So - I finally got a few details, and it was an interesting conversation.
Did I mention this isn\'t a close friend?
First - they\'re looking for 24 images. They have 12 beers they want me to shoot. For each beer, one bottle picture, and one picture with a bottle and 6-pack.
Second - when I asked about their intended usage, he said they planned to use it for everything. AND... he informed me that \"because they were paying me to take the images for them, that they owned all the rights to the images.\" Without getting nasty about it, I disagreed, and said that according to everything I had ever read and everyone I had ever spoken to, this was not even remotely right. He mentioned \"Creative Commons\" and \"You can thank Bush for that\" and \"Photographers generally haven\'t caught up with the new laws\" and \"That\'s the way it used to be.\" The only thing that I thought of that made any sense, was that maybe he was thinking of this in terms of - if a company pays an employee to take pictures, maybe the company owns the right to them? Either way - they certainly seem to want the rights to the pictures forever and ever amen.
Third - He said that the last time they had a photographer take pictures for them, he charged $17 per image. (Yes - $17!) \"That\'s stupid low,\" I said. \"Yes, it is,\" he replied, \"but you\'re also getting experience, so take that into account.\" (Did I mention that I\'ve never seen a single picture of beer -- or anything else -- on their website, other than a few snapshots of beer glasses for sale and a few snapshots of employees in the employee section? So I\'m not sure where the $17 pictures are...) He also said they\'re \"a small company and can\'t pay a lot for pictures.\"
So....
All of this seems to be heading toward them wanting cheap pictures and the rights forever. I get that. I also have a feeling that he\'s trying to take advantage of my inexperience because, as I mentioned, he is aware that I am new to the commercial aspect of photography. (I\'m not 100% sure this is true, but...)
The one thing leading me toward lowering my initial thoughts on pricing (per image) is the fact that after the initial setup for each of the two types of images, it literally is going to be swapping out a bottle (with some slight prep) and shooting another picture. Even the majority of any post-processing will be an assembly line with the same lighting, etc. There are only two setups for the 24 images. (My initial thoughts before discussing details with him were $150 for an initial image, and $75 for each additional image with the same setup.)
Here\'s my current thought on the pricing: (I would still love some feedback and guidance, and as always, appreciate everyone\'s patience!)
Bill $200 for the initial image in each setup: $200 x 2 = $400
Bill $50 for each additional image with the same setup: $50 x 22 = $1100
This puts the total at $1500. Provide an initial first time promotional discount as discussed: -$500 (Maybe a $300 discount, which is 20% would be more appropriate.)
Total: $1000. (Or $1200 with a $300 discount.)
My estimate (possibly inaccurate) is that I\'d spend in the neighborhood of 8 hours on this. $1000 as a \"discounted\" day rate doesn\'t seem unreasonable to me. Maybe I\'m wrong?
If this is where I end up, should I be charging extra for usage that he assumes is their right? lol
I could go on and on, but I\'ll stop here for now.
Thanks for the help and for being fairly gentle!
May 15, 2013 at 11:02 PM
Previous versions of KaBudokan's message #11556679 « Pricing help for product photography (BEER!) - updated with more info... »
