What It Feels Like to Be a Freelance Photographer

Freelancers often have to deal with the difficult challenge of trying to satisfy vaguely stated requests from clients, and also the frustration of meeting new requirements that aren’t revealed until after the work is “completed”. The video above is an interesting social experiment by Don’t Get Screwed Over that attempts to show people what these freelance horror stories feel like to the people getting “screwed over”.

In it, we find a booth set up in a New York City park with the simple and enticing offer: “WILL PAY $5 FOR A DRAWING.” Passers-by quickly set to work drawing the requested subjects (e.g. dog, bird, island) after a simple handshake agreement. As they hand in their work expecting to get a fiver in return, they’re quickly met with unexpected disappointment (which quickly turns into anger).

The moral of the story: make sure you have a clear contract before you start working.