This page is written as an intimate look into the complexity of pricing and preparing an estimate for a photographic job; I also present several questions that need to be answered before I can begin preparing a quote.
When hiring a photographer, the client will be paying for two things:
1. the photographer’s ability to create a photograph with a certain style and feel agreed upon by you, the client (known as the Creative Fee)
2. the rights for the client to reproduce that photograph for a very specific usage and time period (known as the Usage Fee, see here for usage issues)
Photographers offer a service made up of many intangibles, including a creative eye; technical ability; an array of complicated equipment; the logistical skills to plan and produce a shoot; an ability to hire and manage assistants, stylist or location scouts; and, perhaps most important of all, intelligence. A client is buying the brain behind the camera, the keen insights of a well-informed mind – informed on the newest equipment in photography, informed on stylistic trends, informed on business and world events.
Time is not what photographers sell primarily. Calculating the time spent taking a photograph as the sole or principal value of your photography is foolhardy. It reduces your contribution to that of a day laborer and totally ignores the creativity and expertise you bring to a shoot. So, what are we selling? A photographer’s ability to translate the client’s message into a powerful graphic statement is the service being offered. And, the usage rights to the resulting photograph(s) are what’s being “sold”.
Pricing photography: the complete guide to assignment and stock prices By Michal Heron, David Mactavish (p.2-3)
When preparing an estimate, what is essentially done is the estimation of the maximum potential for revenue over the life of the image within the client’s context. Essentially, the value of the photo lies in how it can be used; value is measured in relation to the scope of the usage. Imagine, for example, the same photograph is used as an ad for a one-shop retail store in a local magazine as well as by an international retail chain running the ad in several magazines and newspapers published around the world. Any good business model would recommend that the price for the global ad be significantly more than that of the local one, even though the same photo is being provided to each client.
The same principles can be seen in other industries such as the consumer electronics industry. A product with more features, such as newer versions of the iPhone, is sold for a higher premium because it offers a bigger value to the end user. One pays for the actual work that went into making the iPhone (in the photographer’s case — the Creative Fee) as well as a premium for the iPhone’s use based upon design and features (in the photographer’s case — the Usage Fee).
Photo CS, L.L.C. keeps the creative fees and usage fees separate. The creative fees cover, but are not limited to, the following:
In essence, the above-mentioned points, among others, are those that are used to leverage the costs of doing business (CODB). As a starting guide for new photographers, the National Press Photographers Association has created a CODB calculator which calculates the overhead cost for a day of shooting. Assuming a $40,000 annual salary and 100 days of expected billable days of shooting, the cost is nearly $900 per shoot. Although this by no means is an estimate for all photographers (Photo CS, L.L.C. calculates it on a client by client basis depending on project needs), it does give a first impression of the costs that go into running a photography business.
The usage fee is slightly more straightforward in the sense that it is not broken down into several parts. Rather, it is a one-time fee that takes into account exactly how the image will be used and for what period of time. For more information about Usage Fees and Rights, please see here.
When receiving an estimate, other fees will be included such as travel and post-production.
In order to better estimate the total cost of creating the images required for a project, please include the following points as a starting guide to help you in communicating your needs:
When you have a good idea of your job requirements, then please call +1 (314) 974-6695 or email info@photocs.net so that an estimate can be prepared.