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I will preface this by saying MOST photo editors are good. Some are even great. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best. But there’s a small minority that I want to discuss now.

Recently, I heard complaints from several friends about the same publication. One had completed an assignment only to be informed, after the fact, that the outlet had just lowered its rates. Surprise! This photographer had worked for this publication for a decade at the same rate. Now they were being asked to submit a new invoice for less money, something they would never have agreed to if the editor had been upfront about the change. Another friend said this same editor asked them to photograph a 6 am assignment a 3-hour drive from their home but refused to pay for a hotel room the night before, telling them to just leave their house at 3 am instead. One photographer was asked to put thousands of dollars on a credit card for travel with the guarantee that it’d be paid within 24 hours of receiving the invoice. Weeks have gone by. This photographer still hasn’t been fully repaid. One photographer believes they had a good assignment withheld because they asked basic questions.

These complaints reminded me why I stopped working with this publication a few years ago. In my own experience, I felt like I was begging to get expenses covered. They refused to cover meals on travel assignments (luckily the staff writers would pay for meals as often as they could). They chastised me for staying in the same hotel as the staff reporter (they said it was too expensive for a freelancer). The next time I traveled for them, the photo editor found the hotel for me — an SRO with a Murphy bed and a shared bathroom down the hall. I slept in my clothes, on top of the comforter — afraid I’d get bed bugs. But hey, the free box of raisins and the comb on my dresser were nice perks.

One of the most difficult parts of being a freelancer, and what I’m afraid weeds some people out of the industry altogether, is money. Fronting expenses sucks. Not being reimbursed for 60-90 days and having large credit card bills due before you’ve been paid doesn’t just suck — it’s unethical. We’re being asked to loan our clients money on uncertain terms, or else. Sadly, it’s one of the harsh realities/dirty little secrets of freelancing.

I remember an insane conversation with a fellow freelancer about a client we both have who offers to pay you “early,” but there’s a catch: they charge you a percentage of your invoice. Imagine that. Give the client 3% back and they’ll cut you a check within 45 days. Otherwise, it’s 75 days before you’ll see a check. You’re paying for the convenience of getting your money in a reasonable time; they call it a discount. What a racket. In this case, the publication is at fault and good editors have been able to get around it, pushing back internally, and treating their freelancers better than company policy would dictate.

With one publication, I had a terrific assignment, made some great photos, sent in a $4000 invoice, and I sent a reminder at 30 days. Again at 60. Eventually, because they were New York-based, I cited the Freelance Isn’t Free Act to get paid. It doubled my invoice to $8000 which they did pay - in full - 124 days after I filed the initial invoice. You might think I won in this situation, but retaliation is real. The photo editor told me they loved my work; they’ve never called me since that assignment. 

Freelance photographers have very little recourse. All we can do is stop working for abusive publications and editors (and warn others). We can try to educate them. We can try to appeal to the good ones.

Earlier this week, I posted a poll on Instagram, asking about expenses since that’s one of the main things that comes up over and over again in complaints about clients. I wanted to know how fellow photographers see it. Do they think editors don’t know, don’t care, or simply turn a blind eye to the fact that we’re often asked to front hundreds or thousands of dollars in expenses? I hope that this starts a dialogue or at least alerts editors to what we are dealing with.

A few hundred people voted in my little poll:

• 48% think editors turn a blind eye to it because it’s the cost of doing business

• 40% think editors simply don’t care

• 3% think editors don’t know what we go through/deal with

• and 9% said other

Then 55 people dropped into my DMs to share horror stories. The same four or five publications kept coming up. Expenses, low rates, and late payments are the top complaints.

One photo editor’s name came up repeatedly for the atrocious way they treat photographers. Another was described as “red flag central.” Another has a habit of asking for pitches and then ghosting.

Here are some of the comments I got (all shared anonymously, with permission):

• “If [the publication] can’t afford to pay these expenses, they probably just shouldn’t hire me.”

• “It’s absurd how bad it’s gotten. It feels like it has almost turned into a hobby for the independently wealthy. It breaks my heart.”

• “I think [photo editors] don’t understand how difficult it is. I think they live comfortably with a regular paycheck and don’t understand that some of us don’t. They just seem so fucking out of touch with reality.”

• “It’s their job before ours. It’s basic mid-management fail.”

One very talented, well-known photographer commented: “I’m not surprised. Between the absolute lack of loyalty, seemingly not caring who takes the assignment as long as they are a warm body with a camera, having to front tons of money and not getting paid for months.”

Many commented that this is why they got out of journalism altogether. Others said that this is why they do mostly commercial or corporate work now.

Several concerned editors dropped into my DMs as well, asking if it was their publication, saying they’d want to know if so.

I had one photo editor tell me: “I think that most editors and art directors who have never worked as photographers are actually often totally clueless about the realities of freelancing.” And I think that’s fair. If most knew the realities, this might be a kinder, gentler, more equitable profession.

Another editor said: “This makes me so mad to hear! Not to excuse this bullshit (bc that’s what it is), I can say that there are a lot of photo editors who hustle to get photogs paid + expenses covered while trying to mitigate angry bosses (who don’t want to approve certain types of expenses), accounting teams (who won’t respond to our emails either!), ancient internal systems (the number of programs it takes to get someone’s address updated!), while also being on the hook to send out as many photogs as possible, as quickly as possible. It’s all a damn mess, there’s got to be a better way — but there is no excuse for a photo editor to treat photographers like shit.”

And one editor summed up what many photo editors are up against internally: “I’m annoyed for you freelancers out there. It’s the worst to wait for payment, chase payment, and work for less than you deserve. And folks who are concerned should be concerned! Although there isn't really any recourse. ‘Who cares, find someone else,’ my bosses say. I don’t want to work that way.”

Photographers get that editors are sometimes powerless. As one said to me: “I find it hard to believe that editors don’t know or don’t care. Some might be struggling on their end too with threats from above that make them worry about job security.” 

In my opinion, we should absolutely be pushing back on rates and expenses. We should be fighting for net-30. And we definitely need to be transparent with fellow photographers, alerting them to the bad actors.

In the most severe cases, we need to battle the toxicity by reporting photo editors who are abusing their power. Photographers who, whether because of money or fame, find they are in a position to walk away from a client should take the extra step of contacting the director of photography or HR to explain why the relationship is broken. 

<TL;DR> A lot of us agree that there’s a problem, but identifying the steps necessary to change the industry is never easy. The only way to make things better is to speak up. And the only way we can enact change is together — with editors and clients who have our backs.

I don’t know how to do that. But I do know my comments are open — so are my DMs, texts, and email inbox. Help me brainstorm this.