Is this estimate request worth your time?
If only we could find out the budget, that would make it all so simple, but clients tend to keep that to themselves.
3 ways I open up the conversation by presenting the question differently:
What would I put as a line item on my invoice for hourly random admin things? This came up recently when I had a client send me so many pages of documents to fill out; they’re also calling me and winding up on calls for hours and having me send proofs in multiple different ways. I want to bill for that time since it’s excessive but I don’t know what to call it. I would love any insight you have!
Every bid I do has prep days to cover admin organizational time. I’ve even put an in-person pre-production meeting line item in the bid with a $0 amount to show that our prep time is not free.
It’s good to spell out your terms with all the specifics, as far as which tasks are covered by your prep days, so if they want to add more, it’s clear they will pay more.
I am experiencing out-of-control clients requesting added or changed images as we are shooting, missing detailed composition into not included in the brief, and even complaining about actual details they didn’t want to see after I light their props – it’s crazy how uneducated these clients are! How do I handle this?
The multi-parted answer to keeping the calm with out-of-control clients is all about covering yourself before any craziness begins.
I recently lost out on a job because my perpetuity number scared off the agency. They needed a 5 year license estimate and a perpetuity estimate. My 5 year license was $16,000 and perpetuity was 4 times that. Seemed fair to me because I’m not comfortable with a lifetime license of my images anyway. What are your thoughts on this? I’m gutted because I lost out on the job but I’m ok with not giving a lifetime license away for next to nothing.
When bidding on a job requesting usage duration fee options, those are often an excellent place to start high, expecting to negotiate and not risk losing the job.
The usual fundamental reasons you could lose a job you are bidding on:
-They have a #1 favorite choice in mind based on their style.
-Your overall estimate price is much higher than someone else, so high they don’t even want to try to negotiate,
-Your overall estimate price is very low, showing that you do not have the experience needed to fulfill the goals of this project.
-Another bidder impressed them more with their treatment or ideas on the creative call.
How do I estimate a job when I am given the budget, but the layouts and the producer do not answer all the information I need?
Estimating a job is not an accurate term because we are liable for our “estimate” price. Since an estimate is a “bid” for a project, we have to protect ourselves as our reputation and the financial responsibility is on our shoulders.
How I read the situation:
– They may be expecting you to be the creative director creating their concepts which is an additional role to be added to your fees.
– Without all the details, you’ll need to expect fewer shots finished per day due to the exploration time required.
– Call it a rough ballpark estimate, making it clear you’ll need them to allow for revisions once you learn more information.
Protect yourself on bids by preparing for the client to respond by handling some of the line items themselves.
For example, if they had contemplated supplying the props, expect your prop cost to eventually be removed from your total. If you know their budget or have one in mind, place those prop costs over the final amount you want to come in at. You cannot add to your bid once you submit it, so strategically place your numbers with this in mind.
There’s a way to protect yourself on bids that I keep learning about—I just experienced it yesterday. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to emphasize it again.
There are line items on your bid, such as overtime, retouching, consulting on post-work, or food, that the client might later say they will cover. Be cautious with these items because once they are removed from your budget, you’re stuck with the remaining amount. Even if the client initially said they have a budget of $20,000, if your bid now comes in at $15,000 after these items are removed, they’ve already seen the original bid. You can’t change it at that point.
So, be careful with these items. It’s better to come in over budget and discuss potential removals with the client rather than adjusting your bid after submission.
Be specific about which SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE you are licensing to the client.
Bidding on a project without a shot list means you cannot know the exact costs for expenses, and you will be concepting the creative shot list. When you are wearing more hats, you need to charge for your time and call it a CREATIVE CONCEPTING FEE.
When bidding on a job, you are in the position to make an educated decision to be the “bank” running all the costs through your own company vs having it go through the producer. Any markup or differences in actual prices will be a profit to whoever gets paid for the job. This can be you if you want to handle your billing. The decision is yours.
When you’re asked to bid on a job and choose a producer to work with, it’s important to make an educated decision about billing. Many producers handle all the costs and serve as the financial intermediary, and this is also common among reps. However, this isn’t how I operate, so I can’t speak from that perspective.
You need to decide whether you want the money to go through your name, directly through the producer, or through the rep. This decision should be made and clarified beforehand. If you choose to handle billing yourself, keep in mind that there could be a markup and leftover money from production expenses that could potentially benefit the producer.
Some photographers prefer to manage their own billing to avoid the markup and keep more of the budget, but this might limit your opportunities to work with certain producers. It’s worth considering how many producers would be willing to work under these terms. Ultimately, it’s your decision and you should carefully weigh your options.
Hi Andrea! I have a question regarding one-sheets that maybe might be helpful for the community. Would you suggest including a project minimum? I’ve been getting a lot of requests for “rate cards” and I usually say it’s project dependent.
Photographer’s rates depend on the type of work you do. If you can simplify this request with a rate card, it would save you time. My goal as the agent is to save time by quickly finding out if we should continue this conversation by quoting a price range. I’ll say, “Our day rate fee for this would usually be somewhere between 4,000 – 10,000, depending on many factors like shot count, shot list, day count, the creative component of the images, and what the licensed usage rights are. What is your budget?” I find a price range to be the fastest way to get to the next step.
