Commercial & Editorial pricing

[EOSBoy]

Hey guys! I've been doing a poop load of searching and reading about commercial & editorial pricing. I've read through http://asmp.org/ and they've got some awesome information but it's a bit too standardized and broad to get a real grasp on the specifics....

I'm currently in the process of revising my business plan and pricing structure of a design/photography business that I recently bought. Work is steady but there are gray areas in our contracts and pricing that I really want to iron out before doing heavy marketing. My goal is to have every genre of photography that we cover itemized and contracted while being transparent all the way through. That way, we are honest and fair which leaves the client to only question our abilities and not the paperwork...

I feel comfortable with my portrait and wedding pricing but for commercial and editorial, it's a bit daunting since there are more variables in determining what I should charge...In the past up until now, we've been charging a flat $250 per hour for any type of commercial & editorial work and I feel we're losing money in the long run because we aren't dealing with any type of licensing...

In that sense, how did you guys figure out your plan of attack for commercial and editorial work? If I provide some examples of requests, how would you price out your services?

• I'm an independent business just starting out. I have 10 products I want you to shoot on white. I want to use the images for my website/e-commerce. There's a possibility that I'll use the images for brochures as well. How much will you charge me?

• I'm an art director requesting you to shoot 2 business owners for our fall issue publication. The image will probably be half to full page in size. How much will you charge me?

• I'm PR lady from the same magazine requesting you to shoot an event held by our publisher. The images will be hosted online via facebook and also a few photos will be featured in the magazine. How much will you charge me?

• I'm an assistant requesting to shoot 16 employees and 4 CEO headshots at your studio. These photos will be hosted on our website and office. There's a possibility that we'll use the images on business cards as well. Can you give me a quote for in studio and on location at our offices?

These are the most common requests I get and I really want to be able to create contracts and quotes confidently without pricing myself out of the market. How would you guys price yourself according to these scenarios? I'm sure this thread would help out a lot of people.

Thanks in advanced. I'll keep doing my research and chime in ever so often.

[ni$mo350]

I could definitely learn a lot from an responses too.

[EOSBoy]

Here's a sample invoice that I came across: http://asmp.org/content/commercial-job-pharmacy

[TopHatMoments]

http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm

[EOSBoy]

Originally Posted by TopHatMoments

http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm

Originally Posted by TopHatMoments

http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm

Thanks for the link. I've came across this several times but how would you incorporate this into your pricing?

Would you have a standardized production fee + licensing fees? I've heard day rates and hourly rates are somewhat out dated for commercial photographers. Is this true?

For my first scenario listed, knowing that my minimum CODB (cost of doing business) is $360 per shoot (3 working days a week = 3 shoots a week or $1080 a week)

Should I charge my standard $250 per hour + licensing fees? If so, let's say the first scenario listed will take me 1 hour to shoot and 2 hours to edit (processing fee is $25 per hour) so:

Production fee - $250
Processing fee - $50
Licensing fee for web use for 1 year ( unsure what to charge)
Licensing fee for print use for under 10,000 brochures (Packaged usage) - $300

So I would charge an estimated $600 dollars for that shoot. It seems somewhat high in my area but it's worth a start. Still, I'm not exactly sure if this is the right pricing route.

[Karl Johnston]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=853041

I just gave this an overhaul, can you have a look at it and let me know if it helps you?

If it doesn't, I'll go into more detail.

[EOSBoy]

Originally Posted by Karl Johnston

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=853041

I just gave this an overhaul, can you have a look at it and let me know if it helps you?

If it doesn't, I'll go into more detail.

Wow, thanks for the info. I'll give it a full read and get back to you!

[Karl Johnston]

May have to refresh it again, I gave it another brush up

[EOSBoy]

Good stuff, Karl. Things are starting to become a little less foggy but I'm still a bit confused about the licensing part, especially the contracts. I guess I'll give legal zoom a look and see if I can find something. That pricing calculator is extremely helpful but it doesn't list web display usage.

I think I might need to create separate pricing structures for specific shoots but I think I'll keep my standard $250 per hour for production fees.

For headshots, does it make sense for me to charge $250 per hour (10 people maximum) and $15 per additional person + licensing fees + processing fees?

Product shots will also be priced similarly except I'm leaning towards packaged licensing (family of products opposed to singular usage) since the majority of my clients aren't huge companies.

Editorial is a bit difficult because we all know publishers are cheap. Should I wave production fees and only charge for usage? (Unless they request specific photos for advertising)

I appreciate the input from everyone and it's helping me a lot! Once I can create a confident system, I'll be able to really market my business and start bringing in contracted work without any gray areas.

[EOSBoy]

Originally Posted by Karl Johnston

May have to refresh it again, I gave it another brush up

Ah! I just noticed. Thanks for the update! You're awesome.