It is much easier to come up with a figure to charge when dealing with a field of photography you are familiar with. I always knew my worth in the portrait, wedding and commercial aspects of my business.
But it became a real challenge for me when I would get periodic requests a couple times every few years - where I had no clue what was acceptable to ask. These weren’t jobs I would normally get, they were flattering because the company had chosen to contact me - sometimes from long distances away - based on the work they saw on the web, some were prestigious looking assignments that required photographing actresses, sports and political celebrities, providing supporting images for an article published in a glossy magazine on store shelves, and even promo pics for a tv series. All would be wonderful to have in my portfolio.
I had no idea of how to proceed with any of these initially. What I did know was that I wouldn’t be doing it for free based on either the exposure it would give me, or the flattery. And so this was my approach:
My conversation was finding out specifically where and how the images were being used, and then asking if they had a budget they were working with. I was worried initially that asking about a budget would look unprofessional or that they would take advantage of me - but I never found that to be the case. The odd time the amount they supplied me as their budget may not have been as much as I’d like, but at least I could make a choice as to whether it was worth it to me or not.
That said, price was never the first thing discussed. I got all the details first and verified how, how long, and where my images would be used - and then agreed on the price or not. If their budget was more restrictive, their rights and usage of the images had to be more restrictive. Besides a credit, I always made sure that they would send me copies of any printed materials that my images were used in and requested with more sensitive assignments like the tv series promo, that I could use the images on my website and portfolio after a specified time.
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An experience I had.
The usage of images cannot be open ended or unspecified. I learned early on that focusing on the fee alone, is not a healthy thing in the long run. I was approached by a local manufacturing company in a small town where I had my studio, to have me photograph a few product shots for 2 one page full Color brochures they were having made. I knew the owner who asked me, he was well respected in the community, and I wanted to support local business and thought I’d have a nice little portfolio piece because few smaller companies had the money to produce full colour sales pieces (early 1990’s).
My focus was providing a price that I would be fine with and that wouldn’t turn him away. When I got to the location to shoot, I found there was an art director hired for the layout of the brochures - he dictated my shots and the shoot ended up being a full day instead of the hour or two I expected. Then chatting with the art director, he divulged that his fee for the layout was $3500, and here I am the creative genius behind the feature images and all I asked for was $750. I later found out that the brochures were being used at a huge trade show in California —- when the company came and asked to have the negatives to send to the printer to be blown to 10’x20’ display pieces. I grumbled and agreed because I had not taken these things into consideration. Later the images ended up being used on their website and future brochures. And the straw that broke the camels back was a couple years later when the company contacted me and demanded the negatives because they had paid for them. I had stipulated nothing, had nothing in writing, and while I could have stood my ground or even legally pushed things - it wasn’t worth the reputation in a small town. LESSON LEARNED. NEVER AGAIN.
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