The Revolution Will Not Be Photographed

I answered an ad looking for event photographers advertising $200 per gig. That’s pretty low for me, but I could use the extra cash here and there, so I emailed them my portfolio.

Client: “We took a look at your work and really liked what we saw here is what we are looking for…” [Sic]

The lack of sentence and paragraph structure in the email was a red flag, but I decided to entertain it anyway.

Me: “Okay, that’s great. So, what is the next step in getting started with you?”

Client: “We have many connections to promoters throughout the city. I will send you to their events to shoot. The only problem is that they don’t pay the photographers, but together, we can change that!”

Me: “So, are you telling me that there is no payment for these events? You advertised $200 per gig. Why would you not just say this was an internship if there wasn’t going to be any payment? I don’t understand. Is this a paying position or isn’t it?”

There was no response to this email initially, so I followed up with them again, a bit annoyed this time.

Client: “Some events will; some won’t. Most of them won’t, but we’re working on changing that.”

Me: “Thank you for wasting my time.”

I got no time for your revolution, man.