use of their images even further, stating what mediums the images can be reproduced on, this is normally the practice when working with large corporates.

What if I want to use the photos for something else?

Just as if you buy a copy of a book, a song, computer software or a DVD of a film, making that purchase doesn’t give you the right to make copies of it, use it outside the terms of your licence or broadcast it to the public. That right remains with the copyright owner. It is exactly the same with photographs. Photographers will negotiate their own rates or use image calculators such as the one created by The Association of Photographers.

 

I want full copyright 

Full copyright is very expensive. You have heard about the copyright disputes over the Beatles and Michael Jacksons music catalogue and in most cases in photography, it is not needed. 

Do you plan on making prints of the photos and selling them? Do you plan on placing the images for license on stock agencies? Do you plan on selling them to newspapers or to an artist to be used on an album cover? Do you want to use the images to market another organisation? Has a mysterious buyer approached you who wants to purchase that particular image for more zeros than you can count? If none of this applies to you, you really do not need a full buyout.

Music vs Photography

Microphone by Israel-Palacio

Microphone by Israel-Palacio

Often we understand the copyright issue easier with other mediums because photography has become so available to everyone, the lines get blurred. Let us give you another example : You commission a song writer and music producer to make you a hit record. They do this, it goes to number one, you perform this all over the world, who owns the song and the music? The Beatles will tell you it is not the person who sang the song or even asked for it to be written or produced. Photographs are exactly the same.

So in short, if you commission us for a personal or business / corporate event, our standard licence will cover most of what you need and want to do with the images, you may need to talk to us about any other uses.

Some further sources for reading :

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481194/c-notice-201401.pdf

https://www.the-aop.org/information/copyright-4-clients/faqs

Fantastic Opportunity to work for FREE!

Anyone fancy working for FREE?

 

 

Imagine a job request looking for someone to work for free, but not just ‘anyone’ they specifically looking for someone that is highly skilled, with years of experience, thousands of pounds of high end equipment, an extensive portfolio, ability to work independently and in groups, with their own transport and links to get articles / images / published in international high end publications.

I often come across or are tagged in a ”fantastic opportunity” that arises from someone that needing an “amazing photographer” and professional service but who does not want an amateur and at the same time to pay for professional expertise.

Reserved for Creatives

If you are not in the creative industry (including but not limited to writers, photographers, dancers, graphic designers, web designers, journalists, artists, musicians) you may have read this so far with a raised eyebrow, or a puzzled look. It doesn’t seem to quite make sense? but this offer to work for free , is an offer we (the creative community) get often.

After nearly 10 years of being full time, it kind of grates on you. Having spent all these years perfecting and improving my art (yes there is much more to it than simply buying a camera pressing a button), after having spent a small mortgage on equipment and training, having worked hard to get to the point where I have been published and work internationally, why do people continue to ask photographers (and other creatives) to work for free?

Work for FREE?

So again you may be scratching your head thinking “I’ve never heard anyone ask a photographer to work for free”. But it doesn’t present itself so direct and clearcut, it comes out in other guises, it has pseudonyms and disguises. No one (well not in my experience to date) comes to you and says “Hey professional photographer, can you come and work for free for me” .

To anyone in the creative community, being asked to work for free will not be a new story, but an age old one, rehashed again and again, but the one thing it generally has in common, the thing that does not change about this story is that your payment is usually EXPOSURE, we call it ‘exposure pounds’ in the industry. It doesn’t pay for new cameras, travel, courses or insurance. Some of the things photographers need to pay for to stay in business.

Camera Kit , work for free, free work

Camera Kit that cannot be purchased with exposure – Jeff Hopper

 

It is not accepted at ASDA when I do my grocery shopping, it is not accepted online when I want to buy a new lens, it is interestingly not accepted as payment terms by the very people offering this as a way of paying you!

work for free, asda

Asda by Lensi Photography

 

 

 

The Work for FREE pitch

The sell usually goes along the lines of “everyone will see your work in our newsletter / on our instagram / website / Facebook and naturally this will bring you lots of paid work”.

So lets test this common sell. Ask yourself when was the last time you read an article in a newsletter or on a website and took time to look at who the photographer was?

If you can remember the last time you did this, then when was the last time this lead to you contacting them for business? If you knew they worked x event free, when was the last time this lead to you hiring them for paid work? Facts show that less than 1% of consumers look for the creator or any piece of online content.

