The business side of photography
Almost everyone exhibits some degree of “optimism bias.” This means we tend to underestimate the time, cost and effort needed to complete a certain task and we overestimate our chances of success.
Optimism is great, it helps us move forward. But optimism doesn’t wait for all the facts to come in. So sometimes you need to be aware of possible optimism bias.
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1) How much would you pay me to take a photo of you?
2) How much would I have to pay you to model for a photo?
Are your two answers the same? Shouldn’t they be the same since the outcome – a photo of you – is the same?
I bet your answer to the second question is much higher than the first.
The first question was about me, the second question was about you. Everyone values their own time more than someone else’s. This applies not only to individuals but also to businesses.
A photographer has to understand that many corporate clients tend to value their time more than their money. These clients know that any money spent on photography will be earned back but any time that might be wasted (on a photo project) is gone forever.
This means that marketing low price is the wrong approach for a corporate photographer. Instead the photographer should be showing that they value the client’s time as much as the client does. How will the photographer save the client time and effort?
For many corporate clients, it’s about the results. This means that a photographer gets paid for bringing value, not low price, to the client. It’s not usually about price unless the photographer makes it about price.
And when a photographer makes it about price, they shoot themselves in the wallet.
A jack of all trades, a master of none.
When a photographer tries to be a jack of all trades, they may actually harm their business.
The Dilution Model [link to PDF] suggests that when a business tries to do too much, customers will have a lower opinion of that business. Or to reverse that, when a business specializes, that business will be considered to be an expert.
Which is the better inkjet printer: a machine that’s only a printer or one that’s a printer, a scanner, a copier and a fax machine?
Which has the best pastry: a bakery that sells only pastry or a store that sells coffee, soup, sandwiches and pastry?
Which is more knowledgeable about bicycles: a department store, a sporting goods store or a bicycle shop?
As a photographer, you have to do multiple types of photography to stay in business. But if you spread yourself too wide or if you’re just vague about what you do, you will reduce the perceived value of your photography.
A customer’s perception of your business directly affects how much they’re willing to pay for your services.
Working or shooting on spec (speculation) means the photographer does all the work first, and pays all expenses themselves, in the hope that the client will like the finished work and will then pay some sort of fee. Even then, there’s rarely any contract covering the work.
Why would any photographer agree to be exploited like this?
When a potential client asks a photographer to work on spec, it shows that the client doesn’t value the photographer’s time or expertise.
Toronto ad agency Zulu Alpha Kilo (which phonetically spells out its CEO’s first name) this week published a video about working on spec. While not aimed at photographers, it certainly still applies.
A year ago, the City of Toronto ran a photo-rights-grabbing effort disguised as a photo contest. The city is now running another photo contest. Let’s take a look.
The good news is that this contest has a big statement about copyright. It says the photographer will “retain full rights and ownership of their photos.” If any use is required beyond the contest, the city will negotiate with the photographer. Perfect.
And now the bad news. The rules state that every picture submitted to the contest becomes public record. Public record => almost public domain => photographer loses some rights and ownership of their photos.
The prizes are very minimal. Who wants to win lunch with Toronto’s General Manager of Transportation Services? Who wants a City of Toronto certificate? Prizes also include a magazine subscription (a $22 value), a gift certificate that can be used to buy a magazine subscription and a t-shirt, and your name on a vanity street sign.
Certainly this contest is aimed at amateurs. But why take advantage of them like this?
Why not have prizes like: no property taxes for a year, no utility bills for a year, one-year TTC transit passes, a year’s free parking at any city-owned parking lot.
A lot of folks are either having a good laugh or scratching their head over the $500 bridal selfie stick that was shown at a New York fashion show.
The boutique clothing designer said the selfie stick wasn’t just a fashion runway prop but that it’s a real product. She even claimed the product was already out of stock. (Out of stock even before it was in stores?!)
A bride could easily buy a cheaper selfie stick and decorate it themselves but they won’t have a “designer” selfie stick. Of course, no one should have a selfie stick or even a pair of selfie shoes ;-) but that’s another post.
Who would buy a $500 selfie stick? Someone who thinks it’s worth $500.
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Canada’s 2015 federal election is days away and each party has released its platform. Let’s compare them from a photographer’s point of view.
• Green Party platform is 44 pages and 5.8 MB in file size.
• NDP brochure is 81 pages and 5.1 MB in size.
• Liberal Party platform is 88 pages and 10.6 MB.
• Conservative Party brochure is 159 pages and 37.4 MB.
That alone might be very telling.
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