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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Oh No, I've been fired.
Jeff Kiely, Photographer
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Tolland | CT | USA | Posted: 9:47 PM on 11.10.09 |
->> Well its freelance so not really fired but the newspaper publisher has told the photo editor that she doesn't want me to continue to work for them.
And the egregious act I committed to warrant this decision? Did I have wrong or misspelled names? No. Were my images poorly exposed or oof? No. Did I cause people in the community to call and complain about me? No. Did I tell them that I needed them to pay my two outstanding invoices if they wanted me to shoot a Thanksgiving Eve football game? Yes. Apparently wanting to get paid for work done is grounds to discontinue our relationship.
I only do a handful of assignments a year for them so its not like its going to have any big effect on me. But I started freelancing for this paper in 1990 and was on staff from '92 through '99 so I do have a long history with them. It's just sad that they feel they can have freelancers shoulder their debt.
Oh, and the grand total that they owe me: $160. |
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Erik Markov, Photographer
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Kokomo | IN | | Posted: 9:56 PM on 11.10.09 |
| ->> Sorry, I know the pay from it for a freelancer is probably always nice to have and coming from a staffer for a paper, this really isn't meant to sound pretentious. Is it fired or is it liberation? Sounds like the latter. Who wants to work for short sighted people like that anyway? Sucks they can't manage to be human beings and pay their debts tho. |
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Jeff Kiely, Photographer
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Tolland | CT | USA | Posted: 10:10 PM on 11.10.09 |
->> Like I said its only a handful of assignments a year so it hasn't been a job I counted on for anything. I shoot for a couple of monthly papers and they actually pay better and are much better to work for.
And they've been driving away good people for years so its not a total surprise. Just seems really petty. |
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David M. Russell, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 10:48 PM on 11.10.09 |
->> I knew a photographer who was owed some money by, I think, the AP. This was a long, long time ago.
So to try to hurry things along, he took a deadline assignment and then refused to turn in the film until he had a check. Needless to say, they stopped calling him.
Not getting paid sucks. Demanding payment is tricky. |
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Jeff Kiely, Photographer
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Tolland | CT | USA | Posted: 11:08 PM on 11.10.09 |
| ->> Yes David demanding payment can be tricky. But this place has played games for years and driven a lot of good people away. I don't think asking for old money to be paid 2+ weeks before another assignment is unreasonable. If they can't pay for another 30 days, tell me. If they don't want to pay for freelance then fine, don't use freelancers. Thankfully I have plenty of work from other clients that do pay. |
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Richard Orr, Photographer
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Longmeadow | MA | USA | Posted: 8:29 AM on 11.11.09 |
->> The best way to overcome this issue, I have found, is to be pretty diligent about sending invoices and statements. I have a couple of clients that have very messy desks, and the statement that shows up telling them they are 30 days late is a nice, calm way to let them know that I need to be paid.
Since my work is mostly with colleges, the other thing that is good to do is to becomes friendly with the accounts payable person associated with the department. A note to them asking if they have reconciled at outstanding invoices--just to be sure--has resulted in some old payments being made.
Finally, on two occasions I sent them a letter telling them to cease and desist using all of my images, remove them from the site and destroy any materials that use them.
This too has gotten decent reactions.
Depending on how old the outstanding invoice is, it is perfectly OK to stop shooting for them. |
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Michael Myers, Photographer
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Miami Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 2:19 PM on 11.15.09 |
->> After being with them for ten years, I don't think you should have worded it the way you did:
"Did I tell them that I needed them to pay my two outstanding invoices if they wanted me to shoot a Thanksgiving Eve football game? Yes."
Of course they should pay you more promptly, but saying it the way you seem to have done, is just asking them to stop dealing with you. IMHO. |
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David Bergman, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 5:42 PM on 11.15.09 |
->> Photographers are our own worst enemies.
I can't speak about Jeff's specific situation because I don't know the nature of his relationship with the newspaper, the speed at which they had paid him in the past, or the tone in which he handled this issue.
However, being paid in a reasonable amount of time is something that every one of us should demand from our clients. Almost every other business entity is paid either in advance or at the time of delivery.
For example, if you don't pay the phone company BEFORE the month that you want service, they may give you a 30 day grace period (after they check your credit score) and then they will shut off your phone service. No one would expect otherwise.
Remember, you run a business. They are the buyer and you are the seller. It's up to you to set the terms of your relationship IN ADVANCE AND IN WRITING. Include things like how quickly you need to be paid and penalties for non-payment.
I suggest picking up John Harrington's "Best Business Practices for Photographers" for more valuable thoughts on this subject.
Best,
David Bergman
http://www.DavidBergman.net/ |
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Mark Peters, Photographer
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Highland | IL | USA | Posted: 5:51 PM on 11.15.09 |
->> "Almost every other business entity is paid either in advance or at the time of delivery."
I'll challenge that. It is quite common for corporations to pay 14-45 days after invoicing, which is well after delivery, on everything from contract labor, office supplies, utilities and major components. I would suggest it is the exception rather than the rule that prepayment is made - and then generally for those with poor credit. |
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David McKeown, Photographer
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Port Carbon | PA | USA | Posted: 3:54 PM on 11.16.09 |
| ->> I was having the same kind of issues with clients of mine. A college of mine gave me a pretty good suggestion. He said include a due date and let them know if no payment is received by that date interest will be accrued. Generally people don't like to have to pay more then they have to. Every other business includes late fees and such. Why can't we? |
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