FACT: No company in the world will pay you to perform a photographic stunt just so that you can take dank a picture to show your entire fam.
And to that end, we should discuss a relatively new trend in photography: rooftopping. This is an evolution of Urban Exploring, which usually involves groups sticking together and is a bit safer. It’s also evolved into contrasting beautiful things or people with grungy environments. To that end, Urbexing is okay though I don’t think that anyone should ever do anything illegal necessarily especially if they’re trying to promote themselves as a professional photographer.
Companies will pay you to do shoots in abandoned places as long as there is a permit and everything is legal. No company or person will pay you to do anything where you risk your life due to legal ramifications with the exception of photojournalism.
To that end, no company will pay you to sneak into the top of a tower in Dubai past security and climb all the way to the top to take a semi-selfie. It’s stupid, reckless, and dangerous. When you take these photos you’re usually doing them for Instagram like or something else like that. Now consider this: what does an Instagram like do for you?
The answer: truly nothing.
Are you doing something no one else can? Not necessarily; you’re just doing something incredibly dangerous.
Now instead of scolding let me do something different here:
- All of your friends will cry at your funeral because when you fall, they’re going to need to have a closed casket funeral
- People genuinely care about you. Your parents/guardians, loved ones, friends, cousins, teachers, colleagues, etc.
- No one will be happy that you’re dead
- Your actions make other people want to do this and someone is bound to try it and get seriously hurt or die
- If you’re caught, you and your family can be charged legally for your reckless behavior.
Unfortunately, this may not stop; and the fascination with trying to capture these cool locations won’t be anywhere as entertaining or awesome as actually trying to hone a creative vision.