A recent post in a Photography group that I'm a part of triggered a fairly decent response, and thoughts in me. The article was about Time for Print, and presented two sides of an argument, with an inflationary headline. The headline was "If you shoot TFP, You are killing the Industry".
images are my own model left: Holly, model right: Kelsey
While the article made a case for each, it was definitely click bait laden enough to provoke strong reactions from me in the photographic group I'm a part of.
So, what is Time for Print?
Time for print is where a photographer, model, make up artist, or other creatives collobarate on a project in order to produce some work. No money exchanges hands, but time exchanges hands so that everyone gets a tangible benefit. The model, make up artist and photographer all earn experience, and they produce a finished body of work that can be a portfolio piece.
My immediate response to the article
Im "sponsored" by my full time job but hope to develop a sustainable practice where all parties involved gain some tangible benefit.
Ive picked up a few paid jobs from the networking side of TFP, and that's been good. Has it put food on my table? Not really.
Has it put food on other people's tables? Definitely - through my travel do another location, or the bit of kit I obtain to continue completing artistic projects.
I find it alarming that in a short eight months, Ive created a body of work more prolific than the entirety of my five year fine art education which culminated in a masters degree.
I create images because of some devastating fire that rages inside of my body, and I'll continue to do it. If there's a financial incentive to do so, that's even better.
My Journey with time for print
I finished a University Degree in Visual Art and Design almost a decade ago. I majored in digital art, and did a lot of image manipulation and digital photography. Last year, after photographing a friend's wedding as a casual observer, I got the bug for photography again. At around the sime time, I was divesting my @splinterlands collection, which meant I had some spare capital to invest in some more serious camera gear.
... and invest I did. My collection of equipment grew quickly, as did my quality of my work and ambition. My first model was Kelsey, and the work we produced was pretty good after such a long hiautus.
The first outcome of a "TFP" shoot
As per my original response to the article, and the conversation (which sadly didn't go very deep in the photographic group), I've created an enormous body of work since June last year when I started creating images again.
My folio is now at a professional standard, and the only thing I've invested in is a combination of time, and physical photographic gear.
This is just a sample of what I've achieved through Time for Print arrangements
You can view the rest of recent shoots on my website if you want to see these in more detail.
I'd love to know your thoughts
Are there any other industries that work in a similar way, where people exchange their time with others in a bartering like method in order to both gain mutual benefit? Let me know in the comments section.
all images in this post are my own