I do sell images and also give away images. Here's my thought process:
An occasional image to an organization I already support is fine for free. But I limit the number of organizations to a very small number - typically 2-3 or that order of magnitude.
I've seen organizations with very large budgets try to operate with free photos. Some of these organizations have multi-million dollar budgets that are used to pay for marketing, printing, design and other services. If they can pay for those services, they can pay for photography. I've seen national parks use photos provided for free and don't think that's right.
I stay far away from organizations that want photos of people and want me to provide a release. If they want photos of events with people, they need to either have a generic release as part of admission, or provide a person to work with me during the day to gather releases. Photo releases can turn into a personal liability, so I don't waive this requirement. Furthermore I provide images with the specific disclaimer that the client is responsible for obtaining necessary releases. I don't advise them on legal aspects of releases.
As a professional photographer, I'm paid to provide the images and abide by ethical standards. If what they want is a few photos for Instagram or Facebook, they probably don't need me. Those social media channels emphasize high volume, frequent posts, and a minimal shelf life.
There is a big difference between free and for reasonable value. Sometimes I provide photos as part of establishing a relationship that will provide future value such as access. I don't mind providing a few photos of an event I plan to attend anyway, but if there is a schedule and a time commitment, I'm more likely to want to charge for the effort. I'll donate a photo from my archive to a good cause, but if I have to go out and make a group of phots it's different. If they expect quality work, it includes a lot of things - backup gear, maybe special gear, editing, culling, and resizing for their output.
Don't be a chump. Lots of people want free photos. Think about how you will feel if you get sued, gear is damaged, or the weather is bad for the event. If you decide to move forward, make sure there is a clear understanding of the scope of work, the desired output (uploading 10-15 edited photos to Dropbox vs. giving them a thumb drive), and what your expectations are from them (support, credits, photo rights, releases, etc.).
An occasional image to an organization I already support is fine for free. But I limit the number of organizations to a very small number - typically 2-3 or that order of magnitude.
I've seen organizations with very large budgets try to operate with free photos. Some of these organizations have multi-million dollar budgets that are used to pay for marketing, printing, design and other services. If they can pay for those services, they can pay for photography. I've seen national parks use photos provided for free and don't think that's right.
I stay far away from organizations that want photos of people and want me to provide a release. If they want photos of events with people, they need to either have a generic release as part of admission, or provide a person to work with me during the day to gather releases. Photo releases can turn into a personal liability, so I don't waive this requirement. Furthermore I provide images with the specific disclaimer that the client is responsible for obtaining necessary releases. I don't advise them on legal aspects of releases.
As a professional photographer, I'm paid to provide the images and abide by ethical standards. If what they want is a few photos for Instagram or Facebook, they probably don't need me. Those social media channels emphasize high volume, frequent posts, and a minimal shelf life.
There is a big difference between free and for reasonable value. Sometimes I provide photos as part of establishing a relationship that will provide future value such as access. I don't mind providing a few photos of an event I plan to attend anyway, but if there is a schedule and a time commitment, I'm more likely to want to charge for the effort. I'll donate a photo from my archive to a good cause, but if I have to go out and make a group of phots it's different. If they expect quality work, it includes a lot of things - backup gear, maybe special gear, editing, culling, and resizing for their output.
Don't be a chump. Lots of people want free photos. Think about how you will feel if you get sued, gear is damaged, or the weather is bad for the event. If you decide to move forward, make sure there is a clear understanding of the scope of work, the desired output (uploading 10-15 edited photos to Dropbox vs. giving them a thumb drive), and what your expectations are from them (support, credits, photo rights, releases, etc.).
