Best Business Practices for Photographers [126]
So, we wrote to our client:
Following this e-mail, the client e-mailed the PO administrator and CC'd me:
Then, the client sent me a private note:
This is a fair, reasonable, and thoughtful client and one we enjoyed working with and for in the past and that we look forward to working with in the future.
How to Work Through a Contract Negotiation for Corporate/Commercial Clients
Unlike editorial clients, who have a much higher tendency to object to expense types and levels, it has been my experience that corporate/commercial clients have fewer objections to expense line items. Although they might suggest that a star trailer or production trailer is not necessary for the assignment, and they will feel free to tell you so, they won't object to the other items that they know will contribute to a smoother, stress-free assignment. In fact, as noted about catering, leaving out things such as permits for the CEO's radio car to remain on location in a rush-hour lane of traffic during the on-location shoot or having a makeup person and a stylist for their annual report portrait can leave the client wondering whether you're the right person for the assignment.
Negotiations for these types of assignments usually first center around the photographer's creative fee, which is also seen as their assignment fee or, as noted before, their day rate. Once the client moves past that, they'll be reviewing your usage terms and figures. I often try to get a feel for what the prospective client is looking for. Early on, I'll always pose the question, "What kind of budget are we working with for this project?" Responses usually are:
Our budget for the photography at the press conference is $1,000.
We have $4,500 for the three days of symposium photography.
We need to keep this under $5,000 for the ad.
Our entire budget for the assignment, including expenses, is $8,000 per shoot, and there are five shoots.
We have $15,000 to pay for you, the eight models over two days, and the printing for the brochure, soup to nuts.
Often, the client might say they don't know, and sometimes that's true—they don't. They do, however, know what level of production they want. Here are a few examples of the variances:
Everyone cabs to/from the assignment location versus the photographer booking a sedan service to collect the client in one car and the ad agency people in their own car.
We order pizza delivered to the shoot location versus catering it with food trays we bring in versus having a catering vehicle on set.
We have the subject bring a selection of clothes based upon our guidance versus we have a stylist shop for the subject with a selection on set.
We have one person who does hair/makeup/styling versus three separate people specialized to those skill sets.
We are photographing a few of the client's attractive friends or colleagues versus booking talent from a modeling agency versus street-casting the people in the shoot.
We are photographing at a location where we are comfortable with the color of the house and trim versus first finding the best location and then painting it the color we want and then paying to paint it back to its original colors.
Asking things such as, "Will you need us to book and include the cost of a car service for you?" or "Will we be booking models, or do you have the people already in mind for the photos?" can get you some of the answers as to what the client is expecting. The issue is what degree of production, pre-production, and post-production is expected.
These questions give me a good feeling for what the client is expecting and whether the budget is realistic. Just as