Pricing - He wants everything?

[ashley_lewis2]

<p>Hi all. I'm sorry that my first post has to be a question but I'm truly stumped as to what do with this request i've got. I'm an lifestyle photographer specialising in advertising and sportswear.<br>

I still got the odd random request from people like the one below I got on LinkedIn. It's never beneath me to fulfil a job and I know how to price for work, but I just don't know how to handle the request I've got.<br>

This was the email.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Hi,<br /><br />Thank you for getting back.<br /><br />I want a variety of shots including portraits, images, corporate <br />photography and street photography. You can tell me what other types I can <br />get.<br /><br />I do not require printed photos but only digital ones to mainly use for <br />social media and websites.<br /><br />Getting all the shots in one day will not give me the variety so I am <br />looking to have this done in 3-4 stages at different times. Can we do it <br />over 3 or 4 meetings?<br /><br />Let me know what is the best deal you can offer me.<br /><br />Look forward to hearing from you.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />XXXXX<br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ok, fair enough - I can shoot the guys portrait. But the rest of it is just super confusing. I've never worked with corporate before on a level that isn't B2C adverts. I do shoot street photography and landscape work in my spare time for fun. But I've never been paid to shoot that for a client. <br>

Any recommendations on what to do going forward?</p>

[SCL]

<p>It looks like some sort of scam to me. Perhaps you can ask for a detailed written request on his corporate letterhead.</p>

[ashley_lewis2]

<p>This was sent through his LinkedIn business profile. It all checks out and the company is genuine and he has connections to others within the firm. <br>

I really jut don't know what to say. I've been back once asking for more details and that's left me even more vague and confused than when i started.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>If you've made if very clear that it's impossible to plan a multi-day shoot without some specific art direction and insight into the details, then just explain that you'd be happy to help but that it will be T&M. Time and materials. You'll just charge him a professional fee for as many hours as he keeps you busy. Because it sounds like he's going to be walking around with you making this up as he goes. His lack of clarity planning can't come home to roost on your time budget or your bottom line. </p>

[danmarchant]

<p>Two issues here...<br>

1. Lack of a detailed brief. Without that you have the potential to waste time taking images that turn out to be wholly unsuitable for their actual needs. As Matt says you need to ensure you are paid for your time and costs, and that if they place an upper limit on the time that you stop shooting and pack your bags when that time is reached (regardless of if you have all the images they want). One potential issue I can see immediately is their desire to have "street shots" to use in their corporate promotions. Unless they are talking about carefully staged street <em>style</em> shots there may be legal issues. Street shots generally contain members of the public and the company will need to get signed releases from those people before they can use any of the shots in their marketing.<br>

2. Usage rights. "....to mainly use for social media and websites." To me this phrase reads as "....to mainly use for social media and websites, plus whatever we decide to use them for later". With commercial/promotional photos, the more people that will see it, the more it is worth. <br>

You need to make sure that your contract has a usage cost for social media and a set of defined websites and also a separate clause stating that additional usage beyond that is subject to negotiation. You don't want to get paid for social/websites and then find your images appearing in magazines and on billboards.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>As per the comment I made on this <a href="/business-photography-forum/00crPq">other recent business thread</a> - I'd simply telephone the guy.<br>

What can be sorted in a five minute phone conversation may take days of email / website written correspondence.<br>

He might be vague because he cannot succinctly express his ideas in writing; he might just be vague altogether; he might be floating an idea for which he has zero authority at the moment; whatever the case I'd bet a Mars bars that I could make reasonable fist of what was going on after a brief telephone conversation with him.</p>

<p>I think that businesses generally have fallen into the trap of believing that written "electronic communication" is superior in every fashion. It is my belief that it simply isn't. Having a brief chat can resolve an innumerable amount of misunderstandings, even before there is the opportunity to be misunderstood.</p>

<p>It's possible that you might have already spoken on the 'phone to this man, you don’t define your communication mechanisms: if you have and you are still unsure of what his brief and outcomes are about, then, it would seem he won't be much more articulate and definitive at a meeting in person. In which case a face to face “planning meeting” <strong>charged at your time</strong> (as Matt suggests) would also be my advice <strong>for the next step</strong>, you take.</p>

<p>WW</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>WWx2. A person-to-person conversation will be much better for clarifying the confusion... for both you and the potential client. As it standard, he doesn't know what he wants and you don't know what he wants. Not the meeting-of-the-minds that you need for a successful business deal.</p>

<p>(and I'd bet a Mars bar too.)</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>I agree that you need to speak directly. But this has red flags all over it to me. In my experience, most companies have a very specific need. They need a new executive portrait of the boss or maybe the senior staff. They need pictures of the new building or a new product. Advertising, etc. This is way too broad. At the very least, it sounds like the person has not purchases photography before, does not know what he wants, has no clue on rights and usage, and could turn out to be a big pain.</p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>I smell a scam. Make sure that you get paid up front and give the check 2 weeks to clear before delivering anything.</p>

[William Michael]

<blockquote>

<p>"But this has red flags all over it to me."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Certainly has that potential. I agree. I'd have my telephone conversation interrogative <em>"must says"</em> well and truly organized, before I rang him to allow enough flag poles to run as many red flags up as he wanted to fly.<br>

WW<br>

(Mars Bars – an internationally understood currency)</p>

<p> </p>

[bethe_fisher]

<p>It smells like a scam to me. It's also possible someone's LinkedIn account got hacked. I would definitely call and try to speak to the person from whom you got the message. The sentence "You can tell me what other types I can get." is what made me go straight to scam, especially after that list. </p>