I recently discovered this very cool and useful tool that I thought I’d share. It’s free-
Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. There’s no complicated interface to learn. Dropbox works seamlessly with your operating system and automatically makes sure your files are up-to-date. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
I’ll be teaching studio lighting and intermediate photography at McDowell Technical Community College this spring. McDowell has a two year program that offers an associate degree in applied science in Photographic Technology.
I’m teaching Capturing the Light at Blue Ridge Community College November 3rd through December 1st.
Three images from my series “Namaste: A Photographic Journey Through India and Nepal” are currently on exhibit at Blue Ridge Community College.
To see an expanded slideshow of images from that body of work you can go to
http://www.blakemaddenphotography.com/Portfolio/India_Nepal/india_nepal.html.
This is the first annual curriculum and continuing education art faculty exhibit at the college and runs Oct. 9-Nov. 9 at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall in the Technology Education and Development Center. Media and styles of artwork include ceramics, watercolor, drawing, video, sculpture, painting, photography, and installation.
Gallery hours for the exhibition are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, Oct. 12-Nov. 9. The exhibit will also be open from 11 a.m.-2 p.m on Oct. 17 during the college’s 40th anniversary celebration. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
Blue Ridge Conference Hall is located at the corner of East Campus Drive and Alumni Way. For more information, call 694-1688.
This post, an answer to a specific question from a photography student, has been moved from my photography instruction blog:
This is a very good resource you should read
http://www.ppa.com/pdfs/PPmag-05Benchmark.pdf
Here’s some nuts and bolts:
They say that 35% profit of gross sales is the target, after expenses, insurance, taxes, etc. (although most photographers actually pull in a smaller percentage). So to earn 18,000/year you’ll need $51,500 in sales. That’s about $4300/month or $1075/week. Figure out how many photo shoots you can do a week to make $1100, but remember that is for every week of the year. If you have slow weeks you’ll have to make more on other weeks to makeup for the loss.
Most people will only be able to afford to use you once a year, so you’re going to need to pull in a steady stream of new clientele, week after week. If you can average $550 in sales/session then you’ll need about 95 clients/year.
It’s a constant hustle to meet expenses and then be able to afford to pay yourself. As I said, other people are doing it and you can too, just know what you’re diving in to. Unfortunately, this economy makes any new business venture very risky. If after you’ve taken in all the information you decide you want to move ahead, I’ll gladly help all I can with resources, etc.
This information has been transferred from my teaching photography blog:
Blake: I have wondered how and where to sell pictures. Also, how does a photographer go about pricing their work and/or images?
It really depends on the kind of photography you want to sell. It sounds like you are interested in selling images you’ve already taken as opposed to being hired to shoot for a client. Stock Photography is the business of selling images that you have in your files. Most agencies have very strict criteria for submitting and want thousands of images before they’ll even consider you, but there are some that do not have a minimum. Also, each agency tends to specialize in certain kinds of photography.
Alamy is one that you could possibly break into (there are others) with a limited batch of images, but they too have strict technical requirements that must be met. Best to go to their site http://alamy.com/ to learn more.
Then, there’s microstock which is royalty free. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstock_photography to learn more about that aspect – it is more volume driven, i.e. an image is sold as many times as possible for a very low fee rather than selectively for a much higher rate. This may be the easiest, but not necessarily the best, way to get your work out there.
Most stock agencies set the price for you, but some do offer photographers some control. You may want to google “stock photography” and visit some of the sites to get a better idea.
Thank you for that information. My question, though, is more in relation to wedding and family occasion type photography. I’ve done two weddings and some pictures for people who wanted some family type photos done. I don’t have a clue what to charge people for this kind of work. Last week I did photos for a local musical group that will be using their pick of the photos on a poster and possibly on the label of their CD. What in the world am I supposed to charge for something like this?
Stock photography is one type of photography (as far as pricing structures), the wedding and family another, and the CD a third.
What follows are general descriptions. You’ll find small to large differences among photographers.
Portrait photographers generally charge a “sitting fee”, then charge additionally for prints or a CD (sometimes an option, but not usually given without a large fee to cover missed print sales).
