annealmasy

<p>Don't apologize for what it costs to travel! If your prospective client doesn't want to pay a travel fee, they can hire someone local to the destination. You're offering a luxury item, not a life-or-death service. Things cost what they cost. Period. End of story. :)</p>

<p>That said, consider the value of your time spent away from home as a result of this obligation. That's time that you can't accept other paying work. If you choose to turn this job into a vacation, that's your business, but it doesn't negate the fact that you wouldn't be going in the first place if the job weren't in the picture. </p>

<p>Figure out what it will cost you for airfare (don't drive! That's craziness!), rental car, lodging, a per diem for you and your 2nd, then add 25% to offset the losses you sustain by being away from work for the 2-3 days required for the job. (Obviously, don't charge them for any additional days that you choose to stay for pleasure.)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Generally speaking, you want your 2nd shooter to bring in at least double what you're paying him/her. If you pay your 2nd $50/hour, your client should have paid you $100-$150/hour to have that 2nd shooter present. There should be added value for everyone involved. :) Even if you don't break down your 2nd shooter cost by the hour, have that formula in mind when you're setting your two-shooter rates and figuring your payout to the 2nd. There is a lot of additional work incurred for you when you add another photographer to the mix. Make sure you're being compensated as well as your 2nd!</p>

 

<p>I shoot with 32G Transcend cards. Been doing that for 7 years. They've never failed me. The one time I had a card issue (it was one of my oldest, heaviest-used cards), I was able to recover everything using Photorescue. Never lost a card, never lost a photo. :)</p>

<p>I've been using Photoshelter for a couple years now, and I really love them. For me, the primary feature that really make Photoshelter worthwhile are the high-res storage and the download feature. I don't have to pay a dime for any download I give to my client for free; I only pay a percentage on actual sales. So for shoots where downloads are included, I can enable batch downloading and my clients can log in and download their high-res photos right away.<br>

You can also connect to a number of their partner labs, or self-fulfill orders through your own lab.<br>

The pricing feature is friendly for both personal and commercial work, and you can sell multi-size downloads as well.<br>

I also like that I can have multiple logins set up for each gallery. For example, I can have a generic guest login, for people who are allowed to purchase. Then I can have a login for vendors who can download 50 web-res photos for their blogs. Then I can have a login for the clients themselves. It's REALLY handy!<br>

I'd be happy to give you a referral link if you're interested in checking Photoshelter out; just PM me. :)</p>

<p>Hi Meg! Haha, I used to get a migraine after EVERY wedding I shot! That was years ago, though, and now I see weddings as just another photo job. :) The tension can be really high, and there is definitely more potential for chaos at a wedding than at most other shoots; but keep your common sense intact, keep a smile on your face, and you'll get through it fine! :) Everyone has to start somewhere!</p>

<p>A last little bit of advice: wedding days move really quickly, so secure the "safe shots" first. For example, get the nice smiley portrait first, take the simple dance shot first, get the standard ceremony shot first, etc. After you've secured that "safe" (boring?) photo, THEN move on to making more creative images. There's more room for error when you're trying too hard to be creative in an unfamiliar situation, so give yourself a break and focus on the more straightforward images first. :)</p>

<p>Hi, Rachel! I've been using ShootQ for about 3 years, and I can't say enough good things about it! It has drastically changed my entire workflow, and made booking and invoice management SO much easier! I strongly encourage you to take some of the online tutorials and really give ShootQ a try! <br>

You can see how I've integrated ShootQ into my own website if you check out my pricing page. I just send potential wedding clients directly to my ShootQ pricing, where they can build their own package and submit it to me for a quote. I book EVERYTHING directly through ShootQ, and I love having all of my contracts and invoices in one place that I (and my client) can easily access.<br>

The questionnaires on ShootQ SAVE ME, over and over again. It's so easy to get all the info I need from my clients -- and easy for them, because they can take their time filling stuff out and submit it only when they're ready!<br>

Google Payments integrates seamlessly, or you can accept payments manually (which I do), then use PayPal and/or Square to process credit cards.<br>

I don't use Pictage, but it integrates with ShootQ if you want an integrated proofing setup. For me, Pictage wasn't a good fit, so I use PhotoShelter -- LOVE LOVE LOVE. If you want to check out Photoshelter, feel free to contact me for a referral link My absolute favorite feature of Photoshelter is that I can enable my clients to download their high-res files direct from Photoshelter FOR FREE -- no per-image fees! This saves me so much time and money, and makes me clients extra happy. :)<br>

