What's in a Quote?
I’ve had this conversation a few times lately and think it’s probably about time I rung this bell again for photographer’s and creatives to think properly about what they’re getting paid for
Ok so I’ve been navigating smaller business interactions for a while now and have my pitch conversation on budget down to a tidy 3-point system:
1/ Production costs
2/ Creative fees
3/ Usage rates
They’re pretty much self explanatory but I’ll break them down a little more.
Production costs are what it costs to get me in the room to do THE THING. So anything that has a cost which is incurred in order to physically produce an image or a video to the client’s specifications: studio, makeup, styling, equipment, assistants, talent etc etc etc are all things that cost money and that need to be covered in the budget in order for our businesses to not be having outgoings more than our incomes.
Creative fees are what it costs to get ME in the room to do the thing. So this is what as a professional, educated, established photographer with my commercial style charges in order to produce an image or video to the client’s specifications. This covers my ability to interpret a creative brief, light in such a way that it fits the brief, retouch and deliver the final product in a timely and efficient manner; the efficiency part is important because I want to communicate that when a client books ME they’re getting something that might take someone else longer to achieve, longer to process and perhaps not as successfully. I’ll come back to the efficiency thing…
Usage rates are what it costs to get me in the room to do the thing and then use what’s produced COMMERCIALLY. So as creators we’re either creating for ourselves, for personal use from others or for someone else to then use to communicate their business and then gain clients from. There’s a load of info into this out there and I’ll do another one on licensing/usage but basically put there is a charge incurred if a business is seeking to use the content produced in order to make money.
If someone says “what’re your rates” or “what’re your packages” all of the above has to be costed into what is being produced. Even if you’re charging a limited amount for a headshot or a small portrait session that isn’t going to be making someone else money (so there’d be no licensing/usage costs) you’re going to need to make sure that you’re factoring in something for studio/shoot space time, equipment, your time, your skills etc etc.
There’s a plethora of info around out there to help navigate this, aphotoeditor.com being one of the best resources to get info from including actual invoices and quotes to show how they deal with things. The important thing to get a grip on is a/ know your worth and b/ know that some people you’re working with or for may not know what they should be paying for when you’re creating.