Nobody Run a Commercial Studio?...

...outside of the city? I posted a few days ago, and still haven't received a

response. Please if anyone has ANY thoughts/experience, about the direction I

am heading or has experience in this area.

 

Original Post:

 

I have recently began a slow shift in my photo operation from portrait/wedding

driven work to more commercial/advertising work. I have done a number of jobs

for local business since opening my office and small studio at the end of July

and landed a great-and substantial-tourism contract which occupied my summer

months and which I found very satisfying and a put a new, fresh twist on where

and what my business is going and becoming. I have decided to tap a very good

contact I have made (she is artistic director at a major advertising agency in

a large city center about 2 hours from my current small town location)and see

if I could take the logical next step in furthering my direction.She emailed me

back in a very positive tone and would love for me to travel down and see her,

but her only concern is that I be able to quote competitivly with a city based

photographer with my distance away. I am just a little confused, as I would

think that with my lower living/rent/etc. expenses of living in a small center

would equal out to the travel/time costs I may have if I had to go to the city

to shoot certain contracts. Please, if anyone can help me see what I am missing

here? Is there something I am not considering in attempting to make gains from

this angle. Can a small town boy not make it on the city level...and make

money? Anyone here run a commercial studio/work with advertising agencies from

a small town and have stories. Please...I need help and fast...I will be

meeting in a week and would like to feel confident in every aspect about my

pursuit. Thanks!

 

Sean

I wanted to post, but I didn't have time.

 

What I can say briefly, as a commercial photog in the the suburbs of a major city, is, "just do it".

 

There are many situations and settings that have to be dealt with. Get them done. If you need 50 white rabbits or a cobblestone street, you produce them. So much of commercial photography is about production.

For instance, about five percent of my work involved renting studios in the city. That's all, it's easy, if you look at it that way.

 

I would also warn you not to low ball the account. It does no good to have a "bread and butter" account that doesn't pay. It sounds like they are leaning towards using you so price might not be the factor. Your travel (and production) is part of your cost of doing business and they should be glad to have you get the job done.

 

I know that I'm a little off topic but I hope I may have been of help.

 

Good luck!

to add, they shouldn't care where you live, and neither should you.

Ok, I'll bite.

 

Your contact should be more worried about your ablility to show up on time (that's a long trip) than your rates. As for what you charge, that should be no great deal: you know your cost and profit targets, you bid a job, they say yea or nay, and that should be it.

 

Would it make a difference if you had a mail drop or rented a room or shared space in the city? Even so, as a free-lancer they'd probably have to contact you by phone, and with cell phones that's no limitation. You might not be able to cover something spur-of-the-moment, but there's no guarantee you could do that even if you were located in the city.

 

If this person still has some concerns about it, well, she probably already knows of one or more people who commute to the city every day. I used to live IN the Dallas metroplex and had a one-hour commute to a job in Dallas every day myself. I worked with one guy in California who rode a Honda-50 around 180 miles round trip every day, over a mountain range, because he preferred living near the beach. My daughter's boyfriend's father drives from the country, through the city, then 60 miles to another small town because he likes his job THERE but his wife like her job HERE (who do you think won that little discussion?). There must be photographers in the city willing to do a shoot up in the mountains or wherever; if they can travel why can't you?

 

Find yourself a few stories like that and you should have no problem convincing her that location is not a problem. What should matter is your talent and your professionalism (ie, you can deliver the goods).

 

How big is the city, by the way? It might be that your location would put you CLOSER to some parts of town than if you lived on the other side of the metro area.

The "Just do it." philosophy is fine, but it can be a bit unrealistic in practical terms. To operate a studio full time, you a potential client base, and a small town just isnt' it. You'll need ongoing work in the fields you can cover well. You make no money while driving long distances.

Read this thread

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00N64W

 

and the books I mentioned, particularly the Dan Heller book, as you start preparing your transition.

Sean,

 

I don't think you are missing much, but you may need be selective about the kinds of jobs

you take. If you are talking about high production value photos the distance is pretty

insignificant especially since you think travel expense will be balanced by other savings. It

could become an issue if your clients are looking for someone to do quick and dirty work

and likes to have someone cheap right down the street. You may find it hard to compete in

that environment, but you probably won't be missing much. I think Art's comment about

the potential client base is old fashioned. The internet and the ease of long-distance

communication means that your potential client base is much larger no matter where you

are located. I moved from Chicago to the West Coast several years ago and managed to

hold onto several good clients. Just make sure that you can show your potential client that

you can communicate effectively and quickly from where you are located and I think you

will be able to compete with local talent.

Everybody is bringing up good points but what I think we're talking about here is turning down work, and I have voluntarily turned down jobs, but not specifically because of distance. Pricing is an issue, but there are ways approach that also. He can, for instance, bill more for location work and keep things clean by billing expenses separately.

Speaking of books, another good book is "Shooting Your Way to a Million Dollars". It's as much about technique as business but it was very influential in the late seventies leading many studios in The City to change their direction.

Sean,

 

Been there, and not just with photo.

 

Its a marketing question.

 

If the only issue is price, you've be targeted as a likely candidate for enforced price reduction.

 

So, get know for anything but ...

 

You are fast

You are different

You always come with a good looking assistant ...

 

Anything but price unless you want a high volume discount operation.