When you're looking for sites that charge a "reasonable amount", just keep in mind that your goal is to save time on the administrative end so that you can spend time doing the things that pay you -- like shooting! I find that it's well worth $100/month to have ShootQ and Photoshelter working for me -- and it's a lot cheaper than paying an employee to perform the same tasks!<br>

I seriously cannot say enough good things about either of these services! :) </p>

<p>Hi, Donna! I've tried dozens of albums over the past decade, and my favorites have been PictoBooks and Queensberry. PictoBooks delivers beautiful color, and their books are SUPER-sturdy -- a huge selling point for my clients with kiddos! Queensberry is just flat-out timeless, and really sets the bar for heirloom albums, in my opinion. Their Press Albums line is pretty affordable, too. Both Picto and QB are definitely high end, and will cost you (and your client) significantly more than Blurb. But it's well worth it if you want to make sure your name is only going on the best possible product. :) Check out www.pictobooks.com and www.queensberry.com</p>

I like Steve C's idea, but in thinking more about it, I would avoid giving her a refund of your "cost" amount. That's sure

to only raise more questions. Why did you charge her $$$ if they only cost you $? If you're willing to give a refund, why

not a full refund? Why are you keeping a portion of her money when she's not getting the product? It would be like

trying to return a shirt to Target and being told that they'd give you 30 cents back. (Ha.) You don't WANT to know the

cost. It just makes the offense worse.

 

When your clients see your hard cost, that's ALL they see. Of course, you, as a business owner, know that a $20 8x10

might only "cost" you $2 at the lab, but it costs at additional $4 in editing time, and $7 in shipping, not to mention the

intrinsic value of the image itself, AND the every day costs of keeping your business afloat. (What about that phone line

that she CALLED you on? Or the e-mail address at which she wrote you?)

 

Don't waste time going into the details of "why" and "how" and "how much".

 

Just decide: full refund, or none at all.

 

That's my take. :)

A few questions...

 

1.) What do you mean, "she never ordered her proofs"? Were they supposed to select a specific number of images for

you to print for them? Was she supposed to pay extra to receive the prints? Had the "proofs" you mentioned been paid

for in full?

 

2.) Did your contract list the prints as an itemized product, separate from your coverage, with a listed value of $500? Or

is the contract for a one-price wedding package that included your coverage and the prints with no breakdown in price?

 

3.) Did your contract clarify what would happen if the client didn't "order" her proofs by a certain date? Or has this

remained an open order, where you were still waiting for her decision?

 

4.) Did your contract have a cancellation policy regarding the termination of any portion of the contract? (This would

cover not only cancellation of your coverage at the wedding, but cancellation of any products or services after the fact.)

 

Assuming you are covered contractually, and that YOU did YOUR part, then no, you do not owe her a refund. That

doesn't mean you may not decide to give her one; just that I don't believe you're under any obligation to refund any of her

money.

 

After all, had she called to say that she was finally ready to order her prints, you would have fulfilled that order, correct?

 

I do think that it is absurd to request a refund more than 2 years after the original contract was put in place. There is not

a company in the world who will accept returns after 2 years. It is VERY sad that they are getting divorced, but you are

in no way responsible for the staying power of their marriage.

 

Whatever you decide, keep your reply to her simple, to-the-point, and in writing. You do not need to explain the inner-

workings of your business in order to tell her "no." Just succinctly explain your policy and stick with it.

 

I would send something like this: "Dear Bride: I'm so sorry to hear that you and Groom have decided to separate. I'm

sure this is a very difficult time for both of you. I have considered your request for a refund of $500 for the prints that

were included in your wedding photography package. As per our contract, you were to select XX images for printing, but

you never made those selections. As you know, our contract states XYZ. Therefore, I am unable to offer you a refund.

I would, of course, be more than happy to complete your original order, but I understand if you are not interested in that

offer. I wish you all the best. -Photographer"

 

Obviously, without knowing the answers to the questions above, it's hard to say how much of this is really applicable to

your situation.

 

Those are just my initial thoughts... :)

 

Good luck!

Be careful of the "dirt cheap" models. The quality and reliability often matches the price. :) I built up my stock of Pocket

Wizards over time. Perhaps you could start with 3 -- 1 for your camera, and 2 for 2 external lights -- and move up from

there? I believe you could still use your on-camera flash, and just wire your Wizard rather than hotshoe it.

