The business side of photography
It’s common practice for news photographers and editorial photographers to pitch photo ideas to newspapers and magazines. In fact, many publications expect this.
A smart commercial photographer or corporate photographer could do the same thing with clients with whom they already have a working relationship. But in this case, just pitching an idea isn’t good enough. The photographer must also sell the reason for the proposed photo coverage and the benefits of that coverage.
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First basic rule of business: cash in must exceed cash out.
Revenue from assignment – cost of assignment = gross profit
Gross profit – overhead expenses = net profit (before taxes)
Revenue from assignment is what the client pays you, not including taxes.
Cost of assignment is expenses incurred to do the assignment.
Overhead expenses are expenses that have to be paid whether or not you have an assignment. For example: camera gear, computers, software, car, insurances, utilities, cell phone, rent, etc.
Net profit: if there’s any money here, remember that you still have to pay income tax plus all your normal living expenses.
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Should you ask how your corporate or commercial photography business can win more clients, the usual answer is to be different than other photographers. Of course, this is easier said than done.
When most photographers use the same cameras, lenses, computers, software, lighting equipment, and template-based web site, and all are capable of producing the same quality images, how can you be different?
In the old film days, it was a bit easier. Back then, being different meant a photographer might have the skill to follow-focus on fast-moving objects, they knew how to use a lightmeter to accomplish great lighting techniques, they had the necessary darkroom experience to make custom prints, they used larger format cameras, or they had a unique style of photography.
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Photography may be how you make money but photography is not your job.
Your job as a professional photographer is to make the world know you exist. Well okay, maybe not the entire world but at least your little corner of it.
Your job is to attract attention and get people to trust you. People only do business with someone they know or trust.
Your job is to help customers achieve what their goals. Retail customers usually want the photographer to create good memories for them but not necessarily accurate memories. Business and corporate customers want the photographer to help their company get favourable attention.
Your job is to understand the customer and offer better solutions.
Some jobs are difficult. Thank goodness photography isn’t one of them. :-)
Between 2001 and 2010, I bought six Nikon SLR digital cameras: two D1X’s, two D2X’s, one D3 and one D700. Total cost for these cameras was about $30,300 plus about $3,000 for memory cards, $480 for card readers and many thousands more ($21,000 to $26,000) for computers and software.
For comparison, from 1991 to 2000, I bought six Nikon SLR film cameras: two F4E’s, one F90X, two F5’s and one F100. Total cost for these was about $14,000 and no memory cards, no card readers, no computers and no software.
Yes, digital cameras are fantastic and the technical quality of digital photography is far better than that of film.
Although the equipment cost of running a photo business is at least triple that from ten years ago, (not to mention all the other expenses), fees paid by editorial publications have gone down and the rights-grabbing has gone up.
Interesting blog article by Paul Melcher on this topic.
“We don’t hire you because of your beautiful, wonderful, terrific photographs,” says corporate communications director Greg Thompson. He goes on to explain that a company hires a corporate photographer to be the “solution to their business problem.”
In a video interview (and shown below) by journalist Stanley Leary, Thompson offers some advice for photographers who are trying to transition from photojournalism to corporate photography.
“It’s about how you do the job, not the job you do.”
The British Photographic Council released their 56-page 2010 photographers’ survey based on information collected from 1,698 professional photographers. The 2010 survey uses data from the photographers’ 2009 business year.
The survey confirms that photographers who keep the copyright to their work earn more than those who don’t license their work. Enough said?
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