Weddings are similar, but the term “sitting fee” is not used. Often photographers will specify how many hours they will shoot and may work in a certain number of prints or an entire wedding album (traditional method), but more and more are starting to hand over a CD or DVD of the images.
The photos for the music group would be considered commercial photography and are a different animal all together. For this type of work most commercial photographers charge by the hour or offer a day rate. Some add a “digital capture fee” on to that to cover editing time and expenses (this replaces the old film and processing charge) and/or a “creative fee”. This type of work is usually delivered as a CD or DVD, not as prints. Finally, usage limitations are put on the work. Professionals almost always retain copyrights to the images, but give the client certain rights to use the photos. Some might give very broad usage- OK to use for CD and poster for as long as you want, while others might specify that the client can only use the photo for the CD for X amount and the poster for X amount. Any use after that, or after the agreed upon time frame, would have to be renegotiated and the photographer would be further compensated.
So, how much exactly for each of these categories? I can’t give you a real number because the range of prices out there is so vast. You have people of different experience levels charging different amounts and even a wide range between the experienced professionals. The best way to determine your rate would be to call many of the professionals and see what they charge. Then, decide where you feel you fit in the range of prices.
A final thought. The competition for photography has always been very tight and now, with the economy and the number of amateurs entering the marketplace, it is even more competitive. A very real problem for the professionals attempting to make a living are those who are new that either give away services in return for a “photo credit” or work for extremely low pay. After months or a year of working this way those photographers always drop out of sight, only to be replaced by new ones. In the meantime, this brings down the fair price on photography that professionals need to earn a living. The actual prices charged for professional photography are indeed very high, but once the business expenses are taken away most photographers aren’t very highly paid. If you enter into this market please price your work accordingly.
I hope this answers your question. I know that you were hoping for more specific numbers, but I think it’s important that you find out from a number of photographers what and how they are pricing their work.
I’m currently teaching a photography course entitled, Capturing the Moment, at Blue Ridge Community College.
1) Start by browsing as many websites as possible, keeping a list of those photographers whose work resonates with your personal style and tastes. If possible, don’t limit yourself to the first page on a Google search. Photographers with a strong Google presence are not necessarily the best choice. Search engines such as Google do not actually “see” and evaluate images. A high ranking is the result of many factors that have nothing to do with photography and more to do with online marketing skills (also see #3).
2) Try to focus primarily on the photographer’s images, not the slick interface of the website. Keep in mind that you are searching for a photographer, not a website designer.
3) Go straight to the photographer’s portfolio. Turn off any music on the site and wait to read the text until after you have looked at his or her images. This not only will save you time, helping to weed out those photographers with poor photographic skills, but will help prevent a photographer with a good sales pitch from influencing your perception of their images. If you continue down the list with your search you’ll find many photographers who are less adept at promoting and selling their services, but that take very good photographs.
4) Begin contacting photographers and take note of their responses to your inquiries. If you don’t get a response within a couple of days, the photographer may have been extremely busy at the time, but should explain why it took extra time to get back with you. He should show signs of professionalism common to all businesses. Despite the pass you may have given on poor marketing skills, a photographer with poor business skills should be avoided at all costs, no matter how wonderful you may find his work.
5) Now, you have found several photographers whose work you like and who, initially, have proven to possess basic business skills. It’s time for some specific questions. Here is a list:
1) How long have you worked full-time as a professional photographer?
2) Are you licensed and insured, including liability insurance in the event of an accident?
3) Can you provide several references that I can contact?
4) Do you carry backup equipment?
This is very important! Most experienced pros won’t go into much specific detail about camera models, etc. on their website, or in conversation with a potential client unless asked. Many amateurs and semi-pros, however, do tend to devote attention to such things. What is more important to know is whether or not the photographer has backup equipment and plans to carry it on your job. Cameras and lighting equipment can and do fail, and a smart photographer always has a backup camera, flash, multiple lenses and lighting units on all assignments.
5) Will you have an assistant?
