Finger Print

Today I went to Cheadle Hulme to the company that I was doing some images for their website.  I showed them the three images I had prepared so far:  the Jelly Babies, the finger print, and a building with a bar code.  None of the images were quite what the company wanted.

After a meeting with my pensions advisor, who by coincidence has an office near the company I was working for, I continued working with the client taking photographs of two members of staff,  which will form part of a montage image.  Unfortunately these images were not quite to the customers liking either.  The hands on the keyboard had “stubby fingers”.

After some discussion, the client and I decided by mutual agreement that we would not proceed with this job.

From my perspective, I have learned a number of important lessons today:

    1. Get a set of standard terms and conditions.  (Including payment terms)

 

    1. Price by the hour.  I’ve seen several sites pricing £100 for the first hour, and £50 per hour after.  Or £800 per day.  I was definitely under pricing myself on this job.

 

    1. Ensure that for any commercial work, there a non-refundable deposit.

 

    1. Tightly define what images will be taken in advance.  Define how an image is judged to be acceptable.  If it is a building that should include details of which building.  If it is people, define who the people are.

 

  1. Must get a price list for model and hand models.

 

It’s not all bad news though, at least I can sell the Jelly Baby, Finger Print and Bar Code photos through the photo library now.

Updating the Price List

 

I need to update the price list today.  I’ve set new figures for prints and sitting fees.  I was a bit concerned about my sitting fee prices until I read a survey that indicated that poll of photographers had sitting fees of between £15 and £200.  So I guess my £15 isn’t too high after all!