Think small, stay small...

Jcoleman. The only problem is that you should have been paid for the original shoot. Women in a professional organization have money just like anyone else.

COCs can present great networking opportunities.

However, the COC itself is not one. I have been involved with them in various locales and view them in the general sense as valuable only from a networking perspective, that is, to meet the other members and press flesh.

I have not and would not offer to perform a service for the members or the COC for free, because you have just told the entire membership what value you place on your work!

Now if you're donating it and it's officially recognized as having a market value of $X that's a bit different. The problem is that the COCs typically won't present it this way.

Consider carefully what valuation impression you will leave on the other members of your work if you accept the request, and make sure you understand exactly how the COC will present your "donation" to the membership and what impression of your work's value that will leave on them.

Marketing is all about perceived value for price paid, at its core. Anything you do that derogates that is bad, anything you do that enhances that is good. That's my golden rule when it comes to such requests.

That's because the CoC itself is not a charity. You really can't give work without recognized compensation to an organization that is itself not a charity without deprecating your work.

"Recognized compensation" does include the concept of "business complementary" work, and it's more than a matter of just "putting yourself in their minds." Business people understand that concept, and if you're not doing work for a charity, then you have to make it clear that you have an expectation of compensation, otherwise you're deprecating your work.

Kevan wrote in post #15638312
So the local CofC has approached me, asking if I would be willing to donate my time to photograph people and their pets participating in a local doggy-social outdoor function. I have two mind sets about the offer, which by the way, is non-paying.

Any publicity is good publicity for my struggling business. Sure I can spend my time photographing dogs and spend the time editing the images, in hopes that I might get 'discovered' and segway myself into a position, working with Vogue. But I must admit my aspirations are significantly higher and don't fall into this genre of family photography. Does doing such functions result in a stigma, as my subject title suggests?

You folks who have made a business for yourself in photography, what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

don't do it. ..been there done that... you will be branded in their eyes "donating photography services" in your forehead.