You asked how much?
Someone has asked you do an assignment which consists of about 60 or 70 specific shots for a brochure. Out of the blue, you ask me how much I think you should charge because you have not ever done an assignment such as this. You know you can do it because it involves one or two models and the Art Director has offered to be available at the shoot to better define what the shot is about. The assignment sounds like the model poses and you shoot. You point and shoot. The other consideration is you really want this assignment.
I will not answer the question. I suspect that you have some price that you consider as sensible and you feel comfortable quoting. Whatever you think is best for you is best for you. That is you.
Nevertheless, I think you should ask why you? Why are you being asked to quote on this assignment by this company or art director?
Put yourself in the art directors shoes. You select a photographer for the assignment.
On to the Internet and find 10 different photographers.
Open each of their web site in a different browse tab.
You should have 10 tabs not counting the search engine's.
In each tab go to, what you think is, the best photograph put up by that photographer which is representative of something similar to what the assignment requires.
Look at the photograph in each tab and select the best of the lot. This should supply the best photographer for the job based upon what the photographers have posted as examples of their photography. Sort of a resume in some ways.
When you have found what you consider the best photographer for the job; ask yourself if that photographer's price is higher than the photographers that were not selected?
If the price is higher, considering what you went through just to find that photographer, would you go with that higher priced photographer?
If you though the price was not right, what would you do now? Remember, you have already told us that you did not know what the price should be.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Professional Photography Business 0r Professional Photography Hobby
In the beginning
Sometime before now a thought entered a person’s mind that there was something about photography or art that they must pursue.
The word "photographer" (a creator of photography) will now be used to reference that person with the thought "I must pursue art or photography." Photography is an image created by a photographer using a camera. The photographer’s mission is to record the image on some sort of recordable media. Anything done either before or after the recording of the image by the camera is done by an artist. This does not preclude that the artist could also be the photographer.
This pursuit may end quickly or may take years. Acquiring photography paraphernalia and learning to use it. The photographer either goes to school or pursues a photography hobby to learn all about photography. During this time the photographer becomes more and more proficient using the camera. Then one day the photographer announces that the photography he/she creates is professional quality. Everyone who sees the photography agrees and says, "That is professional."
Someone buys one of the photographer’s photographs and the photographer says, "See, that proves it. I am a professional photographer. I got paid. That makes me a professional".
Professional is an adjective that describes a value of some kind of service or activity. It suggests a quality of ability better than others. It is so superior that someone will demand that service or activity. That is if the prospect has the willingness to acquire or buy and has someway or the ability to pay.
Business is an activity who prime function is to make or earn money.
Hobbies are spare time activities undertaken to relive boredom or stress. Hobbies are suppose to be enjoyable. Hobbies relax some people. Hobbies are also used to take their mind off of their problems. Some define hobby as a avocation, which means it is not vocation or occupation with which an living is earned.
As a result if we use both business and hobby in conjunction with each other we see a way that has advantages that lead to a successful life style. Business functions because of the hobby. The hobby provides something (products or services) that the business markets.
Start a Professional Photography Business to make money. You don’t go into business to acquire photography gear. That is for the professional photography hobby to do. You go into business to make money. All this other stuff comes because of the money. And the hobby only buys what is necessary because it is going to create photography. That is the only reason the hobby procures the stuff. Create photography for the business to sell. Business by definition is an entity that should, hopefully, makes or produces money.
Sometime before now a thought entered a person’s mind that there was something about photography or art that they must pursue.
The word "photographer" (a creator of photography) will now be used to reference that person with the thought "I must pursue art or photography." Photography is an image created by a photographer using a camera. The photographer’s mission is to record the image on some sort of recordable media. Anything done either before or after the recording of the image by the camera is done by an artist. This does not preclude that the artist could also be the photographer.
