Shooting a 50th anniversary party recently was my first bona fide, fully paid photography gig, and I’m pleased to say setting it up went fairly smoothly and by the book. Here’s a summary of the business process for those looking to get started on their own:
This client found me through an ad I had placed in my local ski club phone directory and approached me at another club event - a good mix of advertising and networking. We talked briefly about what she wanted and I gave her one of my Business Cards. One slight slip I made was giving a verbal ballpark quote; it would’ve been better to get a clear idea of her needs and provide a written quote.
A followup call did give me a enough information to put a written quote together (plus a bit of background on her family, party planning, etc.). Following some advice from prophotolife, I prepared an itemized, written quote with letterhead and booking & payment terms. The prices were based on Internet research of what others charge, and my own feel for how much time shooting, processing, and preparation would be required.
There was then a bit of a lull while the family party committee decided, but they ultimately booked me for the full package as quoted - another strength of the written quote. (If price had been a factor, I would’ve negotiated for less coverage time - “negotiate scope, not rate”.) We setup a pre-shoot meeting at the party location, and spent about an hour going over layout, schedule, and meeting some of the key family members. The latter was very valuable - they would’ve been harder to meet while making last minute preparations the day of the party. I also collected the 50% deposit and we signed a contract. The contract was another product of Internet research, weaving together applicable bits of legalese with the detailed quote.
After shooting the event, I took another tip and made an immediate DVD backup of the digital negatives (RAW files). A recent experience in which Apple Ate My Photos! made me very cautious and diligent.
With all the activity at the party, I wasn’t able to collect the balance before leaving, though holding off on the posting and delivery of the photos allayed my concerns. Once received, I posted the photos to a password-protected area of my Gallery2 installation, which was already setup for print orders. The client also received a CD of high-resolution JPGs with a non-exclusive, limited personal-use copyright license specified in the contract.
That does raise a bit of an economics question: most photographers base their fees on compensation for shooting and processing plus additional sale of prints. I charged a small fee for preparation and shipping of the CD; should I have instead charged an amount equal to the average total print order?
As many photographers have noted, the business side of photography can be intimidating, difficult, and/or painful. I found a bit of preparation to be very helpful, as were the scattered online references and examples I consulted. Overall, it went well and was a good first experience. In a future post, I’ll discuss the challenges of the actual event photography.
