Monday Q+A

Q:

What are the essential marketing tools these days, and which past tools have become less relevant?

A:

Marketing tools tend to come and go, but the KEY is to be the leader of the pack by instilling new ways or the return of the old ones. Printed promos and portfolios are on the out, but I’ve seen it happen before; someday soon, they will be back. My job as a rep has always been about expanding and cultivating new marketing routes to see what works. I jumped on Clubhouse initially but no longer saw the marketing benefits as strongly as doing my webinar and podcast to be showcased on my YouTube. If a marketing trend goes cold, the right question is, what is the new replacement I can do asap?

** Marketing tools chart available on www.asksternrep.com downloads

Q:

After shooting with an international client, I had a frustrating experience when I asked if I could show the images, and the response was that I could not show them. I’m just getting started, so I was excited to use these to help me leverage my career. How are other photographers able to post work they create with large brands?

A:

My unofficial assessment of this issue is some clients say it, and some clients mean it. I’ve never lost a client after being reprimanded for this. Of course, you never want to be surprised by our client’s terms, so read them carefully and adjust your fees accordingly. We have a few options – ask and cross your fingers, don’t ask and claim ignorance, respect not posting on public platforms, or pick and choose to show the images in a pdf or an email promo to a select group.

Q:

I’ve had a lot of my client work posted in articles like Hypebeast, WWD, and Complex without my permission or crediting my name. How much do people charge for usage like that? How do I deal with charging if clients keep getting my work up on big-name articles like this without consent?

A:

I am surprised these sites would not require your permission to show your images. They are taking quite the risk themselves in doing that. Depending on your relationship with your client and these sites, you could go after payment including a penalty fee. The normal chare for these is probably in the $200-$500 range. I am not in this type of business so I am not exactly sure about the prices but that is my guess. You could go after both of them threatening legal action and demanding more but that may damage your relationship. Perhaps talk to the client first to get this settled fairly. 

Q:

I’m being asked for the usage rate for a client’s social media content – organic vs. paid. How are we scaling the value difference between the two for usage fees?

A:

Social media usage for organic (or owned) on their social media needs to be much higher than “paid” ads usage based on the significant increase of viewers. Rates depend on many elements like the number of images, amount of posts or usability duration, and the type of images. Paid social media should run at least triple the price of organic. 

Q:

When a prospective client asks us to email them our portfolio, what is the preferred format? A ready-made pdf portfolio or a unique online webpage and gallery put together specifically for that prospective client?

A:

Clients often prefer a specific submission of your work representing each project, be ready to do this regularly. The one place I do not recommend sending images from is Dropbox. They need fast, easy, clear groupings of images to zip through, comparing you to the other bidders. You can ask which they prefer, but a pdf is the norm.

Q:

A client hiring me for a shoot was confused about paying for usage rights. Is there any foolproof way to educate clients about image licensing and why photographers should be paid what they deserve?

A:

Explaining licensing usage rights to clients means you are dealing with clients who are not used to paying much for their photography. Know what you are getting into, and keep close supervision once paid duration ends. APhotoEditor has an easy-to-understand explanation we can use to help educate these types of clients-

www.aphotoeditor.com/2010/02/05/ad-agency-guide-to-photography-usage-terms/

Q:

What are the do’s and dont’s of cold emailing/dm’ing potential clients + reps?

A:

1. Contact the correct people who look for your type of work, don’t waste their time.

2. Use their name (spelled correctly). 

3. Keep it short. 

4. If you are copying and pasting, make sure it isn’t blue, looking like it’s been reused. 

5. Sound like a human; imagine if you were receiving this email/dm. 

6. If you are asking for something, make it only one request. 

7. Ask a simple question for us to respond to so we don’t spend time thinking about how to answer.  

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:

Once a photographer secures a rep, can we feel relieved, knowing that the rep will secure work for us regularly, like 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 will still be you, with your same portfolio showing up to those meetings. 

We have the contacts, and you have the goods. The question is more about what are you needing 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 help you not waste any time determining the right path for you. 

Q:

I’m putting together an estimate for a corporate shoot. I usually charge for travel days, should I also have a line item for crew travel days, or is that something I should be covering? Any advice?

A:

Bidding is all about finessing what gets you the most gain while still getting the job. Crew costs are within the production expenses, including all their prep, post, and overtime. If being hired as a local helps your odds of getting the job, you can stash a little extra in your equipment instead of calling out “travel” costs.