Malno! Playing business with volunteers
WARNING!!! I have re-written this post four or five times,
asked advice and ummed and erred about publishing for a while. I have put
things in to monetary terms as I feel it makes things a little less abstract
and more real. I do not for once think that photographers should be paid (well,
not until everyone else is), their contribution to Roller Derby is no more
important than other volunteers, marketers, designers, accountants etc… who
help teams to function. But I feel adding numbers helps and highlights the
sustainability or lack off for many people. Photography can really enhance the
sport, help it reach new audiences, and aid in its growth. For skaters,
referees, NSOs etc… who don’t know me I’ve been shooting Derby since 2008,
shooting teams across the UK and Europe and attending three World Cups (2
women’s, 1 men’s) and am currently the official photographer for England Roller
Derby. I hope all the teams I’ve shot for, supplied images to, and helped out
will vouch for my character. So here goes…
The WFTDA recently changed its photography (here’s a link to have a look) policy. Apart from being skint, not being able to get time off
work, it was arguably only the third factor why I decided not to go to Malmo, I
was asked by a team, but a major one (This is post about photography, I know
NSOs and Referees have issues too).
As a photographer it’s a considerable outlay for maybe only
three games if you’re only allowed to shoot your teams bouts.
Here’s a breakdown of costs.
I’ve gone for the cheapest options I could find.
Flights from Stanstead to Copenhagen £38.54 – I do worry
about cheap flights, how good is that pilot?
Train from Sheffield to Stanstead £63.70
Hotel £303.27 – due to meeting the requirements for
insurance on my gear I need a secure place, a hostel just won’t cut it.
Total £405.51
Total in US Dollars at current exchange rate (10/09/2017)
$535.37
This is without any spending money, food, transfers from
Copenhagen to Malmo etc… so let’s say £550 all in if I’m being cautious and
willing to abstain from fun.
Total in US Dollars $725.84
That’s a lot to
photograph three bouts. Well, £241.95 per bout. So, one subject I keep going on
about is how much is a photograph worth, at this rate if I sell just one per
bout (unlikely) it’d be £250 if you allow me to make just a little profit. Anyone
want to use one as a profile pic?
Okay, so let’s go with
the WFTDA where you can shoot more but are scheduled certain games. $400 will
help soften the blow, right? Well okay here’s the mind shift. It’s now work and
for the money, underpaid. The costs above are for fun, although it must be said
expensive fun, which I could possibly justify if I could shoot teams I’ve never
shot before. That’s half of the fun and challenge, allowing one to make new
contacts and build relationships with other teams to form more opportunities. I
know a lot of people think that photography is just sitting on the side-lines
taking photos, and it is for some people. However it is much more, it’s about
building relationships, understanding the subject, creating trust. Things I see
as important, which this policy helps to curtail.
So working for the
WFTDA for $400. As we can see from the figures above I’d be already $325.84 out
of pocket before we even start. Okay let’s say I lived in Malmo and I could
just amble down the road to the venue.
I’d need to be on site
for three days. Which works out at two 11 hours days and one 9 hour. That’s the
hours I’d put in being a professional. Post-processing, let’s say 10 hours,
that’s without any admin, so I’m working on the bare bones here.
So $400 dived by 41
hours work is around $9.76 per hour, that’s £7.40. Currently in the UK the
minimum wage for over 25’s (I hate to admit I fall in to this category) is
£7.50. I’d be better off stacking shelves.
After the shoot I’d feel
overworked, no real break due to pressure to get photos released before the
next bout. Pay for a picture editor at least so I can concentrate on the
photography. The same support you’d find at major sporting events for photographers.
The Premier League, NFL etc… are different beasts, there are billions at stake.
This is Roller Derby.
Okay, we all know we do
this for fun, but there is money being made out there by some people and when
volunteers are treated as workers and no longer respected and given opportunity
it really makes a difference. I don’t know any photographer who’d not supply
images for free if asked by these organisations, but instead of building
relationships they bring in contracts. Stakeholders who are volunteers have
very different priorities to those who are paid, they have loyalty (but that
can become stretched), the other, well they are open to the highest bidder.
So this may sound like
a whinge and many skaters may say, hey we have huge costs too. And I wouldn’t
disagree, but it’s different for teams, often they will share travel
arrangements, hotel rooms etc… so costs are often far lower, and don’t forget
the intangibles, camaraderie, the highs and lows and the fund raising efforts
to help mitigate costs.
Okay, so I live in the
UK and I probably will never, I have no plans to shoot at a WFTDA event, but if
others organisations decide to go down the same model it will really drive
people out, and the sport be left will the local guy with the camera, you know
the type, the one you really don’t want at your event.
So this is a plea, not
just to the WFTDA but to all; think about your stakeholders when you put policies
in place, 99% of people involved in Roller Derby are volunteers and as such
have very different priorities to those in paid work.
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