I did look up a photographer from an online image a couple times. I saw an amazing image on google, it was one of those images on the holder screen when you are about deciding which Netflix program to watch, I looked up the photographer, flicked through his Instagram, didn’t even actually add him, and carried on with my binge tv day.

Are you still with us?

I expect many of you haven’t even got to this point – looking up a photographer from an image you see online or in print – let alone an image on a company page / bloggers instagram / corporate website, because in my experience, when these same people want a ‘proper’ job doing, they contact the highly paid professional, not the one valuing their work as ZERO being prepared to work for free. You see, this type of ‘pro bono’ ‘fantastic opportunity’ offer has little value or appeal for most photographers, once they are established.

It’s a LOT of work

Six hours shooting a conference could range from an average of £500 – 1000 for many photographers, is this ‘exposure payment’ going to be worth that amount? And what if you end up getting a potential booking for a big paid job on the same day? Do you turn down the paid booking to work for free? Or break your agreement for the non paying client, for a paying one? Now, if someone wants to paint my house in return for a job such as shooting a conference, that may be pro bono I would accept (painting takes so long!), but funnily enough, no one wants to work for free, not THAT hard for FREE … because that’s just outrageous!

SOME OF IT’S DISGUISES

In case anyone needs any tips on recognising when someone is asking you to work for free or even when you are asking someone to work for free, here are a few of the forms it takes:

1. PRO BONO
Payment : Exposure, portfolio images, credit

A “pro bono opportunity”

The conversation usually goes along the lines of – we have an event coming up that we would love some amazing images of that we can use across our social media and printed platforms. We have some amazing speakers and we have spent so much on the venue and food that we have no money for a photographer. You will be able to use the images for your portfolio, and we will credit you. Notice no one actually says the words ‘work for free’.

My response – “sorry I do not bring out thousands of pounds worth of equipment I use to make my everyday living with for free”.

Points to note

It is also worth noting that crediting the copyright owner (the photographer) is legal, not something the photographer is being given as part of their payment.

The photographer being able to use their own images in their portfolio is also something that is legal, not something they are given by the organisation/ person they are shooting images for. So this takes the exchange to simply ‘exposure’ and work for free.

The organisation thinks everyone will see these amazing images of a regular event like a conference (of which you probably have tons of examples already in your portfolio), contact the organisation to see who shot their images, find out you were free, but somehow want to pay for your services.

An amazing image or two

(Here are a couple of our conference / event images by the way, we do cover them, if you are blown away by this image, please feel free to contact us for our services).

MBCC Awards 2021 by Lensi Photography

MBCC Awards 2021 by Lensi Photography

 

Show photography NEC

Event Show photography NEC – Lensi Photography

I have on previous occasions suggested £600 worth of their services or products in return, which would be the cost of an average conference, but that is usually seen as an outrageous exchange.

Please shoot my line for free

I was contacted by a blogger / influencer / insta model who had a clothing line with Pretty Little Thing or Asos I can’t quite remember which one it was now, but to have a line on either of these multi million pound businesses is pretty major in my book

She wanted me to shoot this – for FREE. It would of course be an amazing opportunity to get my images on such a huge platform (which shows no credit to photographers anyway), and her instagram (which does credit photographers) that has thousands of followers. I suggested £600 worth of clothes, but this was so ridiculous to her, I could literally hear the laugh through the email message.

So in reality you are well …working for free.

It is also worth noting that a 6 hour conference would also accrue a couple hours of kit preparation at home, maybe 1.5 hours travel there and back, another 5 hours of image culling, editing, storage and delivery; so you have in fact done near on two days work for free.

2. CHARITY

working for free, free work

For the poor – Jon Tyson

PAYMENT – Exposure, Credit, Sandwiches and Drink (sometimes a free bag for life with the charity logo printed on it)
A Charitable Cause

It’s for the poor

The conversation is usually along the lines of – we work for x charity, and do some amazing work with x community. We are looking for someone to come along to shoot our event and support our cause, we will credit you on all out social media platforms and there will be drinks and sandwiches at the event that you are also welcome to have.

My response – “I respect your charitable organisation, I am a for profit business and sorry I do not bring out thousands of pounds worth of equipment I use to make my everyday living with, for free”. It is also worth noting here that many of these charities have bosses with 6 figure salaries, millions in the business bank account and not doing too bad at all. They may not be ‘for profit’ but many are in heck of a better financial situation than myself or most photographers I know!

