[Leica] Re: Billing practices

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Oct 31, 2006, at 9:25 AM, Harrison wrote:

> I do not have a studio.  I deal exclusively in commercial and  
> editorial
> photography on location.  I give detailed quotes with all expenses
> guessed at as close as possible, however should the shoot go over the
> estimate says in very plain terms additional fees will be billed.   
> I do
> not charge per photo I shoot, but I do charge for my time in post
> processing these shots, just like I charged for all film and  
> processing
> when I shot film.  That fee is dependent on the number of shots  
> yes, but
> that is simply how I track time in processing.  There is a minimum and
> then a rate after that.  Simply to cover the costs of all this digital
> stuff.  I am now the lab and fed ex so I need to be charging for  
> that as
> I did in film days.  In my business with the three computers, large hi
> end monitors, profiling equipment, numerous DVD and CD burners, all  
> the
> digital cameras I'd guess I have well over 35 grand tied up in stuff I
> never needed in film days.


OK, that explains it. We had quite different kinds of clients. I  
would pitch a magazine article, knowing in advance the rate the  
magazine paid. The editors knew me and knew that I could (usually)  
deliver what I promised. It was my responsibility to keep costs in  
line and assure that I made a profit. All my costs were factored in,  
by approximation if nothing else. If I burned more film than I  
expected, I would absorb the cost. If, on the other hand, I got the  
perfect image on the first shot, the profit would be mine. It was not  
a day rate as much as a fixed price contract. I followed a similar  
practice when shooting corporate reports. Most of my clients were in  
the marine and offshore oil drilling industries and I was fully  
familiar with the difficulties of shooting in a marine environment.  
You can make money this way if you anticipate the contingencies and  
price your product accordingly. My friends in fashion photography  
followed much the same practice although they had the advantage of  
working with beautiful models rather than greasy oil rigs. They also  
had better places in which to eat expense account lunches.

I don't think that kind of predictability is possible in the  
editorial side of photography. If you don't know in advance what is  
likely to happen, it might be better to bill for time and  
expenditures. When I tried to do this in the late 60s, I was told by  
corporate clients to just submit the final cost. Their accountants  
didn't want to be nickel and dimed. I suppose this willingness to  
ignore the details eventually led to Enron.

Larry Z