Every photographer faces a point where unpaid opportunities come knocking, but knowing the difference between helpful experience and wasted effort is key. Making smart choices about unpaid work early in your photography career could set the stage for lasting success—or stall your growth entirely.
Coming to you from Luke Cleland, this insightful video highlights his personal experiences as a wedding photographer who navigated the tricky landscape of unpaid work early in his career. Cleland candidly shares how enticing promises of exposure rarely deliver as expected. He separates unpaid opportunities into two clear categories: those genuinely beneficial for growth and networking, and those where you're essentially donating your skills with no real return. Understanding this distinction is critical because your time is valuable, especially when starting your business. Cleland also challenges the conventional advice that photographers should never do unpaid work, emphasizing instead the strategic value certain unpaid experiences can bring.
Cleland's point about distinguishing between unpaid and truly free work is especially useful. He suggests that beneficial unpaid work offers real returns like practical experience, significant connections, or essential exposure that directly aligns with your business goals. Early on, Cleland himself accepted unpaid assignments that ultimately built his reputation and skills as a wedding photographer. He urges caution, though, describing his early mistakes accepting any and every opportunity, many of which neither aligned with his business nor provided meaningful experience. The key takeaway is clarity: before agreeing to any unpaid work, Cleland recommends asking yourself honestly if the opportunity advances your long-term objectives.
To avoid the pitfalls of time-consuming yet fruitless free projects, Cleland emphasizes establishing a clear vision for your business direction. He reflects on his own missteps, recalling periods when a lack of clear focus led him to scatter efforts across unrelated photography jobs, draining time and energy. The moment he firmly committed to wedding photography, it became easier to discern worthwhile unpaid opportunities from distractions. For instance, photographing events that directly linked to potential wedding clients or building relationships within the wedding industry brought measurable returns over time. Cleland encourages you to similarly define your path clearly, accepting unpaid work only when it fits neatly into your strategy for growth. This advice could save months—or even years—of wasted effort on dead-end projects, enabling a smarter, more deliberate approach to building your career. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Cleland.