Without knowing any details, my first thought is for you to find a local pro photo lab -- all major cities have them; check the

yellow pages; you do not need to be a pro to walk in and use their services -- and ask them to create a drum scan of the

print. A good high-resolution scan may cost around $75, but will give you the digital version you need in order to pursue

this any further. The lab itself may offer some toning services -- retouching and repairing the image, as well as adjusting

color and contrast as much as possible. If not, get some recommendations from the lab for a local digital photographer or

retoucher. Pro labs know everyone in the biz -- especially your local folks. If this image is important to you, I'd avoid

sending it by mail to anyone you don't know. Once you have a well-toned digital file, you can make prints to your heart's

content. :) Good luck! :)

You don't need to talk to the IRS. You need to talk to the sales tax division of the state of Florida. The IRS doesn't

process your sale tax; your state's department of revenue does.

 

You can likely get some info through the SBA. Check out this link to get started:

http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/fl/

 

Each state also holds FREE sales tax seminars throughout the year. You may want to register for one.

 

Definitely do not use Photo.net advice to decide how to handle your sales tax collection! Sales tax audits are very real,

and the "someone on Photo.net told me" excuse won't prevent you from being penalized if you've collected improperly.

:)

 

Call the state, and be pushy until you've gotten the information you need. :)

You may find that pleasing your instructor and developing your own unique style do not go hand in hand. :) I had this

problem in school as well. In my final portfolio review I got to hear the judging panel discuss my work, all with different

perspectives. One image would receive raves from half of the judges, and disapproval from the other half. Photography

isn't a science, so you're always going to have to deal with different reactions to your work. Unless a make-or-break grade

is on the line, I'd encourage you to go with your initial vision. And, in the words of Tim Gunn, "make it work." :D

If you're looking to learn flash techniques, I'd actually recommend some workshops, such as the One Light Workshop that

Zack Arias hosts, and Neil Van Niekerk's (sp?) workshop. I went to school for photography, but learned more about real-life

flash application from the One Light than I did in 1400 hours of classroom time.

Westcott's are my favorites, because you don't need a speedring. They fold up like an umbrella; all you need is an

umbrella bracket for your light stand. Especially great if you have any intention of taking your softboxes on location.

It sounds like you're brand new to earning money with your photography. :)

 

 

If you have a day or two before your first event, I would suggest that you spend some time figuring out what it will COST

you to shoot these events. Just as a baseline, start with your obvious event-related expenses: fuel, equipment rentals,

assistant fees, etc.

 

The money you gross from your orders has to at LEAST cover those expenses as well as the costs of printing and

shipping; otherwise you are losing money.

 

If you want to MAKE some money, decide how much you want to make. Then estimate the number of orders you can

expect to receive. How much will you need to bring in per order to enable you to cover your costs AND your own

paycheck?

 

In the long run, this kind of "formula" won't even begin to cover the true costs of doing business, but it will at least start

you off in a positive direction. :)

 

As for where to have your orders fulfilled, all the larger pro labs like Millers offer the kinds of products you're talking

about. If you're unable to get an account with them, however, you might look at MPix.com, who does great work for non-

pros. :)

This site might give you a starting point (and help prevent you from charging too little)! :) It doesn't tackle your specific

issue, but you should be able to get some numbers that will help. :)

 

http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm

Perhaps I was too quick to suggest the attorney route. I jumped to the conclusion that you were posting because you

weren't getting a response from your photographer, but I realize you didn't actually say that. :)

 

Have you asked your photographer for the specifics on delivery and timelines? Once a photographer knows what type of

album you're ordering, s/he should be able to provide you with a pretty accurate timeline for design and delivery.

FWIW, the Apple's "Mighty Mouse" has right-click. :)

Before we had a studio location, we used to meet clients at their home, or at a coffee shop closest to them. Like you, we were exhausted

from driving sometimes more than an hour in traffic to meet someone who may not even book us! The last

straw was when we drove an hour only to have the bride call 15 minutes AFTER she was supposed to meet

us to say that she had "overslept" and wouldn't be able to make it. ARGH! :)

 

The result was that we picked ONE centrally located coffee shop with great ambiance and plenty of tables; I told

everyone who inquired, "We'd love to meet with you! We meet at XYZ Coffee on *these* days at *these* times. I'll be glad to e-mail

you with directions."

