Shreyak Singh

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING? What is collaboration? If you have decided to collaborate, are you sure about what you have agreed to do? If not, are you missing out on some significant opportunities?

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

We have all collaborated with someone at one point in our entire career. But the vital question here is, what did you achieve after the collaboration? Was it fame, success, awareness, or something else? We have all probably come across many people that have asked us to work on a barter deal. What is it that you get out of the shoot? Is it valuable to your brand, or is it a bit of media coverage that will float around for a while, but people won’t remember it for long?

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

THINK BEFORE YOU COLLABORATE.

A few questions you need to ask yourself before collaborating with someone –

  • Is the person you’re collaborating with getting any monetary benefits out of this collaboration?
  • If the collaboration is for a good cause, is the other party giving you the due credit you deserve for the time that you’ve invested?
  • If it’s with a creative team, you need to ask yourself if everyone’s thought process is similar with regards to the shoot. You do not want troubles later where one person from the team has an objection with others using particular images, which could ruin the experience for all of you.
  • If it’s for a brand, you need to ask yourself if your compensation is adequate. If not, why would you even shoot for someone for free who would capitalize on your images later? Walking away at this point would be a wiser decision for your reputation and the entire photographer fraternity.

By now, you probably have a fair idea of how many things one must consider before collaborating.

I have seen a lot of budding photographers collaborate with big brands to create their content for free. I feel pity because they are trying to kill their market by doing so and spoiling their reputation. If a person doesn’t charge when shooting for a brand that already has enormous funds set aside every year for marketing purposes, the brand will soon get used to getting things done similarly and eventually take photographers for granted. The amount set aside every month for marketing purposes will get allocated for some other undue purpose. It makes no sense, right?

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

If you are a beginner/amateur reading this and do things this way, It’s time you stop. No one is stopping you from collaborating but think for yourself. Will this collaboration do you any good?

I have seen quite a few brands asking freelance artists to collaborate. Not only brands, but this has also become a daily tale for many publishing houses who take advantage of these upcoming photographers as well.

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

DID YOU KNOW? IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

To tell you the truth, even I have worked with a couple of brands and magazines for free during my early days, and I have learned my lesson. I am writing this blog to make sure that most of you reading this don’t make these same mistakes. The brands/magazines that I worked for free for are no longer my clients. They had gotten used to getting things done for free, and when I brought up a conversation for a minimal retainer fee, they found some replacement who would do it for free, which is why we all must take a collective stand against working for free. This practice, in its totality, needs to stop.

IS COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

Even after reading this, if you think you want to collaborate, you can do it. But know that the brands you think are you are helping today won’t be there to help you tomorrow.