Archive 2011 · Commercial Job Pricing - Flat Day Rate or Usage Based ?

Steve_M_Cooper
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Commercial Job Pricing - Flat Day Rate or Usage Based ?

Hi,

I'm traditionally a portrait photographer whose completed a couple of weddings so used to that business model. However, I'm completely clueless when it comes to commercial photography and its various licensing models and copyright situations.

I have an opportunity to shoot some commercial images of a computer data center that will primarily be used for their website although they've not ruled out using them for press releases / brochures / printed materials in the future.

How do I go about pricing this type of job ? I'm thinking there's two approaches:

1) Day rate which includes unlimited usage for 12 months. Then charge XX% per annum for continued use.

2) Lower day rate and then charge specifically for website usage only. If they want to use the images for any other rights then they come back to me for pricing.

My research on the local competition hasn't been overly successful. The good guys don't advertise any prices whilst the people that do are very cheap and sign away complete copyright to the images. I want to fit somewhere in the middle !

Where do I start with pricing this type of job ? FWIW, I'm based in the UK if that makes a difference.

Thanks,

Steve

Jun 29, 2011 at 10:11 AM

keithdunlop
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Commercial Job Pricing - Flat Day Rate or Usage Based ?

Option number 2 makes the most sense from the standpoint of an initial quote, but I disagree that you should reduce your day rate. What is the point of doing that? In fact, I also think that you should include a hourly fee for post-processing. If your client feels that there should be some concessions on your day rate in exchange for image licensing, let that be something that they propose.

I would highly recommend downloading a copy of fotoQuote Pro for pricing help. The software will assist in breaking down precise rate ranges depending on the scope of image licensing.

Edited on Jun 30, 2011 at 07:30 PM · View previous versions

Jun 29, 2011 at 01:57 PM

Steve_M_Cooper
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Commercial Job Pricing - Flat Day Rate or Usage Based ?

thanks for the pointer Keith, I'd not come across that software before.

In my situation, the client is only certain that some (they don't know how many) of the images will be used for their website.

In this situation, it seems like I can only bill for my day rate. I then need to sit tight until they figure out how / when they want to use the images and then send through a second invoice accordingly. Does that seem right ?

Is that normally how it works in the commercial world ? Before this job, I'd have assumed the client would provide a clear brief and detailed explanation on how the images would be used.

Steve

Jun 30, 2011 at 04:25 PM

keithdunlop
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Commercial Job Pricing - Flat Day Rate or Usage Based ?

I discussing the job with the client, I would advise them that it is helpful to know what licensing they will require up front so you can provide a more complete quote. Otherwise, you will be shooting the job, but not able to deliver final images until they figure that out. However, I suppose you could give them low resolution watermarked files for evaluation, and tell you later what licensing they want.

There's no "normal" in the commercial/editorial world. Every job is different and is negotiated based on specific needs of the client.

Jun 30, 2011 at 07:30 PM


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