Event photography - offer to shoot free with no takers?

I am wanting to get into event photography (ceremonials, official dinners, charitable events etc), and posted on CL offering free coverage (so that i can build portfolio).
To my surprise, there are no inquiries.
Wow.

Perhaps, I should be fishing for these somewhere else? or do something else alltogether?
Any advise?
thanks

Did you link to some of the photos you've already taken? No one wants a complete amateur.

I can't say that I, or anyone I know, would look on CL for a photographer. Most of the professionals I know would ask for a referral (first), check the Chamber of Commerce or online (second). But, CL....I would not expect to get anything good from that. My market may be different than yours, but CL is not the first choice for services providers here.

You won't get much support from people here if you're posting on CL offering free work

SnapShot Photos wrote in post #11404262
You won't get much support from people here if you're posting on CL offering free work

+1 to the max

Last time I asked the guy at the gas station for free gas.....he suggested I eat beans

I did a search for photographers on my local CL the other day... I found 717 ads.

Many were freebies, hoping to build up their portfolios. A lot of others were horribly underpriced priced... non-sustainable, in fact.

From the examples of their work that I saw, they were worth every penny, too!

Sure, they'll be out of business in a year or two, if not sooner. But for each one that falls by the wayside, I'm sure there will be two or three more that step up - with a gleam in their eye and grasping their two month old kit cameras tightly - offering even lower prices!

head...wall; wall...head - have you two met?

Wow
I see some people have some anger towards other photographers that offer free work in order to build portfolio. Then perhaps they can offer suggestions on how to build a portfolio?

Thank you

Why don't you get involved in your church or a social organization and volunteer to shoot events for them. If they know you first, it should be easier to get in there and cover these events.

Chris wrote in post #11404561
Why don't you get involved in your church or a social organization and volunteer to shoot events for them. If they know you first, it should be easier to get in there and cover these events.

that's a good idea - thanks Chris

sniper_md wrote in post #11404571
that's a good idea - thanks Chris

Also, offer up to shoot family and friends events as well to start off with. They can be an initial start. Holiday portraits are a big thing right now. That can be a thought as well. However, i suggest not to do too many for free as then the suggestion would be taken as the norm. Eventually you should move into charging.

sniper_md wrote in post #11404559
Wow
I see some people have some anger towards other photographers that offer free work in order to build portfolio. Then perhaps they can offer suggestions on how to build a portfolio?

Thank you

Find a local professional, email them and ask them to do some second shooting work, there's usually some form of compensation for your time like 10%.

SnapShot Photos wrote in post #11404591
Find a local professional, email them and ask them to do some second shooting work, there's usually some form of compensation for your time like 10%.

thanks, I did that some time ago, didn't get responds either

It is possible to get good paying jobs by advertising on CL, I've done it. You can't put ads in one spot sit back and hope the responses roll in. You have to saturate a market with as much advertising as possible and there are plenty of other options beyond CL. Craigslist gets somewhat of a bad rap but if it gets you the desired results who cares what others think.

I don't like the concept of others offering free services. It tends to set the bar exceptionally low for those that are actually trying to make a living off of this. It is however a fact of life now and something that you work around. I'm assuming that you hold a full time job somewhere else. Buckieh is correct in that some one hiring a photographer for an event wants a level of comfort that they are not hiring some one doing this for the first time. An event is just that, a one time event and if they chose the wrong photographer the organizer looks like a putz and they don't get the results they wanted.

There are plenty of other ways of building a portfolio without having to bear the brunt of others for giving it away. Solicit family members or those that you work with. I'm sure you could find someone at work that would take up your free offer. They may not otherwise have photos done so in a weird sense you are not impacting the market. Find another photographer that you can assist. I have had several of these over the years and I learned the trade in the film days by working part time for an established studio. By going this route and if you get someone that is enthusiastic they will not only help you with your photography but they will teach you something about the business end of this industry. Of course you can always put another ad on CL and similar sites to actually hire models and pay them. If people want to make this an ongoing paying venture then you have to actually spend some money at times to make things work for you within the timeline that you have set for yourself.

sniper_md wrote in post #11404559
Wow
I see some people have some anger towards other photographers that offer free work in order to build portfolio. Then perhaps they can offer suggestions on how to build a portfolio?

Thank you

(read this in an angry tone, even though I'm not angry going to try to write it like I am, grrrrr, me mad, ugh ugh - and throw a sarcastic tone in there to sometimes)

Maybe the same exact way it's been done for years, even before digital where every schmuck bought a camera and called themselves a professional. You shoot on your own, without a client, you learn the skills, you build a portfolio that way, and if you have to give it away to a third party to do so you're not very creative in the first place.

I shoot all the time without a client to work on certain aspects and try new stuff, and you know who gets it for nothing - nobody! If they want it they can pay for it, even if I was just out practicing on my own a third party is not getting access for free. If it's good enough to be published it's good enough to be paid for. Speaking of, thinking about trying some PJ style in this blizzard...does that mean I have to call the local paper and beg to give it to them free so I can do it? NO!! Plain and simply people need to get off their lazy backside and do it themselves. Why would you even approach a potential client screaming "amateur" and "I don't know what I'm doing"? Not exactly a way to start a business, can't imagine a Doctor, Lawyer, Carpenter, Electrician, any professional coming out right away screaming this when starting out.

Sports - you get permission to shoot a youth or high school game to build a portfolio. I can name more than a few who started this way in sports.

Events - a night out with a bunch of friends can help with that easy.

PJ - you can create PJ style anywhere and everywhere, you make up a story and how you want to tell it, and then go shoot it.

You work as an assistant with an established shooter.

You practice with anything and have friends that help you.

Charity - the only time you should work for free, it feels good and they often don't care about the results from an amateur trying to learn. Church mentioned is a great idea, they often do events.

Having to give away images to build a portfolio is the biggest load of crap there is in photography! It's a myth, it's what people who don't know do trading images for access. Worst part is often they get used and think that shot is immediately portfolio worthy. I can't count how many portfolios I've seen with images that were published and it's the only reason they keep it in there. One guy sent one saying "this was published in ESPN the Mag" - yea, it's oof and badly framed, you just happened to be the only guy who had the pic of that guy in the uniform for the story, and why it ran the size of my thumb was because any bigger you could see how bad it is.

So yea, you can build a portfolio without working for free for a third party, to do so is just an excuse for the uncreative people who have no clue what they're doing.

End of angryness, grrrrr....oh and it probably don't make as much sense as I'd like, but someone has to get to the bank.