They’re Paying You Because You Love It More Than They Do

Originally posted on my website’s blog.

At first, there’s love.

Like many photographers, I got into photography because I love doing it. It goes like this: You post your photos, people like them, they start to think of you as a photographer and then, they start asking you to photograph things for them. They ask you, “How much do you charge?” And you reply, “Charge?”

So now this ‘charge’ question has got you thinking of the value of what you offer. You think about how you’re not that experienced. You’re lucky that they asked you with so many gajillion photographers out there. And, they’re your friends. And plus, “you LOVE doing it” so how could you charge money for it? It’s not like they’re asking you to pump their septic tank or anything.

As I’ve developed my photography over the past couple of years — finding my own voice, investing thousands in gear and time to get to the point that I could take professional photos on purpose (get the photos I’m paid to get) — I’ve thought a lot about what to charge and the value of what I do.

And then, money.

This is incredibly difficult for someone like me. I’m motivated not by money but by the meaning I find in my work. But I am motivated by money to the degree that my landlord, Whole Foods, dentists, doctors, insurance companies, camera manufacturers and camera sellers are motivated by money. And if they’re not motivated by money, they see and uphold the value in what they do for me.

Now, I’ve done a lot of free work. I felt I had to in order to build a portfolio and get good — my 10,000 hours & my 100,000 photos. But I’ve always tried to make it clear what I was getting out of it. For example, I photographed friends kids’ birthday parties and gave my photography as a gift. I’ve also photographed events in trade for sponsorships and marketing purposes. Again, making it clear to the organizer that what I traded was valuable.

Then, love AND money.

But there does seem to be this sentiment out there that because you love doing something, some people expect you to do it for cheap or free. Even at your work, there are probably people who love working with spreadsheets and co-workers who don’t love it will dump number-crunching formulas on the spreadsheet lover’s lap with no extra compensation because, “Oh, she loves doing that stuff; she won’t mind.”

Finally, money for love, and no pain.

As I’ve thought more deeply about what makes my photography valuable, I’ve realized what people are paying for is my Love. They don’t love doing photography as much as I do. And it’s my love of photography that makes me a good photographer. It’s my love for photography that drives me to spend thousands of hours taking photos and thousands of dollars on gear. It drives me to get up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning to write about photography. And it’s not only my love of photography, it’s also my love of what I’m photographing — people.

Because I love photography, I feel no pain doing administrative hoohah like getting business insurance and renewing business licenses and doing taxes for my photography. Other people feel pain doing that kind of stuff when it’s for things they don’t love. I know, I’ve done it for pursuits that I didn’t love.

I’ve been fortunate to have clients who understand the value that my Love creates. Like I said, I’m motivated, more like inspired, by the meaning I find in my work. There is no higher plain I can be on than when a client says about photos I took for them, “Freaking-A, Jeremy — they’re sooooo good!!! We will treasure these foreverrrrrrrrrrr and ever!!” One really said that by the way.