United StatesHow much to charge for supermarket shoot?
The shoot is at one of a regional chain of supermarkets to update their image library, so I think it's going to be a total buyout. They have provided me with a prospective shot list and based on that I have estimated 1 1/2 days of shooting. I am planning to use mainly available light and an assistant, no make up artist and no compensated models. There will be no rental fees. I am planning to give them a selection of the whole shoot, which could easily end up being over a 100 images, which I will do a basic retouch on and then export as tiff files. What would you charge for the assignment and licensing if you were giving them a package deal (not including the assistant)? Thanks!
I love jobs like this. They can be a lot of fun. It's hard to quote though without knowing more about the usage. I'd ask a lot of questions about how they use their photos. Most likely your initial response will be "we don't know" but you can ask if they're going to ads in national magazines, billboards in times square etc. Most likely the answer will be no so you know that they won't need national rights.
Odds are they'll need the unlimited ability to use the images in instore promotions, brochures, newspaper circulars and stuff like that. You can give the client unlimited use within specified clients without just giving away blanket unlimited use. Big difference.
Next, I'd quote based upon the number of shots delivered - not necessarily the amount of time spent on the shoot. At the end of the day, the value lies in the photos you deliver, not the time spent. 100 shots is a lot. Way too many in my book. I'd suggest something in the 20 to 25 range. This is an area you can be flexible in.
If you do a great job, you'll walk away with more desirable shots than that, but then you can charge more for them. Be careful with this though. Clients like to rush you through shots, but then the quality suffers. Don't be afraid to put your foot down here so you get the time and resources you need to do your job.
Finally, you should keep in mind that the lighting in these stores can be really crappy. Some light to fill in faces and such will go a long way to creating a great finished product.
John
".. so I think it's going to be a total buyout. "
Well then - looking at it from their point of view - it would appear that it doesn't really matter how much they pay you or how little they pay you - as they will still be getting the exact same thing from you i.e. 100 images, which they can use for whatever they want, for as long as they want, wherever they want.
So this is something you may want to think about !
Believe me, I'm not a fan of giving out all the rights, but I understand the clients point of view. They wanna be able to use the pictures as if they bought them from an image library as getty or corbis and wanna be able to do whatever they want with them.
Let's say I'll put a few restrictions on the usage i.e. 5 years instead of unlimited. What else? Anyone has suggestions how to handle this and has some price ranges?
Does the fact you are pricing a buyout - whatever that really means - at $30 a photo bother you? If this is basic product shots it is one thing, but creative location work involving people is a whole different matter. I would suggest you limit the number of shots if you believe this is their budget. Hardly any client needs 100 shots from a shoot unless it is product photography. Just the post processing of 100 shots would take me several days depending on the subject matter.
I would worry after the shoot is done you are going to be their $30/shot photographer. It is really hard to raise prices dramatically with a client so understand that is how they are going to price you from now on.
commented:
March 18, 2013
Park Street
Professional