I'm doing a few freelance projects with various charities - one of which is very early stages but will involve taking photographs for themfor the website, magazine etc. Should I be charging a fee for this - they are a charity! Or is it normal to work for free. I'm still gaining experience in photography and so I've taken on a few unpaid assignments. Just wanted to know from any experienced people outthere whether it would seem cheeky to charge for my services!

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No you can't charge them. But.... When you start earning money you can claim for various tax concessions that come from charity work. Not only that but you can use the photo's you are doing for free in a Portfolio! Plus the biggest of all?!?! You said you are doing some photos for a magazine/web site! Just ask nicely if you could advertise in that for free and Bob's you uncle FREE ADVERTISING! At the end of the day the advertising offered by that will out weigh the cost of your photo shoot! Charity work can pay if used right.

Sort of. I get contacted by charities all the time asking if I will donate my photography services. The very first thing I ask is if the person calling me is donating their time, or if they are an employee of the charity. If the charity can pay them, they can pay me. The next part involves working in trade. Many charities have corporate sponsors. If they ask me to do a photo shoot for a day and my normal rate was $1,500, I ask what a sponsor would get for $1,500 and offer to do the work in trade. For charity events, that often involves my logo being placed on the materials, links on their websites, and mentions on their radio and TV advertising. The idea with working with charities is that you should be setting up a mutually beneficial relationship with them. You also need to weigh your willingness to work in trade based on the size of the organization. I would be happy to trade with a local non-profit. However, I would never donate my photography to an organization like the Red Cross that has an annual budget of $150 million.

Charge them a preferential rate or at the very least, ask for a charitable donation receipt in the value of the work. You have costs associated with running a business and you can't help them if you can't replace your gear or eat.

Off course you can charge them. if this is just a very small local charity which is ALL volunteers then by all means donate your time and effort. Any major charity then charge them your full rate. Have you any idea how much the heads and some of the senior people in these charities earn? I can tell you it is hundreds of thousands a year. Any one saying you should give your time and effort for free should read this report http://www.charitynavigator.org/__asset__/studies/2010_CEO_Compensation_Study_Revised_Final.pdf Just because it is a charity does not mean free. They do not get their premises, services (electricity, gas etc), printing, staffing etc etc for free. There is absolutely no reason why they should get your services for free.

I have a few select charities that I will do free work for because I choose them. Anyone else I charge. You are under no obligation to support any and every charity.