Best Business Practices for Photographers [52]
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NOTE
It is reasonable to argue that is still takes as much work to do a wedding in January as it does in June, and it also likely costs you as much to do so. That said, the laws of supply and demand would suggest that you could offer this as an option and see how it works. Brides and grooms working on a tight budget often will consider a Sunday wedding over a Saturday one because reception sites are so much cheaper on Sundays and then again significantly cheaper during the week. This type of discount, if you were to consider employing it, really only works for work that has a seasonal nature to it, such as weddings, senior portraits, and so on. In addition, you might run a special and offer the Sunday rate to brides who book within 24 hours of your initial meeting, and for those family members who expect a discount from you, you can offer them one of the other rates and not just come up with some random amount of money you're going to give them off your package—if you do. (See Chapter 15, "Contracts for Weddings and Rites of Passage," for reasons why you might not want to do this.)
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For a conference or a timed event, where you are working with flash on camera, the hourly rate is very applicable (and so can be the creative factor, to a certain degree—more on that later). Often a conference at a hotel starts at 8 a.m. and can go until 9 or 10 p.m. if there is an evening function. Further, these conferences can go on for days. It is not uncommon to have an evening welcome reception the night before, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. or so, then an all-day event the next day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and then a closing day from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with a wrap-up luncheon. These would be very common times where you would stipulate your hourly charge, but beware—you should have a minimum number of hours that apply. For example, I have a three-hour minimum charge for event photography. That charge applies if it is a 30-minute press conference or a two-hour luncheon. Also, your time in these instances is what is most valuable. I have had clients who say, "We'll need you from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m., and then from 1 p.m. to 4:30, and then again from 6:30 until 10 p.m." Any time there is not a four-hour window of time between the times they need me, I bill the assignment all the way through. The simple fact is that while they are trying to save money, it is saving money at my expense, since an hour or two between the activities they need coverage of does not allow me to bill that time to another client/assignment. If, however, a client needs me for a luncheon from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then a reception/dinner from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., I will bill those as separate events.
It may be, for example, that you are shooting a model on white seamless. Although this may seem like the easiest shoot to do, there are factors that go into this. For example, is the model already set, or do you have to spend time casting/choosing the model? Do you have to pay attention to the model's clothing and select/style it? Do you need to book a studio, or are you going on location to set up a studio? Do you own the lights/seamless, or do you need to rent lights and buy a seamless? Will the subject be available for 30 seconds, or can you work with him or her for 20 minutes or an hour? Will you need to have a computer connected to your camera so a client can review the images as they are being shot?
The Uniqueness Factor
This is, in some cases, a bit of a "gotcha" category. If the client cannot get the resulting photo from anywhere else, can't re-create it, and moreover, can't replace the photo with a stock image, then the fee can be higher. But is this fair?
If the uniqueness of the images is because of your creative genius, that is one thing. If, however,