This pursuit may end quickly or may take years. Acquiring photography paraphernalia and learning to use it. The photographer either goes to school or pursues a photography hobby to learn all about photography. During this time the photographer becomes more and more proficient using the camera. Then one day the photographer announces that the photography he/she creates is professional quality. Everyone who sees the photography agrees and says, "That is professional."
Someone buys one of the photographer’s photographs and the photographer says, "See, that proves it. I am a professional photographer. I got paid. That makes me a professional".
Professional is an adjective that describes a value of some kind of service or activity. It suggests a quality of ability better than others. It is so superior that someone will demand that service or activity. That is if the prospect has the willingness to acquire or buy and has someway or the ability to pay.
Business is an activity who prime function is to make or earn money.
Hobbies are spare time activities undertaken to relive boredom or stress. Hobbies are suppose to be enjoyable. Hobbies relax some people. Hobbies are also used to take their mind off of their problems. Some define hobby as a avocation, which means it is not vocation or occupation with which an living is earned.
As a result if we use both business and hobby in conjunction with each other we see a way that has advantages that lead to a successful life style. Business functions because of the hobby. The hobby provides something (products or services) that the business markets.
Start a Professional Photography Business to make money. You don’t go into business to acquire photography gear. That is for the professional photography hobby to do. You go into business to make money. All this other stuff comes because of the money. And the hobby only buys what is necessary because it is going to create photography. That is the only reason the hobby procures the stuff. Create photography for the business to sell. Business by definition is an entity that should, hopefully, makes or produces money.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Home-Based Professional
Many times conversations will drift toward using a "Home Based Professional" to purchase services without paying high salaries and fees to cover costly overhead idea.
The buyer’s predicament is, as simple as the statement sounds, the cost the client incur for a web design is a matter of demand. Home-based professional, high salaries, and fees are red herrings terms to get you to think that high salaries and fees (another word for costs to the buyer) has anything to do with the reason to buy the services of a graphic designer.
If the graphic designer is in business, the graphic designer is self-employed unless the graphic designer is a corporation. Then the graphic designer is an employee of the corporation. When the corporation is paid, the corporation pays its employees with "high salaries". It is the corporation that usually has the "costly overhead."
However if the graphic designer is self-employed, then the buyer pays the graphic designer or the graphic designer’s business for services rendered. To illustrate the graphic designer did one job during the year and had a profit of $10,000. That is what the graphic designer worked for, profit. The graphic designer did not get wages, salaries or anything else.
Similarly, if the graphic designer was an employee of the corporation that earned the $10,000 profit, the graphic designer could have received $85,000 in salary. The $10,000 profit could also be distributed to the graphic designer as sole stock holder of the corporation.
In conclusion, it does not matter what kind of business organization from which the graphic design is purchased. If the graphic design service meets or exceeds the expectations of the buyer, everybody is happy.
The buyer’s predicament is, as simple as the statement sounds, the cost the client incur for a web design is a matter of demand. Home-based professional, high salaries, and fees are red herrings terms to get you to think that high salaries and fees (another word for costs to the buyer) has anything to do with the reason to buy the services of a graphic designer.
If the graphic designer is in business, the graphic designer is self-employed unless the graphic designer is a corporation. Then the graphic designer is an employee of the corporation. When the corporation is paid, the corporation pays its employees with "high salaries". It is the corporation that usually has the "costly overhead."
However if the graphic designer is self-employed, then the buyer pays the graphic designer or the graphic designer’s business for services rendered. To illustrate the graphic designer did one job during the year and had a profit of $10,000. That is what the graphic designer worked for, profit. The graphic designer did not get wages, salaries or anything else.
Similarly, if the graphic designer was an employee of the corporation that earned the $10,000 profit, the graphic designer could have received $85,000 in salary. The $10,000 profit could also be distributed to the graphic designer as sole stock holder of the corporation.
In conclusion, it does not matter what kind of business organization from which the graphic design is purchased. If the graphic design service meets or exceeds the expectations of the buyer, everybody is happy.
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