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When is TFP Okay for Photographers? Getting a Better Idea

Chris Gampat
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09/27/2022
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Milvus food photography (2 of 5)ISO 2001-160 sec at f - 2.0

If you’re reading this, then you’re most likely a passionate photographer. If you’re not, then you’re considering hiring one and you want to know fair rates. For the record, anyone can do TFP. Working photographers can absolutely do it. Enthusiast and hobbyist photographers can do TFP too. But there’s surely something to be said about both the ethics and the mutual benefit. In reality, I think it boils down to symbiosis, which is more important than ever.

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What is TFP?

The definition of TFP has changed a lot over the years. Colloquially, it meant something along the lines of time for print. It meant that a model was giving you their time, and you would guarantee them photos. But in more recent times, it’s come to mean different things. What I’ve seen often used is the idea of “Trade for Photo.”

Some real-life examples of this are:

  • Free food for photos
  • Free drinks for photos
  • Free admission to an event for photos
  • Free modelling for photos
  • Free use of a space for photos

If you’re good and have good people skills, folks will keep working with you on a TFP basis. Pretty much every staffer here has sometimes done TFP work. But it’s important to set boundaries. And we’ll discuss that later.

Why are Some Photographers Compelled to do TFP?

There’s a big difference when it comes to TFP. TFP means you’re getting something in return that you generally feel is a fair trade. At least, that’s what it should be. What TFP sometimes is interpreted as instead is you just doing someone a favor and not getting anything in return. And it’s easy to get into that habit and feel like you’re servicing all those random people and companies. 

More often than not, the world will try to use you in an unsustainable fashion. 

There have been a few times where I’ve gone to a restaurant and photographed the food I was about to eat, but they didn’t give me a discount or anything like that. Bars generally will give me a deal of some sort. But with TFP, it should ideally mean you get the food and more for free. A photographer can easily charge a couple thousand for a food photography session. Is the food worth as much? 

If it is, then that’s cool. Go for it if you feel it’s worth it for you.

If it’s not, then either adjust what you’re doing accordingly or don’t do the gig. There have been many times where I’ve taken a cheaper gig and did no post-production to the images. If someone asked me to shoot a two hour event, you’d better believe I’m not going to spend more than five extra minutes getting them photos afterward.

What’s Wrong with Doing TFP Often?

Doing TFP often is like a virus. If you keep doing it, more and more people will try to use you as a photographer. That’s fine, but you need to be firm that you need a fair trade. If you keep giving out freebies, you’re hurting photographers who do this for a living. Ask yourself if helping your friend out is important enough that you hurt other folks you might not know.

When Should You Do TFP?

In the end, you should only do TFP if you’re trying to do something charitable (and can write it off), or if you feel like you’re getting a fair trade. If you’re not, keep the photos for yourself. If someone asks you for the photos, they should be willing to compensate you.

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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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