How often have you given work 'away'?

[GooGaBu]

No - this is not about giving your images for free....

Us Sport Photographers can sometimes have a reputation of protecting our 'turf' and not always being overly welcoming to new comers or photographers we don't know.
But.. let's face it, inside we are all fluffy and friendly Care Bears ;-)

So what I'd like to hear is how many times have you been double/triple booked for a certain date by REGULAR clients, and then proceeded to give one of those jobs to a fellow photographer.
And in the same way.. how many times has a fellow photographer approached you to take on a job because they have been booked to be in more than one game/event at the same time.

How well would you have to know the other photographer before you would trust them to do the job for a client that you have a good/long working relationship with?

I guess many who cover soccer, can be in this situation.. lots of games on a Saturday.. but we can only be in one place at a time.

From personal point of view.. I often find myself calling other photographers to 'fill in' for me at games/tournaments because having been booked somewhere else earlier.
And also - I have acquired some good jobs when these same photographers contact me when they can not be in two places at once.

 

[KIPAX]

If you ahve a decent network of friends photogrpahers then its always gonna happen.. for me its not too often.. I do pass on work such as events that require onsite printing as I cant do those.. I do get stuff off other photogrpahers.. but again it's not that often to be fair..

 

[snapzz]

If your referring to commissioned jobs then I doubt that happens too often although I have had a few referals but for sports events such as tournaments or boxing events etc then often these are passed on either in there entirety or sub contracted. As Kipax mentioned these would require onsite printing.

 

[GooGaBu]

Few replies.. so guess it proves we are not all ogres who protect our own hut ;-)

Graham - I was thinking of games/tournaments that someone has asked you to do (of course you need to know your client well and also communicate with them if it is OK for someone else to do it).
So it would be.. for example if you have Scunthorpe vs Rotherham, and England vs Ireland on the same day. Would you want/be able to pass one of those jobs to someone else.
Or if you cover certain clubs all games during a season.. but can't make one because of something else... would you want/be able to pass that on?

So guess from my point of view - I have the 'personal' relationship with many of my newspaper/organisation/teams and they know that at times I might not be available (because there might be a mid-season two week tournament in Albania or something)... so they often do trust me judgement if I ask if they would like me to send someone else to cover their game/event.
But.. I am sure lot of it depends on your client.

 

[snapzz]

I think if you know of or have a trusted backup then it would be ok to send them in your name but wise to inform the client. Some may prefer to just pass the job on as a whole but still inform the client and also give them the option of using someone else.

 

[GooGaBu]

I think if you know of or have a trusted backup then it would be ok to send them in your name but wise to inform the client. Some may prefer to just pass the job on as a whole but still inform the client and also give them the option of using someone else.

Yes, of course inform the client.. would never imagine doing it any other way. As you would be passing the job to someone else, and need to be sure the client is OK with it.
My usual way is to write to the client and say "Unfortunately I am not able.. but..yadayadayada....)