3. AN INVITE

Working for free, free work

Birthday Invite – Sujan Khalifah

PAYMENT – Exposure, credit, having a great day / night out

Just come along … and bring your camera.

This conversation usually goes along the lines of – I’m having a birthday party / launch event / christening / wedding, I would love you to come if you can make it. Can you also bring your camera and “grab a few shots” while you are here.

This actually means you are the event photographer; organising groups, individual shots, wearing working clothes to the event not heels and a nice dress that I may otherwise wear; with the responsibility of making sure everything is covered.

Your work for free soon becomes very professional when the person that made the request comes back to you and ask why there is not a photo of x person, or when nan kissed her, or when x cut the cake – even though you were supposed to be just “grabbing a few shots”.

My response “I’m sorry but I can’t be a guest and your photographer at the same time, as a guest I do not bring out thousands of pounds worth of equipment I use to make my everyday living with, on a night / day out”

4. PORTFOLIO BUILDING

PAYMENT – Exposure, portfolio enhancement

As above – but it is stressed that these will be great portfolio images

This is especially so, if it is an event there may be some celebrities there. If it is a wedding it will be an amazing wedding, with a beautiful couple in an amazing venue. If a fashion show, there will be some amazing new talent showing.

You will be able to use the images for you portfolio as they will be so amazing. My response “Have you had a chance to take a look at my website, I have quite an extensive and varied portfolio” – having shot amazing weddings in the UK and as far

Newland Manor Wedding - Lensi Photography, working for free, free work

Newland Manor Wedding – Lensi Photography

afield as Rwanda; public figures such as Barak Obama and celebrities such as Jamie Fox. I also shoot London Fashion Week and The Diamond League athletics – just to highlight some of my diverse work. So to date, I am pretty happy with my portfolio, and dare I say, I have some amazing content.

My response “I already have an extensive portfolio that I use to show clients the quality of my work. I am also sorry but I do not bring out thousands of pounds worth of equipment I use to make my everyday living with, for free”.

red carpet events lensi photography, working for free, free work

Jamie Foxx – Lensi Photography

 

Anya Hindmarch London Fashion Week - Lensi Photography, working for free, free work

Anya Hindmarch London Fashion Week – Lensi Photography

It is worth noting here that they rely on you being so blown away by the idea of shooting a celebrity, that that will suddenly mean you have no desire to get paid for your job.

If a wedding they rely on the idea that because they are a beautiful couple or are booking a nice venue, you don’t already have beautiful couples and great venues in your portfolio; Or that conventional stereotypical beauty is worth more. All established photographers will already have experience and a portfolio.

5. JUST GIVING A FREE IMAGE

PAYMENT – Exposure, credit, seeing your image in print / or a popular platform
“Can we use your x image for free in perpetuity, across all our platforms with credit to yourself”

This is usually line from newspapers and magazines, if you scroll through twitter you will often see tweets from newspapers asking to use images they find online.

It is also common with wedding and such venues after you have covered an event in their venue. Some of these usages would literally cost hundreds of pounds, sometimes thousands if there were to pay the going rate for it. I often get this after fashion shows from models, or events from the people present. I have also on occasion had this from events that did not hire me, hired someone else, but are interested in me providing them with images for free … imagine that!

It’s just a photo, its not worth anything

Somehow, some people believe that giving away something of this value is not working for free. There is also a huge misconception that because they feature in the image, they have a right to it. This may come as a surprise to many but being the subject of an image gives you no more right over than image than not being in it. Celebrities do not own the images thousands of photographers take of them, royalty do not own the images taken of them. I also remember my mom having to pay for images that featured me when I was at school. Whats the difference?

The image was created because of the equipment and education you invested thousands in to be able to create it. If you are not compensated for this investment, you are again …working for free. My response to this type of request is “I am a full time photographer, as such all of my images are licensed, as part of my income, I can send you my licensing rates if you would like / the price is x”.

6. SPEAKING TO OUR GROUP

PAYMENT – A thank you / feeling good
“We would like you to come and talk to our group of up and coming photographers, share some of your knowledge and tips”

I have spent a lot of money on education to get to my position; some of that money was spent with other photographers imparting their knowledge to me. I paid for their expertise.

