Client Advice

There are so many different ways to shoot any subject and a good photographer will obtain the correct information from you well in advance of taking even a single photograph in order to fulfill your requirements with minimal fuss and most of all avoiding the need to re-shoot.

The cost of your photography will be determined by many factors which I have attempted to explain here on this page to guide you in the right direction.

The process of commissioning a photographer

Finding the balance in a client/photographer relationship involves communication and interpretation. A good photographer should understand your needs better than you do and this is where the balance comes into play. You may have exact image requirements or you may just have rough ideas. In any case it is likely that quality and value are both high on your list. If you have found a photographer whose skills match your expectations, the hard portion of your work is done. The next step is to get in touch so I have written an explanation of what to expect next.

This is the normal process that will take place once you have initially contacted your photographer:

Initial contact

- Phone call or e-mail.

First Meeting

- The photographer may ask for a meeting with you in order to introduce him/herself (if geographically possible). Photography is a personality driven art form, and no matter how good they are at taking photographs you should feel comfortable in the knowledge that you can work with them without any issues.

- At this first meeting it is important to be clear about the initial work you want your photographer to carry out. They should come armed with a rough idea of daily rates for certain tasks like public relations and press photography. Larger complex projects such as advertising shoots vary so much in scale and costs that it may be impossible to ask for an idea on price at this stage.

- Your photographer should ask a lot of relevant questions and write down the answers, if he doesn’t there may be something amiss and he may not be taking the job seriously.

- You will no doubt want a quote for the work which will be easier to produce knowing what the job entails and the final use for the images (website / posters / internal or external communications etc). You will not want to pay over the odds for images you only want to use on the web.

- You should leave this meeting with the confidence that your requirements are in good hands. From this point on you should be looking forward to being able to consider your photographer a part of your team.

Receiving a quote

- Your quote will be exactly that. It is a quote that should be both competitive and value for money, although photographers value their skills very differently from each other and therefore quotes will vary immensely.
- All I can advise on is that you read the quote as carefully as you would any terms and conditions. Your quote should not only tell you how much it is going to cost for the photographer to carry out the required work but in my experience should also provide details of the agreed work to clarify that the photographer understands what you require.
- If there is anything within the quote that you wish to discuss or change then now is the time to bring these issues up.

Job Specific Meeting

- This is a pre-shoot meeting that may or may not be needed depending on the complexity of the photographic task.
- If your photographer is thorough he will come to this meeting with some pretty concrete ideas for shots either in example photographs of drawings. This meeting may be via e-mail of face to face and be aware that your photographer may charge you for meetings. Any extra charges should have been clearly stated on your quote so that there is no confusion or surprise when you receive your bill.

Final Planning

- Simply the process of final plans before the shoot (no doubt last minute phone calls…)

Shoot

- Be prepared to remain flexible on the day of the shoot. Your photographer, again if he is worth his weight in gold will remain flexible himself and although all the planning in the world can minimize the problems that will arise, you should be in no doubt that things will go wrong.
- A good sense of humour is crucial… Your shoot will rely on your photographer taking the lead and being able to get the best from his lights, equipment, props, models and everything else, so he will need constructive support from you as the client throughout, it will definitely be appreciated.
- Enjoy the day. High-pressure shoots are hard to enjoy, if you are stressed it may rub off on your photographer and that’s not good for anyone.

Post Production

- Many clients think that digital photography is easier than film during the post-production stage. In fact the shoot is only the beginning of the process of creating the finished product and the digital process is the time consuming bit.

- Your photographer will have an archive and post-production system that will include backing up all imagery taken throughout the shoot and individually working on (photo-shopping) all of the images. Images are taken in a split second but can take anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours per image to enhance depending on the brief.
- Professional photographers will inevitably undercharge for the actual time taken during post-production. This is a bad habit and it may seem a benefit to you as the client but do not encourage speed over quality. This said a good photographer will get most elements correct at the taking stage especially during fast paced PR or press events where speed is of the essence.

