Why Guilds are Good

Why Guilds are Good
Guild members,
I want to pass on to you an experience I had over this past weekend that really made me proud to be part of a professional guild. When we started the Semi-pro Photographers’ Guild, the founders envisioned a supportive, growing, vibrant group of like-minded photographers who could help support each others’ photographic interests. We didn’t start the guild to be a money-making venture, in and of itself, but rather our hope was that by supporting one another, we could extend our skills, expand our markets, and express our art beyond our current capabilities. In doing so, we could all benefit.
And that’s just what happened this weekend. An opportunity for a nice contracted shoot came up. A public relations and strategic communications company out of Austin needed a photographer to cover a press conference for one of its clients in San Antonio. A Guild member found out about the gig from a family member and spread the word to other Guild members who he thought could cover the event and win the bid for the job. After several photographers bid on the job, my studio, Strictly Art Photography, landed the contract. Score! The Guild relationship worked… but it didn’t stop there. Not only did my studio get the contract, but the other Guild members who knew of the gig showed up to help with set up and stayed to watch, help, learn (and even shoot).
After the press conference, my partner and I had to bolt to our next gig where yet another Guild member was already set up and waiting for us to arrive to shoot an all-weekend convention. Having the Guild member there was invaluable because we simply could not have been in two places at once.
As the convention moved into full swing on Saturday, my shooters and assistants were getting overwhelmed with photo requests, when out of nowhere, another Guild member stopped by to say hello. When he saw how busy we were, he graciously volunteered to jump in to shoot with us. We were able to keep a three- to four-shooter rotation going while maintaining our presence on the convention floor and our print operation running.
Had it not been for the Guild members jumping in to help out, we wouldn’t have been successful. Yeah, we might have survived, but we simply would not have been able to produce the kind of work we got without the help of the Guild.
I just want to say thanks to the four members who graciously gave of their time and talents to help a fellow Guild member succeed. That, my friends, is what being in a Guild is all about.