On February 28th, 2011, I presented "Photography Isn't Free" at UBC's Abdulh Ladha Science Student Centre. Here is the slideshow in full (sans photos).

1. Photography isn’t free. We all know this.

2. What is our value?

3. Your Gear 5D = $150.00 24-70mm f/2.8 = $20.00 580EXII = $20.00 Total (to start) = $190.00 (FYI: Deposits would be close to $3,000.)

4. Your Expenses Gas = $20.00 Parking = $20.00 Food? Assistants? What else?

5. So far … … $190.00 + $40.00 = $230.00 just to cover your cost of (basic) equipment and expenses

6. “ But I need to build a portfolio!”

7. Know your value and trade in kind.

8. “ Oh yeah, we’ll tell everyone about you and promote you!” is not a guarantee. Go concrete. Get it in writing. Justify your ‘promotional expense’.

9. Can’t trade in kind? Offer less services. Don’t decrease quality. Decrease quantity. You need to survive.

10. (How Much You NEED To Earn + Expenses) / # of Projects = The Minimum Amount You Need To Make Per Project To Survive

11. One last thing …

12. Never EVER, -EVER- give away the rights to your images. Your copyrights are your STRONGEST assets.

13. The Best Business Practices For Photographers by John Harrington

14. Business and Legal Forms for Photographers by Tad Crawford

15. fotoQuote

16. PhotoShelter (Ask me for a discount code. Disclaimer: it’s a referral link.)

17. The End! Questions? @jeremylim [email_address] http://jeremylim.ca