 

When we quit ASKING where the couple wanted to meet, and started telling them *where we met*, we had a MUCH

better experience. The staff at that coffee shop got to know us, for one, which made the whole situation better! And we

never had to worry about driving over an hour only to be stood up! ;)

 

Every now and then someone would ask if we could meet them at a different location, and we would say, "Because of

the number of meetings we have, we've had to select one location where all of them can take place. It's become our

unofficial office! But it's very easy to get to and there's great shopping in the area!" :D Just play up the positives. And

stick to your guns.

 

I've found that it's important from the very beginning to establish that YOU make the rules. Not that you won't listen to

your clients, or that you're completely inflexible. But every successful business has policies and protocol in place. If

you're allowing clients (or, worse, *potential* clients) to dictate the way you run your business, you don't do yourself OR

your clients any favors. Make some decisions about how YOU want to run your business, and be open with clients and

potentials about the way you work. You'll be more likely to attract the kind of business you WANT, and the kind of

business that wants YOU. :)

 

If a couple is serious, they WILL come to you. If they can't be bothered to drive the extra few miles, then you're

probably talking to someone who isn't all that serious about you and your work in the first place. :)

<i>JDM von Weinberg , Aug 13, 2008; 05:20 p.m.

<p>

I know that I would appreciate a photographer freely giving me the rights to use my own image, even though the

photographer CAN claim copyright.</i>

<p>

After reading JDM's comment I just wanted to clarify what I said previously.

<p>

Just because you give your clients *license* to reproduce their photographs for *personal* use does NOT mean you have

given away your copyright. As a photographer, I ALWAYS retain copyright, and my clients are clearly limited to

reproducing their photographs for personal enjoyment -- they cannot be reproduced or redistributed for commercial

purposes of any sort without additional permissions.

<p>

I think that the "digital age" has certainly changed the way photographers deliver photos, and also changed the way in

which clients expect to use those images. However, the value of a photographer's work is not any less than when there

was only one film negative and only a pro lab could make prints. If anything, the value has been increased, because

now clients don't have to go back to the photographer to use and re-use the images. That very convenience and

freedom has great value to the client, and presents potential great losses for the photographer. The only solution is for

up-front photography costs to increase. If a photographer is "freely giving" away reproduction rights, then the

photographer will soon be out of business. :)

<p>

JDM: On a side note, I'm glad your photographer was sensitive to your wife's passing, and did not give you any difficulty

about reproducing her photograph. :) That is exactly as it should be. :)

Yes, it is copyright infringement if you haven't licensed the music. People get away with it because photo businesses

are typically so small and go unnoticed.

 

Check out this article about affordably licensing music for your website:

http://www.wedpix.com/articles/010/music-on-wedding-photographer-web-sites/

 

A lot of people will tell you that if you buy the song, you can use it. But buying a song for personal use and using it for

commercial purposes are NOT the same thing. It would be like one of your clients saying that because they bought an

8x10 from you, they can reproduce it on a billboard to advertise their business. :)

 

The good news is that licensing isn't completely out-of-reach, so you can have your music and be on the up-and-up! :)

You should talk to an attorney, Jennifer. Delivery timelines can vary widely from studio to studio, depending on how big the

business is, how busy they are, what you've ordered, etc. A "reasonable" timeline should be one that is clearly defined in

days, weeks, or months in your contract. At the very least, your photographer should have been able to give you a near-

exact estimate once you approved your album design. I'm sorry you're having this problem! :(

I'm assuming you want your clients to be able to print from the DVD, and that ideally you'd probably like them to be able

to archive their images as well by duplicating them on to their computers. This would mean that there's no way to

prevent them from also re-burning the images to another disc to give away.

 

Of course, your contract may prohibit reproduction by anyone but your client, but there's almost no way to reinforce that.

 

I think it's just one of those things that you have to come to terms with. :) When you choose to give your clients their

digital files, you choose to give them unlimited personal reproduction rights.

 

You should either charge more, to make up for any potential loss in print sales from wedding guests and family

members, or stop offering the files. :)

 

This is a dilemma I faced as well, and in the end it's really so nice to just allow your clients to truly HAVE their images,

no strings attached.

I don't see why this is any different from a wedding at which the bride and groom receive a CD, but you offer image for sale

online as well. Obviously, the Event Host could make prints for his guests, but the proper assumption is that he doesn't

want to be bothered with that responsibility; this is why you make prints available for sale.