Do we have to give free photos and videos???

[Kynan1 0]

You forgot the cost of your car to drive you to the dropzone and your rig which is $5000..haha
True though, the camera, cartridges run @$13, printer, computer, bootleg software, knowledge of editing(for a good edit anyway), and so on.
On second though, charge them $50 for each picture taken.
It really comes down to who you're shooting and if you don't mind giving your services for nothing. Pretty much like this girl I met last week. Didn't cost a cent.

[icevideot 0]

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cartridges run @$13

I have an Epson Photo 960 that holds 7 cartridges. Send me the link where I can get these $13 cartridges of quality ink. I assume you don't want the picture to fade after a couple of years right. I might change my opinion of you.

You go ahead and price the cheapest deals you can find on a helmet, video camera, still camera, bite switch, ring sight, and ring sight mount. Forget the computer and printer, as you said we should only be plugging up a cable anyway right.

I can tell you for certain his stated costs for gear are not inflated at all. Of course ignorance is bliss so you go ahead and hang on to your opinions. Quite often in life you really do get what you pay for.

"... this ain't a Nerf world."

[stratostar 5]

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We do have a local guy who does video for fun groups and 4way teams. He pays for his own slots, pack jobs and expenses (even for 4way comp.!) and never charges for anything. He makes good money and says that it's the least he can do. He is a great guy but he makes things very diffucult for the rest of us. Sometimes I'll feel like a scrooge when all I want is my slot covered or a pack job.
This is one of the reasons that with the exception of 4way, I do very little video anymore

Posting to all would be and wannabe players.
Well you will run into that at times, but if your any good at what you do you will have a reputation and be asked to the fun loads or 4-way, and those who ask for you, will understand the fees. If your just doing it for slots and packs you have no room to bitch about the other guy under cutting you, your already under cutting yourself for the work.

Dose this guy get in the rotation for tandems and AFF videos? Do you get in the rotation?

I bet he or you don't for free, none of the other staff who are working would put up with it and no DZO is going to put up with one person running off his video staff who provide a service to the customers.
(unless he can find enough fools to do the work for free and at their expense)

Hey if your not into doing working jumps on the rotation, it's all good, but if you think your going to show to the dz with 5 tandems and do all 5 for free, you better bet the full timers are going to get bent at you.

This is one of the problems in the sport today, every new 100-200 jump hot shit wonder can run out spend a bunch of money and slap some cams to their new helmet and then think their freefall photographer cuz they can take a bizillion digital images on a jump and toss out the shitty ones, and yes they get lucky and get some good shots, hell if you take enough your bound to get some good ones. But that don't make you a talented freefall photographer who knows what the hell your doing, it just makes you lucky. Let's see how good you are with 35mm instead of digital on full auto.

And then there are the ones who have money to burn, run out and buy the stuff and could care less about getting paid and will try to swoop the guys who do it for a living in order to prove they are good at it or just to be a jump slut and will give their photos and videos away, and yea people will take them.
(paying back those who helped you once, I do it too, nothing wrong with that)

Funny thing about people who bitch about those of us who make money doing video/stills, you will never hear them say a word if it's Norm or Mike, or Laz, or Tony or any other high profile camera flyer, no they will fork out the amount asked and then brag to their buddys, joe cool big name took my photo. There is one guy who make the rounds and is a doctor, make's good money too and could afford to give his work away, yet I have never seen him not charge for his work, and no one bitches about him being well off and trying to make money for the work he dose.

If you can get someone to do it for free more power to ya, have at it, sometimes you get what you pay for. As for guys who only want to do 4 way and will cover their cost to do it or work for slots, pack jobs and beer, go for it, I personally hate it and find it boring for one thing and it don't pay enough to hang out with a bunch of up tight anal pricks and put up with their shit, if I wanted to deal with that I would go back to the corp. world, it is far more fun to provide a service to the tandems and AFF students and fun jumpers and it pay's a lot better.

I jump to have fun in the first place and getting paid to have fun is the greatest job in the world and that is why most of us do it and have spent thousands of dollars to buy the tools to do the job and spent many hours in the air to get good at it.

Pay up or shut up, NOTHING in life is for free! And if you don't like it, go get you own shit and do it yourself, your way, and before you ask here what kind of shit to buy of how to do this, that or how many jumps you need, try doing a search first!

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[velocityphoto 0]

I would love those assholes that want everything for free to sit down next to me at tax time, or when i place my orders for supplies and equipment ! :)

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[justinhawxhurst 0]

I don't know if this has any relevance, but I am going to speak from the side of the one being filmed/photographed. I am a ski model and work for many clothing companies and magazines. When I am asked to go on a photo shoot I expect to be paid my usual daily rate. When I offer to go on a shoot I am giving my services to the photographer on grounds that if the photo gets published I get photo credit as the athlete and if I need the picture I can use it as I need.

[DSE 3]

If you work for free, all you're doing is telling others what you think of your own value. You didn't get that camera helmet, gear, and skill without paying for it one way or another, why should anyone else?
Nothing wrong with shooting for free because you want to do a favor for a friend or a group of friends, but there is also nothing wrong with telling them, I usually get XXX for this, pay my slot and I'll USB the files to you.
But giving away CDs of pix not only costs money, but the time to dump em', etc. Support yourself, support the concept of value for services, and either charge a little, or explain why you're not charging.
In my own case, I'm very expensive as a shooter on the ground. In the air, I did 40 free/my expense jumps as I began honing my skills as a cam flyer. I still charge very little, and probably will do so until I feel I'm at least really good. When/if I reach the point that I'm exceptionally good or have a style that's all my own, then I'll be expensive to hire. If/when I'm granted the aerial gifts and skills of Joe Jennings, Tom Sanders, Norm Kent...well hell, you'll have to pay just to look at me, cuz I'll go to 11

[Icon134 0]

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I don't know if this has any relevance, but I am going to speak from the side of the one being filmed/photographed. I am a ski model and work for many clothing companies and magazines. When I am asked to go on a photo shoot I expect to be paid my usual daily rate. When I offer to go on a shoot I am giving my services to the photographer on grounds that if the photo gets published I get photo credit as the athlete and if I need the picture I can use it as I need.

Sure... I'm not sure that Aerial photography is quite the same though and to boot I assure you the photographer is getting paid by the clothing company to shoot photos as well.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[stratostar 5]

Your preaching to the choir, for one.

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If you work for free, all you're doing is telling others what you think of your own value

I don't work for free, that should be clear by now.

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Nothing wrong with shooting for free because you want to do a favor for a friend or a group of friends, but there is also nothing wrong with telling them, I usually get XXX for this, pay my slot and I'll USB the files to you.

Only people who get that treatment from me is other staff and those who I owe favors too, most other camera flyers I know trade film/stills of each other. I don't even give wuffo friends free videos/stills if they do TDM's. There's always times you can make exceptions, for example when a TM was killed last year, I went thru many hours of tape and made a tribute film of him ending with the missing man formations, I gave the DVD copies away to anyone who wanted them. Why? Because it would be low class to charge his friends or make money off of a tribute to the fallen, IMHO. (we're not national G. here)

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I did 40 free/my expense jumps as I began honing my skills as a cam flyer.

Well that's how it works in these part's, you pay your dues and prove you can do the job before you can get in the rotation and paid slots.(and I'm not talking about fun jumps as paying your dues)

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If/when I'm granted the aerial gifts and skills of Joe Jennings, Tom Sanders, Norm Kent...well hell, you'll have to pay just to look at me

LOL your not all that, I've seen you. ok here, I'll give ya a nickel.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo