PAID CONTESTS :: WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID SPEC WORK 

+Steffen Hokland And why not? Just because no one has had the balls to do this doesn't mean it can't be done. There are Open Mics at ever coffee house and bar to give musicians a place to practice their craft, have fun, and become better at performance. Not everyone needs to be paid for every time they work. There are legitimate times when a person needs a place to have fun with their craft or to practice without the legal contract of pay.

Ron Craig open mic night is not the same thing

+John Campbell And if you just graduated? You need an internship, which are often unpaid. They are not scams. Regulations are in place to protect interns from being abused. You assume everyone is like you. They are not.

+Jorge Letria Of course the absurd is often used as an attempt to argue one side. If it isn't used correctly then it just comes off as stupid. I like your idea, but you've got to go to an Open Mic and practice your comedy for free in front of coffee drinkers. That one needed some work.

Ron Craig​ Who hurt you pumpkin?

+Ron Craig big and small agencies are asked to do this all the time. What do you think a pitch costs for a midsize agency to pitch a regional business? Could be 6 figures. Big agencies spend 7 figures. It's one thing to do an open mic to hone your craft...the cost is only a few minutes of your time and the cost to get there and back. And you're are not promised more gigs that you will then get paid for.

+Liam Your imagination does not mean that it happens or that it happens so often as you imagine. Just because you can imagine that it COULD happen so often or that people are capable of doing this does not mean that your imagination has anything to do with how it really goes down. Don't go down that path of paranoia that most Americans do.

+Ron Craig a lot of youtubers that I follow have done this. I don't say it happens often, just that a lot of people have done it that I've seen. And I'm not American.

very well said. I totally agree

+Radu Arsenie I agree that you need to get work out for the public to see, if you want any feedback. But doing actual "contracts" that you would otherwise be paid for in my opinion isn't the way. You invest time in a contract that, if you're not that good yet, you'll never get paid for. I think you're better of shooting what you like, improving your skills, an posting some of your work on facebook for example. At the very least, you do what you like, and you get better at it. But that's just my view on it. I do get your point though...

+Ronald Delvax I like your point of view, and I agree. But until you can afford to say no to a contract that's not up to your "standards", you kinda need to start small, and make baby steps until you get higher up there, so you can afford doing that and being like: "no guys, I'm sorry, I want exclusivity. We do this on my terms or we don't do it at all." You can't afford to say that when you're at the beginning of your carrier. Everyone will laugh at you. And that's gonna be least of your concerns. :)) You know, taste is and will always be a very subjective matter. You invest time and you put all your soul in those pictures, not just because you want them to come out nicely and get that contract, but also because you love what you do anyway. If you don't, then clearly photography is not for you. So yes, you invest a lot of things. But when you're doing it for a client, he is gonna be the judge of your work. You might love your work and he might despise it. Because...taste. And..people. :) And...why wouldn't it be the way? You do it cause you love what you do, right? And if that particular client doesn't like it or likes someone else's work more, is it really all for nothing? Do you actually have anything to lose? About shooting what you like... I think rather than shooting something for a contract, something that, for some reason, you might not be as good at, as you might think you are, since what you like is not just making you love doing it more and more, but also give you a better chance of doing that better, cause you like what you're doing and that shows up in the final "product", wouldn't be better to actually accept/be interested in contracts that would actually give you a chance on THAT? I mean, isn't a bit like diminishing your own chances of getting that contract if you're doing it just for the money or just for the reputation, and not because you like doing it and shooting that kind of photography in the first place?

+Radu Arsenie In my case, I started photography with an agfa isola and black/white 120 film when I was 7... Even now (I'm 40) it's "just" a hobby... Still, I just got contracted for a wedding shoot (yes, payed job) and they really don't want anyone else. So as long as I don't need to make a living with photography I have more time... I can imagine, if you want to make it a job, you want to make some money, rather sooner than later. In that case I agree that spec work can be an attractive offer... I still agree with Ted though, you are taken advantage of... For yourself, if you know it and don't mind it, it's your choice. Problem for the photography community however is that, the more "starters" actually do this, the more contractors tend to use this method, instead of actually hiring a photographer for the entire shoot... But hey, that's what these posts are for ;) We can all comment and share our views and everyone that reads it can decide for themselves what they think of it ;)

