Monday Q+A

Q:

Recently, I’ve lost a few bids because I haven’t given the client an unlimited license. Is this an industry trend? Are clients not paying for usage anymore, and/or are photographers not charging for usage? In my bid, I gave the client all the usage that they asked for, but lost the bid to another photographer who just gave them an unlimited license. 

A:

Giving away image usage licensing rights for free gives up the critical framework that supports a career in photography. The only way to win this battle is to be the best photographer you can be. The better you become, the more clients will be forced to stick with photographers who charge for licensing rights. Those who give it away are on a lower playing field, mostly used when a client does not have a high-end, specific style and can use a more general, undefined look. The only way to not be undercut is to be the precise resource raising their business to that next level. Be the solution, making them look even better for using you!

Q:

 I have been asked by a client for my fee options to renew usage on some of my images for 1 year and for perpetuity. The base fee was $3000 a day for these beauty portraits. I am wondering for digital and print, how to price this. How would you handle this?

A:

The answer to all fee renewals (if not spelled out on the estimate) follows the same consistent proportional percentage breakdown, mirroring the original usage/fee cost. If you charged $3000 for digital and print usage fees for 1 year on the initial estimate, then I’d follow that, asking for perhaps $2500 or $2750 for another year. A lot of this depends on the client’s budget, so I always negotiate with a “collaborative negotiation” positioning myself to open the conversation for an ongoing work partnership. 

Q:

What are the do’s and don’ts of cold emailing or DM’ing potential clients and reps?

A:

1. Contact the correct people who are looking for your type of work; don’t waste their time.

2. Use their name (and spell it correctly). 

3. Keep it short. 

4. If you are copying and pasting, make sure it doesn’t look reused or obviously generic. 

5. Sound human; imagine if you were receiving this email or dm. 

6. If you’re asking for something, limit it to one clear request. 

7. Ask a simple question that’s easy to respond to so we don’t have to overthink how to answer.

Q:

How do you quickly evaluate a photographer’s Instagram account?

A:

My usual way to quickly “judge” a photographer’s IG account is to see when they last posted on their grid. It’s not about the number of followers that makes them a photographer to take seriously; it is how often and how active they are with their second website.

Q:

What’s your opinion of IG? Do you think the pros outweigh the cons? And do you think only posting BTS/announcements as opposed to actual photos would be career suicide?

A:

My overriding opinion about choosing any type of marketing is all about IG. We can’t dance around this; telling half the story is like saying we want to show clients we can handle providing images for their marketing needs, but we can’t do it ourselves. We have to be doing at least the basics, or it’s equal to not having a website (oy!). Only posting BTS/Announcements would be using it as a temporary, occasional publicity outlet, which would send out the message that you don’t feel confident in your completed work. 

Q:

If you had to name one of the most thoughtless or foolish ways to offend a client, what would it be? 

A:

One of the surefire ways to turn off a client is to misspell their name or call them the wrong name. How many seconds would it take to check their name before clicking “send?”

Q:

Once a photographer secures a rep, can we feel relieved knowing that the rep will secure regular work for us, maybe once a month or more? I believe this is an essential question since photography is a precarious profession, and I’m curious if representation can mitigate this. 

A:

Simple answer: NO

Think of it like this: a rep can open doors, but it’s still you and your portfolio showing up to those meetings. 

We have the contacts, and you have the goods. The real question is: what do you need in order to land the jobs? Is the answer something where a rep can help you grow your portfolio and make you more findable or credible with exposure? Figuring this out before you look for a rep may save you time and help you determine whether a rep is truly the right path for you.  

Q:

Is there a way to know who photographed a campaign? For example, if you see an inspiring campaign and you want to connect or follow the photographer who worked on it, how can you do that? 

A:

I used to use this website: https://www.adsoftheworld.com, but these days, Google Image Search may be the quickest way. 

-Does anyone else have ideas/suggestions for this?

Q:

I’ve been thinking of reaching out to agencies, both local and international, to get represented. Do you have any tips on how to do this? I don’t want to make a bad first impression with a terribly worded email. 

A:

Good point! Don’t overthink the wording. If you are already represented and looking for a change, you can be honest about that. If you have never been repped and are newer to the business, keep it short because reps understand what you’re asking. It’s not always easy for us to say no, so consider emailing a thoughtful question or something relatable to start building a relationship, rather than putting pressure on a yes/no response. Reps know what you’re saying and, if we’re interested, we’ll continue the conversation.  We are happy to see a quick rundown of your situation, giving us a sense of the kind and confident person you are, but the more you say to us, the more we don’t read what you are saying. Make it easy for a rep who gets many of these emails a day. 

Q:

What is better for a website, a larger variety of different work or a small collection of highly cohesive images?

A:

In general, websites are most captivating and memorable when they feature a wider variety of highly cohesive images. I say this because in selling ourselves, we often have 2-3 seconds to clinch the deal.