Depending on your job a photographer’s assistant may be a wise added expense. For example, if lighting is involved an assistant will help the photographer focus on creative issues and increase her productivity while the assistant sets up and adjusts lights. In some cases not having an assistant will actually end up costing you more money because the job will take longer. Some photographers insist on always use an assistant.
6) What happens if you get sick or have a family emergency?
This is a rare occurrence, but you don’t want to be the one it happens to without a backup plan in place. If you have an event, such as a wedding that cannot be rescheduled this could be disastrous. Some photographers are comfortable sending their assistant in their place if she is well trained, whereas others rely on fellow photographers in their network in the event of an emergency. A good photographer will do everything in his power to make sure the job goes smoothly and will pay the difference if the alternate photographer has a higher rate. You should expect at the very least a follow-up call after the shoot from the original photographer to make sure that everything went as planned. A smart photographer will offer a discount or some other gesture to make sure that you know he is apologetic and are happy with the way he handled the situation. If handled correctly you should feel comfortable calling on this person again for future assignments.
7) In what form will you deliver the work? Will it is a CD or DVD and if so, will the images be at full resolution or downsized, or will it be in the form of prints or slides?
In the case of portraiture or weddings there may be a package of enlargements worked into the price. There really is no right answer to this question, but anything less than full resolution may result in your having to pay more for larger images. Some photographers may charge more to deliver high resolution images that you can in turn use in any way you want, and will instead limit the output size with the hopes that you’ll come to them for enlargements or higher res files. Discuss the options with the photographer.
If the photos are delivered on disc in what format will the images be saved?
This is the subject of lively debate among photographers, the merits of shooting Raw files vs. JPEGs. Raw files (which are later converted to Tiffs) are undeniably the best option when quality is at a premium. In many cases, however, a competent photographer shooting jpegs can deliver images that will reproduce indistinguishably from files originally taken in the raw format. Of course you can insist that the photographer shoot everything RAW, but some photographers may then request a higher rate (or digital fee) to work in that format to compensate for the additional storage and computer processing time involved in working with the larger Raw file sizes. There are good arguments for this topic on both sides, with photographers at either extreme, while others prefer to use their good judgment to pick the best format for the task at hand. If you don’t already know from experience the answer to this question based on your specific output needs, you may want to allow the photographer to make that call.
9) What is your customary turnaround time? When will I receive the work?
10) Will you enhance or edit the images?
This would include minor, one would hope, corrections to exposure and color balance, and possibly the cropping of some images. The next level would include more involved lightening and darkening of specific areas of a photograph (known as dodging and burning). Lastly, you may want retouching, the removal of blemishes, etc. Most photographers will at least provide the first level of corrections as part of their fee, but you should expect more involved PhotoShop work to be an additional expense.
11) What are the “rights” to the photos? Will I have unlimited use of the images, or is there a restriction on how the photos are used or a time limit on their use?
This subject is most relevant to commercial photography (done primarily for advertising), but the rights the photographer has to use the photographs should be of concern to wedding and portrait clients as well. Be aware that most legitimate professional photographers will not want to part fully with the rights to “their” images, referred to as a “buyout.” If they freely give away those rights, or do so without a struggle, they probably place little value on their work- not a good sign. There are solutions to this dilemma. One option is to agree upon “non-exclusive unlimited use.” This mode allows you complete freedom to use the photos in any way that you want, while also giving the photographer the ability to display the images on his website and, with model releases, to potentially sell the images as stock. In this case the photographer still retains the copyright to the images. There are an infinite number of ways to determine what rights are acceptable and you and the photographer should discuss this issue before rather than after the fact. This sometimes becomes a bone of contention because it was not discussed prior to the shoot.
12) What are your rates?
This is usually the first question a client asks, but one that is often best left for last. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to a few photographers work and are satisfied with the answers to the above questions you’ll be in a much better position to compare rates. Some photographers may be willing to compromise their rates, or to alter their services to accommodate a lesser rate, while others choose not to do go there. Assuming the photographers you’ve chosen are equally talented, their rates will likely be fairly close.
Still have more questions? Just drop me a line and I’ll be glad to help.
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