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Freelance Doesn’t Mean Free! How I learned never to mix business with friendship
By Sabina Louise Pierce
’m one of the lucky ones. I get paid for doing what I love to do—take photographs. Most of the time, anyway. Life as a freelance photojournalist isn’t easy. There is the expensive camera equipment, the long hours, the living moment to moment. Fighting to get paid on time shouldn’t be one more problem I have to face, but it is.
Contrary to popular opinion, artists don’t just work for love. They have
bills to pay and they learn to run their operations just like any other
business. We deliver a product—in my case, the photograph or
photographs—on time, and we expect to be paid in a ti
For instance, I photographed the children of one family from the time they were born. I had worked with their brother, a writer, for years. They always paid when I handed over the film, or they sent a check in the mail ASAP. I was invited to family functions; they became like family, or so I thought. The last time I photographed their children was at a family wedding. They didn’t pay. I politely called after three months and was told that the check was in the mail. Another month went by and I contacted my friend. He called me back, saying the check was returned . . .that his sister was resending it. I waited and waited and it never came. I knew I was getting the runaround, but I let it go. I didn’t want to make it an issue with my friend. They no longer call me.
The second such experience was with a lawyer whom I’d photographed on assignment for an East Coast newspaper. We struck up a conversation and he invited me out for breakfast. I was hungry and went. He seemed like a nice guy. Several months later, he called me and asked me to photograph a baby for a lawsuit. He needed the photo ASAP. I accepted and did the job. That was five months ago. I still have not been paid. I was told on the first call that they lost the invoice. The second time I had to wait for the accountant to come in, and now I hear that it may be a year before I'm paid. My "friend" the lawyer is suddenly unavailable. He doesn’t return my calls. I have left several messages with no reply. I have even e-mailed him on his private e-mail, to no avail.
The bill in question is for $250. Is it large enough to take to court? Is it worth the aggravation? Should I just chalk it up to experience and ask for cash upfront from lawyers from now?
The sad thing is that I considered all of these people to be friends. What I’ve learned is that there are no easy ways to get money out of someone who values it more than friendship. What I’ve decided is that, even with friends, when it comes to business, best business practices will apply.
From now on, I plan to let my friends know in no uncertain terms that when it comes to my photography, sure, I work for love—but for money, too. And that they will be treated like any other client in my billing and collection procedures. My payment terms will be outlined upfront; written contracts and upfront payments or deposits may be required. It’s either that or to pick my friends more wisely.
_____________________________________________ Philadelphia photojournalist Sabina Louise Pierce has been under contract with the Associated Press since 1993. Other clients include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and The Los Angeles Times. Her work also has been published in Newsweek, Time, People, Vanity Fair, Germany's Glick and Australia's Good Weekend Magazine. For the past two years, she has been documenting the activities of the Philadelphia Police Department in hopes of publishing the photos in a book. Her work can be seen at www.sabinalouisepierce.com and above. |
E-mail this article. _________
For more practical tips on how to get clients to “cough it up,” visit www.1099.com.
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