Go ahead, all you photographers, freelancers and self employed creative types: watch this video and laugh. Then, you have my permission to cry.
It’s great that someone actually took the time to make this video. I applaud them, although I have no idea how the any of the actors kept a straight face while making it. It’s totally over the top and yet it rings so true. It’s also a bit cathartic to watch because it reminds us that we’re not alone. We hear this stuff from our clients and customers all the time. Unfortunately, there’s an element of artistic and creative work that will always be treated this way by some people in the business world.
Will we ever be able to completely change this perception and get treated with the respect that we deserve? I doubt it. However, though continued education, carefully worded contracts, effective negotiation before a job, and through the advice, advocacy and information that is provided by organizations like ASMP, we can at least arm ourselves with the right counter arguments to these kinds of statements.
Of course, not every client is like this. Some gladly pay for services rendered and don’t grumble, haggle or try to split hairs or nickel and dime their way through the entire negotiating process. If you have clients like that, reward them. Work extra hard for them. Shower them with affection and presents and consider writing them into your will, because those are the clients that you never want to lose. They’re worth more than gold. No, platinum.
For help dealing with the not-so-easy clients, make sure you read our posts on pricing photography that I and some of the other contributors write about here on The Photoletariat.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear some of the “best’ ones” that you’ve heard. Post them in the comment section below. It will be like therapy.
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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.
Scenic along the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada
[Editor's Note: This is part three in a series of articles about photography pricing]
These days, everyone wants the buyout.
It seems that almost every time I price an assignment lately, the client comes back with this kind of statement: “We want to own the images, so give us a price that includes a buyout option.”
I was recently contacted by an emerging photographer who wanted some advice on pricing a job that he had just shot. He’d actually already billed the job and since the client completely freaked out at his price, he wanted to see what another pro might charge for the same job, both to help him better understand pricing and also to show his client that he was not totally out of line.
The truth is that his price was totally out of line, but certainly not because he charged too much. [click to continue…]
I just got off the phone with a potential client. It was one of those long conversations where I do an awful lot of explaining: why I need to charge this much, why they can’t just use the images for whatever they want, blah blah blah blah blah.
You know how it goes. You’ve recited your own explanation so many times that it probably gives you a headache. It’s like pulling a bad tooth that keeps on growing back. You’ve probably wondered if it’s really worth the trouble.
But whether you shoot assignments or weddings, I’m here to tell you unequivocally that it is worth it to keep repeating this stuff. [click to continue…]
How much should you charge someone who wants to use your photo on their blog? That’s easy, just open up your stock photo pricing guide and plug in the numbe -
Following up again on my previous two posts about educating clients (#1, #2), I had yet another opportunity to practice what I preach. This time, it wasn’t a commercial client or a magazine that I dealt with, though, it was a non-profit.
The issue of non-profits is a tough one for us as photographers. It doesn’t quite seem fair to charge them the same rates as we do for any other commercial customer. After all, they’re not trying to make hefty profits off of your image; they’re just out there trying to save the world and cure diseases.
At the same time, we don’t necessarily want to give them our images for free. Sure, sometimes we do make the conscious decision to donate or discount imagery to causes that mean the most to us, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s admirable. Non-profits run largely on donations, and donating imagery can as good as donating cash, since, effectively, our images have what could be construed as cash value.
However, what we don’t want is for non-profit organizations to expect that we will always give them images for free. Just because they’re not out to make a profit doesn’t mean that we aren’t either. We’re in it for the money, pure and simple. We’re greedy, money grubbing capitalists.
Non-profits pay for office rent, office supplies, copy machines, advertising and Executive Directors and we all know that they don’t come cheap, so why should we be left out in the cold? We need to be paid for our services too. [click to continue…]
Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.