+Ronald Delvax Loved talking to you and hearing your opinion. Thank you! :) You know, I always thought that, I don't want people to know my work cause it's MY work. I want them to like my work because they like what they're seeing, not because it's mine. I don't like when people say "well it's a Rembrandt, of course it's good." Why? Why do we always assume that everything that has Rembrandt's name on it is awesome? Is it really? This applies to any well known artist, for that matter. I just gave an example. Didn't he ever fail? Didn't he ever have a bad day or an uninspired day? A day when his work or his mind weren't working at full potential? Cause I think we all had that. We all know that. And even if he never had a bad day or an uninspired day, can you really like EVERYTHING in someone's work? It looks like it would be too much of a coincidence if that happened. And by opposite, does that mean that everyone that's not a huge artist sucks? I can give you a few examples of singers that I absolutely love, and never heard of them before where I live. As I said, taste is a very subjective matter. I might like a big part of someone's work, or only a few pictures, but not his/her entire portfolio. That doesn't mean that that is not a great photographer/artist. It just means that I don't really like all of those pictures. It's just my taste. That's all. But I would not say "OMG, that's an amazing picture, if my soul says: dude, WTF are you talking about? That sucks!". Also, I don't know, but I feel like you can't really call for inspiration. Yellow Pages don't have that number. And, more often than not, you're not really "inspired" by money. :) I mean, money can create a very powerful incentive, for sure. But can it really make you create better pictures, or bring you the inspiration needed for that moment you describe in your picture to become something amazing? And, in my experience, you create better when money is not the issue. Of course, we all need it to survive and your stomach might agree with that. But I'm just saying, when are you really yourself the most? When you're stressed cause you need the money and you need to do something about it? Or when you do this cause you love doing it and that's the place you find the closest to your soul? That's the place when you can really be yourself. Anyway, it's been a pleasure to talk to you. :)

I can see where you draw the similarities but an audition is not the same because it is like an interview, if you get picked they employ you until the job is done . To use your example, it would be like being one of many to act a single role on a movie, shooting all the scenes and only paying the one they like best after the film is completed.

+Argun Tenant In the photography business, it's called "showing your portfolio".

The work is not complete or an intellectual property that can be taken from you, so your argument is deeply flawed.

+Thomas Karchesy You have to trust the photographer to do the job based on what you see in their portfolio. If you can't do that then you either have trust or micro management issues. Best thing to do is look at portfolios and talk to the photographers and get their input on the job your looking to have done. If you want architectural work then find someone who specializes and who's work you like. The unethical part would be to ask them to go shoot an architectural project first in hopes that maybe you'll hire them.

+The Art of Photography Except you don't know if that portfolio represents THEIR skills or someone else. Or perhaps their skills from decades ago. The best way to control that is to ask for spec work. And if the photographer is interested in developing a business relationship that is more than a one-off, he will have no problem with that. If he has worked with large corps he would have no problem with that. However, the photographers that are struggling through the digital revolution will whine and complain and joust at windmills. Yes, I was referring to you.

+Thomas Karchesy don't be intimidated in business by those who are not specifically professionals at business. Just because someone runs their own photography business does not make them an expert at business. Request spec work and if they don't like it they can move on. Offer contests, but understand the quality of work is most often of very low quality from these. Do not abuse them either. Use them to genuinely weed out the wannabes. Reward those who survive the process with actual fully paid work and build a long term business relationship. Quality always saves you more money, by paying more, than cheap gimmick and abuse of business methods. Don't listen to the owner of this channel when it comes to business. Listen to him regarding photography.

+Ron Craig The times I've hired artists for work, I've looked at their activity level and the satisfaction of previous customers just as much as I looked at the contents of their portfolio. It doesn't take an expert judge of character to find someone that will do a good job. Also, with really big projects, I usually break out a smaller component as a separate job to see how the prospective artist performs. To date, I can't remember a time where the artist fell short on the bigger project after delivering quality results on the smaller one.

+Erica Hoffmann Keep educating yourself, be a pro, be passionate, expect that it might not work out and have a back up plan. Take pre college courses as soon as you're eligible. I'm a cartoonist, my parents were a little iffy about me doing it but i pursued it. I have several books under my belt, nothing major, but once your foot is through the door you can just keep gliding through life. I'm doing art teaching as well because i foolishly did not train myself in graphic design, which goes hand in hand with cartooning now. But at least i have the skills for cartooning that i can make an extra 5,000 or so a year on my comics. I'm 24 and i graduated from SVA, now pursuing a MA.

+Erica Hoffmann and don't enter contests that require more work than they are worth 25.00 is nothing if you spent 8 hours creating your piece. Respect your work, i'm sure it's worth more than that. Apply to people who actually want to hire someone, show your portfolio and never stop applying for actual jobs. Don't tell them your age right off the bat, just say you are new to the industry and you are looking for an opportunity to build experience. Won't it be that much more awesome when you turn out to be 12 with a CONTRACT and a professional attitude?

Shoot subjects you are passionate about. Challenge yourself to keep looking at it. Have you captured the essence of what intrigued you? Return to the subject at different times or use different lighting. Shooting things I didn't like or found boring often showed me I wasn't being creative in my approach.

+Stu VS Look at images critically and learn how to take them apart. How was it lit? How might the artist have gotten the shot? So many archives online now, but here's one with lots of styles and subjects framework.latimes.com/from-the-archives/

+Stu VS Learn where local events are, and offer to photograph the cars, pets etc for a fee. I keep learning that people respect work that they pay for! Use invoices, get some business cards made up. Treat it like a career, and you'll have one. Congratulations to you.

