Walczak Photo wrote in post #5533755
Sorry about the spelling, since I hadn't heard the term before, I went the the spelling from your own post ("...but giving you a striped isn't cool").
Jim, I'm the one that owns the apology. If I spelled it right in the first place (fixed it after your post so I won't confuse others), you might have had half a chance at figuring it out 
ABphoto wrote in post #5533253stephen do you think that if we do this job for almost nothing compared to market value, would it be worth the credits and portfolio? or is that just another way of bringing down the photography business world in general?
Long answer to a short question.... I apologize ahead of time
I look at any offers like this in this manner. How much of my own money would I spend, save, or be willing to part with for this opportunity? How unique is the opportunity, could I recreate this on my own? What marketing or advertising value does this really have? Is this a favor for a friend or good client?
If someone gave me the opportunity to do a shoot with a A list movie star and wanted to charge me $500 to do so, I'd jump on it. Its unique, something I couldn't do on my own, has a tangible value, and would be a bargain. I pay more for good models! If I was asked to pay $6,000 for doing this, which would be a reasonable fee for doing that shot for them, I'd turn it down. If I did it for free, that is the tangible value I would be giving up, so in essense my 'cost' to do it for them for fee.
In your situation, and from my take;
A credit line for something like this is of no value with regard to self promotion, marketing, or getting your name out there. No one is going to see it, and those that do don't care. My phone has never rung with someone thats found me via a credit line, nor has any of my peers, and I've got hundreds or more out there nationally. Value to the photographer, $1 at best, or 1/2 an ego stroke
Could you do this shot all on your own without the manufacturers help, and put that in your portfolio? It sounds like you can, since you have connections with the hospital. If you could pull off the multiplicity shot at your work, it seems to me that you could probably do this one as well without any help from the manufacturer. So the value of the opportunity given you seems negligible as well.
Unless they are giving you access to their equipment that you can't get in any other way, and the equipment is important over some other piece of equipment you could use, I'd be yawing at this proposal so far.
That seems to leave only being able to say "I shot for XYZ, and here is the image", while pointing to a tear sheet. In my opinion, the first couple feel good, but after doing a lot of these you come to the realization that there is little value in those as well. Clients don't ask to see tear sheets, and react no differently to a tear sheet than they do of the same straight image n your web site or in your portfolio. So while it does have a feel good effect, its limited in value in the marketing end as well. How much that is worth to a given photographer? The less experienced put a higher the value to them than a pro does. So there is probably some limited value there, but not much.
As for diluting the market, it the above shows there is a real value to you, then market be damned. You do the right thing for you, and try to get some coin at the same time. After all it is a business, and you are not here to serve the other photographers competing with you. Just make sure there is some real value to you that is obvious to both yourself and the client.
But if there is little to no value for you on the table, and you do it for next to nothing, then you are just giving away your time. That will set the value of your time and skills at next to nothing in the clients eyes, and that does dilute the market for everyone. And you will here this from time to time from potential clients calling you and asking you for a shot like this, and replying with "wow, I thought it would only cost say $100, since the last photographer that did this only charged me $50 for gas money. Why are you so expensive?"
If you do find value, and do this, let the client know the true value up front. Let them know what a shoot like that would really go for, what you are willing to do it for, and why you are dropping the price. You can say its for inexperience, the results are not guaranteed like a pro, you could have to reshoot, the final quality won't be the same, you can't guarantee the files will make it through CMYK conversions without issues et, you've never directed talent before, and so on. Give them a good long list. By doing that, you've set the value correctly, and at the same time listed a host of reasons why a pro charges more.
Then when they come back to you in 4 years and want another freebie or rock bottom discount, you can say my price is now market rate because now you can gaurantee your results, you have experience working with talent, you won't need to reshoot, your quality is on par with any other pro out there, and so on. If they see value that, they will hire you, and you've got a good client. If not, they will go looking for another in-experienced photographer and try to bargain on the low end again, and you will be happy their aren't your client always pushing for more services for less money.
