Should you work for free?

To me, it comes to no surprise that people are willing to ask others to work for free in any industry — I mean who doesn’t love a freebie, right?! 🤷

Working for free isn’t as bad as its made it out to be, as long as you get some benefit from doing it. Whether it’s to land other opportunities and/or help you expand your skillset.

During the short years I have been an adult, I have given my time freely to work on projects — in fact, to this day, I still do. The lesson I learnt from doing these projects are the reasons why I never regret all the hours I put into them. The experience and skills I gained from doing work for free is the reason why I have never been against the idea of doing something free of charge.

Leanne Galloway, a photographer in the West Yorkshire area, had this to say about why she embarks on free projects.

Since graduating university and embarking on my freelance career there have been situations I have chosen to work for free, as I have felt the experience and content for my portfolio was more beneficial than charging for the photo shoot. In adopting this mentality, it allows for a growth in knowledge regarding that specific type of photography and allows me to showcase the content on my website, with the aim being to attract other clients who are interested in a similar field of work. I am also particularly passionate about offering a free service to creative students who get in touch with me. In doing this it allows me to consistently build on the fashion and portraiture side of my portfolio, as well as aiding the students in the creation of their projects. This approach comes through reflection of my time as a student and an understanding of the difficulties surrounding the expensive outlay creative students often face.

Whether you work for free is… well it is entirely up to you. It’s down to whether you have the capacity, time and passion for the project to do the work for free. And just remember, although people will presume we should all work for free because “it will look good on your portfolio” or “it will give you greater exposure”, you really don’t have to if you don’t want to. The choice is totally up to you and you alone.