I paid for the shortcut to know how to do particular things, because they had already put years into perfecting that thing. Knowledge has a value. Students pay thousands of pounds to go University …to gain knowledge.

That’s a little stingy of you, not everyone can afford to pay

This is the way of the world. We would not question BMW for not having their cars at a price everyone can afford. No one would complain to Apple for not making their iPhones at a price we can all afford. I also currently live in a two bedroom house because developers are “too stingy” to give me a four bedroom one, because I cannot afford to pay for it …

working for free, work for free

Iphone by Kevin Bhagat

A small creative business is no different.

My response to this type of request is “I am a full time photographer, as such my time and knowledge has a value, this is my income and I do not work for free”.

7. COLLABORATION OR PARTNERSHIP

PAYMENT – Amazing images you can use for your portfolio to gain exposure and experience from
“Do you collaborate with other businesses / do you do collaboration shoots?”

If I come up with a crazy idea that I would like try out to test my artistic genes, this is a collaboration. A business contacting you for commercial images they need to market their business, is a commercial shoot, not a collaboration. A conference contacting you to shoot their event where your name will be listed in the business guide or on stage is also a commercial shoot. A question I often ask  here is – when was the last time YOU attended a conference, took note of the photographer that was shooting for free (cough couch collaboration / partnership) took down their details, and contacted them for paid work at the going rate? If you answer is often or many times – that is great! This stuff really works! If your answer is never – not so great, it proves my point.

That’s a little stingy of you, not everyone can afford to pay

Yes some people can’t, they may be a small business like Lensi, and will have to do without some things they need. I recently needed trees cut down in my back garden, I could not believe the price of the quotes. Although they were worth every bit of what they were asking. Professional chainsaws cost hundreds of pounds, learning to use them takes time. Safety gear is not cheap. Insurance is not cheap. Cutting the trees into smaller pieces to allow them to be taken away takes time. The tree surgeons have to pay to take the trees to be disposed of, or they may own very expensive wood chipper machines. Despite all of this it was beyond my budget.

I had three choices

  1. Ask the small business to lower their very justified price.
  2. Ask the small business to work for free offering to tell everyone how great their service was in exchange, maybe put a plaque in front of my house with their details on advertising them. This is sure to get them extra business.
  3. Do it myself
  4. Do without

This is a couple photos of me with safety gear on cutting down trees.

Cutting down trees

Cutting down trees

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-05 at 15.02.07

 

Sometimes they are a huge business who wants to give shareholders extra money rather than paying a small business.

Sometimes they prefer to spend the money on lighting and staging, because everyone wants their event to look great right?

Sometimes they are paying so much for speakers that SOMETHING has to give, and of course it will be the creative…

Sometimes they see no value in photography, therefore just don’t want to pay for it.

Sainsbury’s is one such example, asking for someone to paint their canteen, for experience.

But you do not need to take only these few thought out examples as gospel, the internet is littered with websites exposing the same.

Madonna worth an estimated 850 million recently celebrated the fact that the whole team worked for free on her Madam X project. This unsurprisingly received some backlash.

Photographers need to make a living too. It always baffles me to wonder why some people do not feel we need real money to pay our bills and stay in business.

My response to this type of request is “I am a full time photographer, this is a commercial shoot not a collaboration / partnership, the cost would be x ”.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN WORKING FOR FREE

“CLICK MILEAGE”

Just like a car, a camera has what I call “click mileage” a certain number of actuations and wear and tear, before it needs a major costly service, then before it dies altogether.

Yes camera’s has a life expectancy! They do not go on forever.

Life Expectancy - Moira Dillon, working for free, free work

Life Expectancy – Moira Dillon

 

Enough of these free jobs brings it closer to this point, without contributing towards its repair or replacement.

If photography is your business, your living, this makes little business sense. To keep using something, building up the wear and tear and click mileage, without any payment to replace that very thing.

Imagine and Uber driver giving away free rides to charities, or for exposure because they are carrying celebrities and such. There then comes a day when they actually have a huge fare, someone that wants to travel from London to Birmingham for example, a nice payday … but unfortunately they cannot take up the offer because …their car has broken down due to the extensive free rides! Now working for free has actually ended up costing you the loss of real money! An average conference can put and extra 5k clicks on your camera.

