How do you say "NO" to your friends?

[ethereal]

I've been giving free portrait sessions for couple of months now to build my portfolio. I want to start having more paid clients and phase out the FREE works. Some of the friends (or friends' friend) keep asking me for free portraits. I actually don't mind spend 30 mins - 1 hr to take photos for them, but it's the post-processing work that's really time consuming. So how do I tell them "I don't give out free session anymore" to friends? I'd feel bad to ask friends to pay me as well, although I am current unemployed :p

[boxofrocks]

Here's what I did.

When they asked to do protraits, they rarely said "will you do these for free?". They sometimes just assumed I would, since they had heard of others that got them for free.

When they ask about you shooting them, try replying with something like "I'd love to do your portraits--I'll even give you a (insert number here) percent discount!".

I didn't have anybody come back and say "but I thought that it would be free". Most people will catch on, and if they don't then they're probably just cheap, and want a free lunch.

For those that truly can't afford to pay anything, I'm sure you can work something out.

[brad]

I give a friends and family discount, which essentially amounts to me not charging them for the session itself.. but prints are regular price.. and I build my print pricing in a way to include the post process time.

[Killeenguy]

hey if they want your art that bad to keep coming then it's time to start charging! do it tactfully, and keep providing the same service if not better...oh and giver urself a deadline to stop giving free portraits... good luck.

[adirty1]

so you have been paying to work.
NO NO NO....
friends and family will kill you. I get it all the time. My wife just doesnt understand and never will she believe i should just give it away to family. the way i look it at is that I dont ask my family to do their jobs for free so why should I pay to give them something for free.

come up with a discount for the sitting... always make sure to give them a bill showing what you normally charge and than show them what they paid. it takes a while but they start to get the idea.

I had a 10k job to the bahamas and my sister wanted me to shoot some head shoots of her kid... hmmm tuff choice what to do first. but i got the guilt trip from my mom and my sister for some time.... for putting my sister off for a few weeks.

[ndsimm]

saying NO is the first step toward getting them to respect you as a serious professional. think of it this way - what they are asking you now to do for free, they will go out and pay someone else to do without question - and pay them more than you would charge. One lesson I have learned the hard way - always charge what you are worth and you'll find someone to pay it....

[ethereal]

Thanks all! I'll try your suggestions and hope to start making some profit out of photography soon! :)

By the way, I just gave a free session the past weekend. I am hoping that this will be my last free portraits session. I shoot mostly outdoor or on-location since I don't yet have a studio. I like to know if I am ready to go "pro" and how much I should charge my clients if I keep the same quality and service? I'm including a few photos from the latest session here for your reference.. Let me know your feedback and beg for your critiques!

Thanks again!

[Jake]

I still give out freebie's to friends and family(not free prints, but no sitting fee). I'm still trying out new things and sense they are not paying I don't care if they don't like the pics.
But I need to stop damn it.

Anyway, those pics you posted look great, you should be charging. As for "how much I should charge my clients ", that's up to you but don't sell yourself short.


P.S.- Next time someone ask for free session bust out a camera phone and say "Sure! I will use my new camera!"

[LadyShutterBug]

"I've just about finished up my portfolio work-- but I'd be happy to give you a discount on my session fee if you still want pictures!"

Another option is to let them know that you'll give htem a call if you should have a cancellation or opening in your schedule... or if they're willing to do something creative that you can't get paying clients to try. For example, I wanted to do Bridal Portraits on the beach-- so I let a couple of wedding-industry friends know that I wanted to do it, and that it would be complimentary. I got a bride to take me up on it, and she ordered prints and a CD, so I came out making a profit for offering the free session.

If she'd just wanted a studio session or a portrait sitting in a place I've been to a zillion times, I wouldn't have offered the deal to her.

[NathanJK]

Originally Posted by ethereal

I really like this picture, is the motion blur in it put in in post processing or did you do somehting I cant figure out? I'm thrown off by the motion blur at the bottom but not at the top. Anyway, good pictures! I agree about the idea of just telling people that you've finished building your portfolio, then offer a discount if they are friends or family. I'd even phase out the discount after a while.

[ethereal]

Originally Posted by NathanJK

I really like this picture, is the motion blur in it put in in post processing or did you do somehting I cant figure out? I'm thrown off by the motion blur at the bottom but not at the top. Anyway, good pictures! I agree about the idea of just telling people that you've finished building your portfolio, then offer a discount if they are friends or family. I'd even phase out the discount after a while.

haha, I actually used radial blur (choose "zoom blur method") for this photo. I wanted to create a sorta motion in the photo, but didn't succeed with just the camera, so I had to add it on in post processing. I used layer mask to emphasize the bottom blur, left top alone with just natural lens blur... too much motion blur gives me a headache. :)

[LoungeLizard]

Originally Posted by ethereal

By the way, I just gave a free session the past weekend.

I like these and I would not say "no" to her either. Some really nice work there and a very nice model - VERY NICE.

Now, for everyone else, I just refer them to my website and the pricing section. I tell them that I'm willing to give them x% off as part of my "friends and family discount". The last person who asked me I actually took a different approach (I owed him a favor) so I told him I'd do the session for free and they could purchase prints at my cost. I won't give them the digital files. Never heard back.

[epoh]

Ditto most of the others... say you'll give them a discount, or maybe no session fee, but tell them they have to pay for the prints. And friends of friends don't get discounts in my book! That should be where you are getting paying gigs!

[jagphoto]

Those are great pictures!! I agree about needing to charge, and if they really want them, they'll pay. I also agree about the approach in saying that your portfolio is complete, but I'll give you $?? discount. Good luck in starting the business!!