+Casa de Chrisso If you are looking to build a portfolio of band photos you could,offer the band the photography and proof sheets for access to them at one of their concerts if they like them and want prints then they pay for the prints at your normal rate.Something similar could be done with a model portfolio.Approach a model agency or model school and offer the same deal. This could be good for those starting on a modelling career.

+David Meyer actually I did - you stand out by saying no ;-) Stock is completely different. Stock is reselling of rights and they have limited usage depending on what a client pays typically. Full rights can be negotiated. The idea with stock is that an image can potentially have repeated value over time (theoretically). Stock agencies (in theory) will work with photographers to produce images that people are interested - at least the organization I worked with aimed to do that. Spec work is not the same. Its a one time ask almost always for full usage and no guarantee you will be selected or paid. Its a blatant competition. I see lots of defense here for portfolio building and experience - there are more effective ways to get both. I'm not saying stock is easy or that its entirely ethical. And yes I had one sponsor the show a while back. They paid me for it. Its a whole business in itself and its about using a broker (or agency) in the middle to sell rights to your work. Like any business some are better than others. But its not the same as spec work.

+The Art of Photography As for standing out, I know you had videos about developing one's own style and many other videos were touching this general subject, I just felt that in this particular case she would find your answer more complete if the subject was mentioned or if you mentioned those videos from the past. I think this video here would benefit from that. I do see where you're coming from, I have yet to find a contest which would offer a fair deal: proper payment, proper usage rights etc. After some time I basically lost any interest in them, whenever I get something like that coming to my inbox, I just delete it without even reading. So probably you are right advising her not to participate. I would still read terms and conditions of this particular one, if I was her. One big problem is that nobody ever actually mentions, what a good deal and a proper contract looks like. How things should be done. What are usage rights. There are very few resources on this subject available to fresh photographers out there and when they are available, they tend to be simplified or enigmatic. Back in the day people would find out info about such things whilst assisiting established photographers, but with the number of photographers these days that kind of opportunities are rare. It very much resembles looking for a light switch in the darkness. You know it's somewhere there, you know where on the wall it should be, more or less, but finding it is still just patting the wall in darkness. This could actually be a very good subject for a video :) Dana is doing the same thing here: she's looking for that light switch in a dark room. To me, one thing that helped me to understand issues of copyright, usage rights and licencing was one of the macrostock services out there. It helped me to find the general direction of that light switch. And also to understand what kind of imagery agencies and publishers are looking for.

+The Art of Photography POTENTIALLY! That means you are doing work and not getting paid for it. It is being used by the Microstock company to further their business goals without paying you. It is being displayed by them on their website to promote THEIR brand, not yours. And you are not getting paid a cent for that brand development. You are hoping for the payoff, but the Microstock has a payoff whether you get paid or not. You are a hypocrite.

+BartolomeJacinto because the "client" (the organiser of the contest) is not in it to make themselves a profit at the expense of the participants.

+BartolomeJacinto I understand where your coming from but you should only enter contests that you feel you would personally gain something substantial from, for example I would gladly enter a contest for black and white magazine in order to be featured in their contest issue (which does require a fee because to the best of my knowledge the magazine pays the judges for spending time judging the entrants) because it's a magazine that I respect and see the value in being featured in, if it's a contest like the graphic design one mentioned in the video the only thing your gaining is a small amount of work from a client that is too lazy to find a genuine graphic designer and is also the kind of client that's only interested in gaining the best possible logo without going through the effort of finding someone working in the industry and instead they choose to find the best possible logo from the entrees while giving back the minimal amount possible to the industry that the contest is geared to.

you must be one of these idiots that are asking for free work

+Unknown It sure is.

+Alexander Rossa It's not shady. It is your paranoia that is shady. You assume that it will be used in this wicked way. Just because it can be, doesn't mean it will. The fact that you assume it will reveals that you would if you had the chance. These kinds of sites are legitimate business models that have no equivalent in the brick and mortar. People who cannot adapt to the new business models will struggle to survive in business. Mud slinging will not help you from sinking. Finding out how to adapt your mentality to allow for the possibility that businesses are not wasting their time trying to abuse everyone who comes to them... adapt and grow!

+Ron Craig Dummy. I hate this argument. There are far better ways to select a freelancer that don't involve wasting everybody's time asking for speculative work. If a freelancer has an excellent portfolio, references, and relevant experience in the business, that should be more than enough to select a good freelancer. It has nothing to do with "adapting to the new business models" or whatever nonsense 99Designs is trying to feed you - there are simply better ways to go about freelance work. (Also I hardly see how spending all your time on speculative work in the hopes of getting paid is an efficient way to adapt to the new digital marketplace. Smart, professional people figure that out fast - and avoid these kinds of gigs like the plague.) Creative work is a collaboration - and the concept work stage is pivotal to a great final product. Completing this stage of the project on a speculative basis isn't just bad for freelancers - it's bad for the client's brand as well.

+Ron Craig Also, with respect to your "Just because it can be, doesn't mean it will" comment… This sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME. It is a huge problem in the industry - and if you were the expert in "adapting to the new business models" that you claim to be, you'd know that.