Delivery

- Details regarding the delivery of your images will be contained in your original quote, unless other arrangements have been made.
- Try to be clear from the start what you wish the final output to be. A good photographer will ask the right questions when you first talk about the task so that he gives you the final pictures in the correct resolution for your needs.
- Your Images will come with a licence to use depending on what has been agreed. It is important that you read this licence and remember that a licence is in place to protect the usage rights of both the client and the photographer.
- All of the images from the shoot should be archived in their original form (straight from camera) and never deleted, this makes sure that if the images are needed again for any reason (higher resolution etc) they can be re-supplied and a new usage agreement can be made.

Invoice/Billing

- Your invoice for any particular job will be detailed and should also contain a copy of the relevant image licence(s).
- All photographers will say this but please pay promptly. Most will have their terms and conditions and image licenses state, that the images cannot be used until payment has been made in full. Be aware that if you break these terms and conditions he/she may be able to take you to court for copyright infringement.

Things to be aware of

Planning

If your photographer is worth his weight in gold they will rarely do anything off the cuff.

It is important to plan any task as thoroughly as possible prior to the day of the shoot. Although on the day things will evolve as the shoot progresses it helps to be as prepared as possible with clear and concise objectives and ideas about what is to be achieved.

I will encourage you to have at least one face-to-face meeting with me prior to any work so that there is no doubt what is expected of me as your photographer.

Copyright

‘Unless formally agreed in writing a photographer (professional or amateur) is the copyright holder of any images he/she has ever produced’.

Very rarely will a professional photographer assign copyright of his work to anyone, it is important that as a customer you understand why we are so protective of our work and what paperwork can be put in place to protect the interests of both you and your photographer whilst getting value for money. After all it is important to remember you are commissioning me for work that you want to be produced.

For this reason a professional photographer will insist on a licence being drawn up for the use of the images that he produces for you. Don’t be scared off by the idea of a licence, it is drawn up to protect you and to be clear about the future use of the images you have asked for.

Technically a licence to use is the written contract between the photographer and his client for the specific use of particular images. As long as the photographer’s terms and conditions are met (ie; the images are paid for) it is protection for you, as a client that guarantees you can use those images even if there is a disagreement between both parties and your photographer wants to prevent you from using them.

A licence lays down in concrete paperwork:

- Planned usage of the images.
- Territories in which the images can be used (I usually allow world wide usage).
- Details pertaining to Copyright.
- Any request for a credit.
- Information for gaining further usage.

I will discuss in more detail and have an example of a licence on my website shortly so that you know what to expect from such a document. A licence can be issued for just one image or any number of images as long as the usage rights are the same, if usage rights are different for various images a licence will be issued for each one.

Photographers Terms and Conditions

Once signed a photographers terms and conditions override any licence they may draw up with you, however, again don’t be scared by this… They are in place to protect both me as a photographer, and you as a client. They are to be used in conjunction with a licence.

For example my terms and conditions are worded to protect me against non payment by a client, this means that even though a licence to use may have been issued and as a customer you may have the images in your possession, technically you must not use them until they have been paid for. This in practice is not feasible on a PR job where the images are often out to the Press agencies within an hour after the event, but this does give me security against unscrupulous customers that refuse to pay after the job is complete.

Make sure you read a photographer’s terms and conditions thoroughly. Even though they look as daunting as the terms and conditions that many of us just tick the box on at many websites we see, you need to be happy with what they say. They are a guide to where the photographer stands as a professional and should be clear and concise, again protecting both the photographer and you as the client. Terms and conditions are flexible and it is important that you discuss and revise any changes that need to be made before any work commences.

I have tried to keep mine as simple as possible and they are clearly published on my website. I think that if you and your photographer cannot agree to one set of terms and conditions you may have to think clearly about what you are asking of him or maybe it may be time to search for another.