How to support your photographer friend - without spending a penny

I consider myself incredibly lucky to have such a supportive set of friends and family, many of whom have been with me since I started as a professional photographer some 15 years ago. Make no mistake, making money from photography is not easy. So how can you support the photographer in your circle? Yes you could book (and pay!) them to make photographs for you, but if that’s not an option there are many great ways that you can help without spending anything at all!

1) When you get something for free - shout about it!

Most photographers, even those well established in their careers will make some photographs for friends and family for free.

Remember that it’s free to you but not to the photographer. I reckon for every hour I spend photographing I spend another hour editing, and on top of the time there’s the cost of equipment, insurance, software (including that used to share the photos with you) and a whole host of other stuff.

So when you get these ‘free’ images please do something with them - show them to people, share them online and tag the photographer, at the very least tell the photographer ‘thank you’ and how much you like them. This leads on to my next suggestion nicely!

2) Tell them you love their work!

There are so many discouraging things about trying to make it as a photographer that a little praise goes a long way.

Many of us are discouraged by spending hours crafting a beautiful image, only to post it on Instagram where it gets sucked into a black hole and seen by a tiny handful of people. There have been times in my life where I’ve completely given up trying to get my work seen - in such a image rich environment, standing out from the crowd, even when that crowd makes images that are mediocre at best, is really difficult.

So if you see a photograph you like - tell the photographer. Don’t post a banal comment like ‘great capture’ it’s meaningless! Tell them what you like about it, consider contacting them in person to tell them, share the image with others and tell them who made it.

Many artists suffer crises of confidence and photographers are no exception. It may seem silly to you when you see their images are brilliant, but know that in most cases the photographer does not think it’s amazing and may well be wondering if they are good enough.

3) Recommend them - for the RIGHT work

Getting recommended is great, but then having to tell the person you were recommended to that you can’t help them - is just depressing!

So if your photographer specialises in landscapes, you should definitely recommend them to people looking for home decor and to those looking to commission images of their gardens. But don’t recommend them to someone looking for a studio portrait!

Many photographers (myself included) do a wide range of work but even we don’t shoot everything.

The trouble is that when work is in short supply it’s tempting for a photographer to accept work that’s not in their wheelhouse and that inevitably means we’re not satisfied with the end result - even though the client may be happy. This can end up with more second guessing and self doubt - and we carry enough of that around anyway!

In a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket and celebrity means more than actual talent and hard work - it’s getting tougher and tougher to stick with photography as a career choice. I’m seeing lots of talented photographers leaving the industry for all sorts of reasons - but consistently it’s about the devaluation of what we do as professionals. That said, with plenty of support from those around them, photography is a hugely rewarding thing to do and for me, not doing it really isn’t an option. Even when I eventually hang up my camera as a professional I can’t imagine a life without taking the very best photos I can manage.

So support your photographers - even if you can’t buy from them, your support can make a huge difference!