Got a call an hour ago...

[Halliday]

from some Court Reporter agency. A "very-well known" politician (name withheld) will be in town soon. Said group wants photos. I can help. They asked for a price quote. For time I'd be out about 2 or 3 hours. They also want the images uploaded to an FTP site. All of that is no big deal. Then I asked what would they be used for. The politician's website.

I threw out a price and they came back with, "Well we'll need to get that approved it's a bit higher than the last photographer."

I quoted them $400. They were looking for $250-300 range.

I don't think I'm crazy. Unlimited use on their website! I won't name the politican but let's just say he's got a future ahead of him.

Now I'm waiting for their call back :|

Waiting is fun.

[Jon, The Elder]

If you and your gear are worth $400.00 AND you are available don't be pushed into something.

Your response to them alluded to a quality shoot. Remember:

Good
Fast
Cheap
pick any 2.......

[cosworth]

Obama can afford it.

[Dorado]

How many inages do they expect?

I would quote a base fee, then a figure per image they select to use. And I would NOT give unlimited use unless they pay for it. Let them know that it would cost them less to license the image for a year. Images of a politician have good resale value dont forget.

[ssim]

What would you charge the guy that wanted you for a few hours and then wanted the same usage agreement. I've always worked with the approach that it doesn't matter who you are, I treat you the same. I had a couple of business people do price comparisons after I had worked for both and after that I started to standard price list.

[vwpilot]

Wow. I would have charged them that much for a years worth of use on a website for only two images that I had already taken and didnt have to spend the time actually shooting it.

To me this is nothing more than a standard day rate assignment. Charge your normal day or 1/2 day rate if you do that and be done with it.

I'd say you gave them a more than fair price. Good luck.

[gmen]

To me this is nothing more than a standard day rate assignment. Charge your normal day or 1/2 day rate if you do that and be done with it.Indeed. There's no need to over-complicate matters. EDIT: It's easy to over-complicate matters :lol:

Also, if this is a non-exclusive deal, then bear in mind you could get some more mileage out of the images for editorial stock use.

Good luck with it.

---- Gavin

[Halliday]

# of images: The lady said of the last photog's 150 shots he uploaded, they used 2.

It's been a few hours since she said she'd call back. I just called her and got voicemail.

Thanks for the support. My wife doesn't see it my way and would rather have had SOME $$. Looks like I get nothing now.

[PhotosGuy]

A "very-well known" politician... BTDT. As a group, they are well known for very late pay/no pay, too. ...it's a bit higher than the last photographer." I'd suggest that they hire the "last Pgotographer" & see what they say. Or maybe they already said it with, "...of the last photog's 150 shots he uploaded, they used 2?"

[S.Horton]

True stories.

Pitched a client on a pilot program for services, price was amazingly low, they said it was too much. Turns out, they engaged a competitor at 5X the cost and the project failed. They lied.

Client calls, wants to talk about options for increased performance and service levels, complains loudly about price, declines the proposal. Turns out, they had engaged a firm for needs assessment to repeat what we do now. Paid 3X what we proposed to get it, now they're back for a new quote. I raised the price. They're about to accept it.

Just to provide background, both proposals are in six figures, but even the smallest proposal quite often gets the same response.

I have many such stories, and here's the point: Everyone complains about price because they want to feel like they got a deal/brag on it/be grandiose. When they do that, if I know I'm competitive, I ignore it completely.

Here's the key phrase that works for me: "Our services are a great value, and this is the price we normally receive. Would you like to limit the engagement to meet your budget?" If they push: "We'd love to help, but the matter of price cannot be discussed further. "

[bob393]

It does sound like a standard day rate job to me also.

[Halliday]

The price I gave them was considering it would be up on the guy's website, for who knows how long, with no credit for me (they said that :| ), and basically be giving them unlimited use.

[wcameron]

Here is something that has helped me in the past. I had a call for some custom work and the client compared me to another companies off the shelf product. At the same time, when I gave the client my price, they complained that my price was far more expensive than the 'off the shelf' product of a mediocre competitor. They wanted top quality for low price. A colleague gave me the best response. Now when someone complains that I'm too expensive, here's my answer: "Of course I am! If you really want what you say you want, then good quality work is worth the price. if you'd like some poor work then I'm happy to recommend some of my competitors but my price reflects the value of the work that I'm going to provide you."

There is something very liberating the first time you say: "Of course I'm expensive!".

This is not meant to come off as arrogant - just confident in what I am able to offer them.