This got me thinking as there was a photographer it seems who has consistently been asking for models to be his talent for free so that he can make some portfolio material to attract new clients. It seems like every few months he would do the same. This got a lot of people to scold him as by the looks of it he has been running his business for awhile where people are easily charged at least $300 or so per session. Because of that, people are questioning how he can’t afford to simply hire people with pay for his requests.
Is there a point where one should stop asking for free help if people are willing to do it? I know in this case usually the people who agree need experience per se and so they do it hoping it will help them land professional work. So do you think a professional should take advantage of this or at some point is it deemed as being exploitive?
One could argue things such as internships are a thing where people value the experience and so this should be no different. So where would you draw the lime in that sense on what is considered as simply a fair opportunity versus taking advantage of people?