DAMAGED OR BROKEN KIT

Another consideration when doing a free job, if something were to happen on this job, who pays? Who would pay for your kit if something is stolen or damaged at this free job?

You are already working for free, so is this organisation / person going to then say “I know we were not paying you for this gig, but here is £2000 for your stolen camera / here is £500 to repair the lens your dropped while covering our event” …

working for free, free work

Broken Camera – Christian Bolt

Would you simply get a sorry and an extra ham sandwich?

working for free, free work

Ham Sandwich – Wilfred Wong

Lifestyle Fitness Shoot by Lensi Photography

Lifestyle Fitness Shoot by Lensi Photography

An insurance claim may cost you an excess of at least £250, so on top of the costs of working for free, this could cost the photographer quite a lot, all with any payment.

If the worst were to happen, and you had a paid job the next day, it would be irritating in the least, having to pay to hire a lens for a paid job, because the lens you own was damaged or stolen on a FREE JOB

RESELLING YOUR OLD KIT

I recently got some quotes from MPB for selling my old kit. Well looked after and less used cameras can be resold for four times the amount of heavily used and less looked after cameras and lenses. So even in after sales, working for free means the photographer loses out at the end of their working life too.

WHAT USALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU CANNOT AFFORD A SERVICE OR PRODUCT?

My last general consideration here is where I ask you to question what happens if you want a service or product you cant afford.

You have a few options:

  • Steal it
  • Do without it
  • Buy a cheaper version
  • Restructure your priorities / save for it

 

I can think of very few cases where I would ask for it for free, or steal it. So just for fun, I have given you a few examples of putting the same exposure requests that creatives get to other businesses and services.

WORKING FOR FREE REQUESTS

GYM OR FITNESS CLASSES

I would love to have a few months worth of sessions for free to enable me to get into shape.

PLUMBER

I need a new bathroom plumbing in. It is a lovely modern home which would be amazing on your website. A real show piece. I cannot afford to pay for the plumbing because I have already paid an electrician so much. I have also invested in some great designer artwork for the walls. You will be able to use images of my bathroom on your leaflets and website to show the quality of your work. I will also give you a great review.

HAIRDRESSER

Come along to my BBQ that I am having on Sunday, while you are here can you just bring your hair kit and give me a quick wash and blow dry! It is going to be a great day, great music and my famous BBQ spare ribs. It shouldn’t take you long.

working for free, free work

Hairdresser – Keren Perez

SOME OF MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES OFFERS

(yes I have been personally approached with all these amazing opportunities)

1. A local council that had had their budgets cut during austerity. They were putting on a conference, but didn’t have the money to pay for this conference. They were asking everyone involved to work for free. Interestingly though, the council workers were being paid as it was part of their day job; so it was actually only small businesses that were being asked to work for free. The bigger businesses such as the one where the event was being held, had been paid. I have a policy to never ‘help’ established multi million pound organisations or companies with FREE WORK.

2. A magazine who contacted me for an image they did not want to pay for (i.e free), to accompany an article about people not wanting to pay photographers. (I kid you not).

3. A very high end fashion house (think dresses in excess of 15k), with A list celebs, contacting me to use an image for free. I am not sure why as they had their own paid photographer at the event. Maybe he did not capture the image that I did … who knows.

I have a policy of not giving free stuff to companies who have dresses that cost more than my car or what some people earn in a year.

4. This was was experienced by a colleague. He had shot a wedding a venue, the venue approached him to use a photo from this wedding. He was willing to do this and asked if in return he would use the venue for a styled shoot. The venues response “there would be an applicable hire charge for this, as a commercial venue for hire”.

So yes … we will happily have your work for for FREE, but please do not be so ridiculous as to ask to use our venue for free.

BEFORE I GO

Before all the critics rolls in, let me also clear up a few things I am expecting.

1. Everyone was new to the business once

People who are just starting in the business, with entry level kit and little experience will take up these opportunities; I did myself; but these are not the types of photographers the people who pay with ‘exposure pounds’ are looking for. Your value increases with the more experience (and kit) you accrue.

Think about how much you may pay a newly qualified solicitor compared to a Barrister. How much a Newly qualified teacher may get paid, compared to a year Head or Principal; an Actress with decades of Hollywood Blockbusters under her belt compared to someone just getting into the business. A consultant compared to a newly qualified doctor.

