Agency Access is the only one stop promotional service that takes care of direct marketing for photographers, illustrators, artist reps and stock agencies. Get a free trial →
Got a question about marketing, creativity, or your business? Send it to us and we’ll have the right expert/s answer it for you on The Lab.
Current Articles | RSS Feed
April 02, 2013 @ 10 a.m. in The Business Lab by Judy Herrmann | Judy Herrmann View Comments
While covering “anything and everything” is a little ambitious for a single post, here are 5 of the most important ways to protect your assets:
Read More
January 15, 2013 @ 11 a.m. in The Business Lab by Simone Friend & Beth Johnson | Friend + Johnson View Comments
Illustration is one of those subjects where clients have a hard time understanding the price structure, since there are no hard costs to accommodate pricing, like hard drives, equipment rental, etc. The best way to validate your worth for a job is to base it on industry standards for illustration projects similar to what you’re doing for your client.
The Graphic Artists Guild is a great starting place to justify what rates are acceptable in the marketplace right now. The problem is, editorial and other publications tend to pay editorial rates, not advertising rates, and these rates can be half the costs of an advertising project.
October 4, 2012 @ 2 p.m. in The Business Lab by Heather Elder | Heather Elder Represents View Comments
When a photographer creates a professional contract, whether it’s an invoice or an estimate, it is very important that it be clearly written and include all relevant information. Often we refer to contracts months or even years later, so the more information included, the better.
As we all know, the digital distribution of imagery has exploded in recent years.
Where “digital rights” may have once referred primarily to first-party web usage, today that phrase could cover everything from traditional banner ads and website usage to social media, email blasts, tablet and mobile editions, games and other interactive media, kiosks and multi-touch exhibits, apps, e-books, downloads, webcasts and more.
“Fairness” is one of my favorite words, especially when it comes to estimating a project. Since there is no standard list of prices that work for every client or company, negotiating in a professional, tactful way is key.
Once I know the scope of the project and also the requiring rights, I then gauge the amount of time and work involved for the illustrator and/or motion graphics artist. This should give me a pretty good idea of what the budget should be … what’s “fair” for the amount of work and usage.
The best way to answer this question is to address the possible scenarios that can prevent a photographer from landing an assignment, along with important points to consider when communicating with your client and structuring your estimate.
The topics of fees and buyouts have always been hot ones in this industry. I think it’s a real shame that equipment has gotten more expensive and the fees and compensation have stayed the same or decreased since 2000. While everyone loves the convenience of digital, it has created more and more loss for the professional photographer. We are seeing more out-bidding by less-experienced photographers giving away all rights while the professional is trying to stand his or her ground. So, what’s the best way to negotiate to be fairly compensated?
Creating an accurate estimate is the best thing you can do for the client, your own illustration business and the industry. Even though no two estimates are the same, most can still follow a general outline for what should be included. Here is a list of questions to ask your potential client to help create an accurate estimate that fulfills both their expectations and your needs.
As is the case with so many aspects of our industry, there are not many hard and fast rules when it comes to estimating fees. So much depends on the final number and the reasons for the wide swings in prices vary from project to project and photographer to photographer.
When a client calls us to license an image for stock use, here are a few ways we determine the price:
I think the best answer to this question is to make any assignment work to your benefit. Don’t look at only the creative fees as a “rate,” but look at the estimate or bid in a big picture context. There are several areas to create a profit center in the first part of the estimate.