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06/05/2010 02:49:48 PM · #1 |
Hi everyone. I need some advice from you experienced assignment shooters about pricing my very first commercial contract. Through my photo galleries on pBase, I've been contacted by a small lighting company to work with them on ongoing projects. They are light fixtures manufactuere/retailer, with a warehouse and many projects around the city. They'd like me to go to the locations of their products and photograph them in an architectural setting, meaning the light fixtures (lamps, chandelliers, modern light cubes, etc.) are already installed in a certain setting (like office, hall, foayer, etc.).
The client has asked me for a quote. They asked about a day rate, a half day rate and an hourly. They are stressing that they are a small family owned business (Italian background), with not a huge budget for these projects. They've also said, this would be an ongoing contract, so it could be a part time gig for me for a while.
So where do I start? I've never shot commercial assignment, other than few weddings ($800 per wedding) and a promo for a college (where I earned $200 for the assignment).
Can anyone plese suggest a starting point. I am confident in my skills and I am excited about this, because it is exactly what I'd like to do if I do this more often, but in the same time, I do not have much experience, so I don't want to sound like a complete newb. I am worried that if I show that I am inexperienced, they are going to take advantage of me...
I will be really grateful for any suggestions, examples, pointers, etc.
Thank you in advance for help.
The galleries where the client found me are here, so this is what they've seen: //www.pbase.com/nella |
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06/06/2010 03:56:21 PM · #2 |
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06/06/2010 04:39:49 PM · #3 |
| I recommend pricing on a per job basis, rather than a "rate". |
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06/06/2010 05:36:56 PM · #4 |
There really isn't enough information to answer your question easily.
The rate question is not simple, since they will consider only your shooting time, and you will need to build into your price the time spent editing, traveling, delivering images, etc, plus some other costs you may incur (like insurance). You also need to consider what your time is worth to you, and the fact that you will be setting a precedent with them.
Clearly, as it is a potential ongoing source of work, you want to price so that they will hire you, but not so that you are losing money, or being paid some ridiculously low rate per hour of your time when you consider all the time you will spend over and above the "shooting time".
Will you be working alone, or will you need someone to assist you at the shoot? Will you need to purchase or rent any gear for the shoots? How much time will you need to spend ARRANGING the shoots (access, permission, etc., to the locations they want you to shoot).
You also want to understand what is to be delivered. If they want to pay you an hourly or daily rate for the shoots, but then expect you to provide as many edited shots as they want from the shoot, on demand, indefinitely, a rate could kill you! By the job pricing should work better, if they will go for it.
Since they mentioned day rate, half day rate, and hourly specifically, they may have worked with another photog before, and are not newbies. Before you provide any pricing information, you should consider scheduling a fact-finding consultation (free) with them to understand just what they want, how often they want it, delivered product and turn around times they expect, and some carefully worded questions about previous experience with photogs and what they liked and did not like about those experiences. Also discuss usage and rights: getty images is a source for seeing what kinds of rates are charged for different purposes.
What could happen if you only price a rate is that they will try to cram as many different products into a day as they can, and you will have a ton of edited shots to deliver. It is reasonable to mix a shoot rate with a delivered image rate.
Just thinking out loud, here:
hourly rate for travel to/from locations (some could be a fair drive) and could include a mileage charge (or not) Note in your quote that local travel is assumed, no need for overnight stays, etc, in which case you will need to add actual lodging/meal/parking/car rental/ etc expenses (no markup) to your price. Or you could put in a flat rate for travel within xx mile radius, and to-be-negotiated for any location outside that radius. Or you may know that all of these locations are really close, and simply note that your fee assumes that radius, without citing a separate rate for it. You would then build some average time for travel/gas cost into your overall fee.
hourly rate for on-site shooting
rate for delivered images ($xx for n edited images, $yy each for additional images)
Your rates should factor in your actual costs, value for your time and expertise, etc. and the profit you would like to pocket for doing this.
A sales tactic you might want to use is noting that your Rate is (High) but you are willing to discount it to (What you want/need) because you value the ongoing business from them.
Prep a written agreement. Being formal may seem like too much work, but it makes you appear more professional to them ( a good thing) and it actually protects both of you from any misunderstandings and subsequent disagreements.
Message edited by author 2010-06-06 17:39:00. |
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06/06/2010 11:52:38 PM · #5 |
| Ask them what their budget is. |
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06/07/2010 01:04:46 AM · #6 |
Thanks guys for all the info.
I will be working with the gear I have (Canon 50D and 4 lenses). Since this is a lighting fixture photography, they mentioned it is all natural light shooting - meaning, no pro lights setup. The light fixtures will be "on" - lit, so it should be just composing and shooting. They have asked if I shoot raw (which I do). And the person I talked to said they will require the raw files... so assuming they do their own editing.
I will have to ask them more questions, before I give them my quote/rates. Talking to few other photographers, opened a lot of questions about travel time, set up time, milage, etc. But I've been told not to quote too low. A minimum of $50 per hour is the absolute lowest I should go. Few people suggested per project pricing. I might consider that as well. It will really depend on the end result - whether they need editing or not. I am a skilled photo editor (do that for living), but they might have a different plan.
I'll keep you posted on the progress, as this is a learning experience for many.
Thanks much. |
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