2. Lots of people do voluntary work.

Volunteer – “a person who OFFERS to take part on an enterprise or undertake a task” – see the key difference there?

3. Remember where you came from or started

I do. I remember starting at the bottom and spending thousands of pounds on courses, training and equipment. The same person invested thousands upon thousands of hours gaining the expertise that allows me to shoot and capture images the way I currently do.

But I see no correlation between remembering your humble beginnings and being asked to work for free.

Just like some of the professions I have named above, I have done my ‘internship’ of FREE WORK. If you were asked to earn the same in your job that you have been in for many years, the same as someone who is not even qualified in it yet, would it slightly raise the irritation levels?

4. I would be overjoyed to have my image in print / on the instagram page of x organisation / x celebrity

Thats fine, and your choice. I would rather be paid with real money.

I will update this article periodically, but as of its publication that last time I was asked to work for free was August 2019.

5. I cannot see the big deal, what are photographers going on about, it is just a picture.

Try saying this to Karen Anvil who is rumoured to have made £50,000 from a photo she took on her phone of The young Royals on their Christmas walk.

Photos are how I pay my bills. Yes in todays world they have become so accessible. But each photo is worth something to a photographer, especially full time ones. Imagine being asked to come into work at the local council for one month for free …

Would you be jumping for joy at the opportunity or working for no pay. Even if they put you in their newsletter!

6. I have seen you advertise for emerging photographers to attend gigs with you

Yes, as part of me helping someone on their journey or as part of my mentorship. See my Patreon mentoring page for this.

Neither I or my clients need or use any of their work, most times I do not even see the images until I see them on socials. If I have a job that NEEDS an assistant, I pay them, because I do not have time to explain what I need, I just need it done! I pay for the expertise.

My free work offers totalled £17,000 in 2018 

My free work offers so far in 2019 total to £7,000 (August 2019) 

I didn’t count my free work in 2020, 2021 or 2022. But I have in this week alone been contacted for International Womens Week, by a women’s groups wanted women to “bounce back stronger” by having me speak for free at their meeting. I pointed out that the way to help women (who are still paid less than men) to bounce back, is the value their time and knowledge by paying the going rate.’ I pointed this out and did not even receive a response from this group supporting women.

I have also been contacted by a very big business conference think NEC / Excel Centre sizes for a ‘collaboration’. I will keep coming back there to list some of these.

I would be interested to see which other average everyday people give this amount to charity in a year.

This is what some other creatives have said about it?

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWZYnE-YGo0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULfpBcQzKhc

My hope for this article.

I hope the article reaches some of the people it needs to… it is embarrassing and awkward.

We (creatives) hope those who ask people to work for free understand their request.

I wish that professionals that work for free understand what they are giving away.

Thanks to all my clients for the respect of paying me in real recognised currencies!! (Even if some of you haggle!)

Follow us on instagram to view some of our “working for pay” jobs! With the recognised currency I am paid for these jobs I buy lovely things like food, fuel, camera equipment, courses, all kinds of wonderful stuff!

Lensi_Photography and Lensi.Photography.Weddings

Conference Photography Birmingham

Conference Photography Birmingham

Conference Photography Birmingham – If you are looking for Conference Photography in Birmingham, or searching the web for conference rates, and conference prices, or conference pricing you have arrived at the right place.

 

Lensi Photography covers a range of events and conference photography in Birmingham and throughout the UK to the highest levels.

 

You may have a shot list that you wish us to work from, or want us to use our own experience to cover all the essentials of your conference in Birmingham, images can be used to advertise future conferences in Birmingham or another area, for press releases and any other future marketing.

 

We have covered conferences for a range of sectors including Higher and Further Education, International Delivery Companies, Education Sectors, Corporates and Charities.

Conference Rates

Conference Photography in Birmingham would cover essentials such as :

  • Keynote Speakers (from various angles)
  • Headshot portraits of speakers if required
  • Shots of the venue
  • Natural shots of the delegates interacting in workshops and Q&A’s
  • Images of the awards
  • Delegates being awarded certificates or awards.
  • Real time social media posting

With rates starting from £375 we have a range of both full days and half day packages that will cover all events adequately. We can also provide bespoke packages.

Shown is an example from the NASBM Educational Conference held at The Hilton Metropole in Birmingham, UK.

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Conference Photography Birmingham

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