Event photographers should not work for free... unless 

"if you're good at something never do it for free" - The Joker

Thank you. Good to have these thoughts shared

Yep....Spot on! Thanks for sharing your time and experience.

Totally agree with your advice here. I am totally ok with not getting paid for a 2-3-hour event, starting out. If it is an event, you get your name out there, that alone maybe worth the "Free" work.

Agreed, Mik!

Thanks for the video. 👍

I firmly believe that it is good practice to pay a photographer for covering an event, even if they are just starting out and need the exposure because that person has incurred expenses - travel, food, camera, accessories, laptop, software, electric etc. The decent thing to do would be to pay them a reasonable rate for their time and services.

Well laid out discussion of the issue. Really appreciate these videos . One of my regular clients is a health charity, the work is usually just a few hrs every 2-4 weeks, on nights I’d usually not be working otherwise. I still get paid but I do it with a substantial discount . This helps them, but also allows me to meet a lot of people from various sponsors, venues etc which has brought me fully paid work many times. Long story short, if the relationship is mutually beneficial, it’s something to consider. But instead of $0, maybe offer a discount if you think it’s appropriate.

Thanks for your candid, unfiltered commentary on event photography!

Being a hobbiest who does one small event per year as a favor - whatever professionals charge, it is not enough! I don’t think people realize just how much knowledge and skill is required to take good images. It is an awesome craft and I continue learning, but I really appreciate those who do this for a living.

Glad you covered this.

Got my first event gig soon and have been binging your videos. Could you make a video on bringing/not bringing a tripod for event photography? Is there reasons to do so? Or reasons to not?

I seasonably assisted some friends and they always took care of me. I wasn't a 2nd shooter but roadied for them and helped set and tear down gear. It was indeed work, but not compared in any way to the responsibilities the photog had. So yeah ... if anyone approaches you, telling you what's in it for you ... it's probably not for you. :) So Mik in your example of not being able to afford to volunteer, does that mean you're working each weekend? If so that's awesome.

I'm not a professional photog, but a hobbyist, and my employer had a fundraising auction last week. I volunteered my time, but it was a blast and I yielded some great event shots. Was really a win for me and win for the agency to have decent photos on record as the previous photog was one of those with a dslr but only shoots on auto and gets about 30% decent shots in the end. Was for a good cause and gave me some great practice. That being said, I would not want to shoot event for free on a regular basis lol