1) This varies according from designer to designer. I’ve been asked to be involved in concepting which means very little is known and I’ve been asked for an estimate when nearly every detail about the project is set. Besides a project description, details like Copyrights needed and budget target are necessary if you want an accurate estimate of price and scope. Unless you want bids, offering even an approximate budget target will help define the scope of the project; projects are somewhat scaleable as I’m sure you know. Without a ballpark figure, I approach an estimate assuming no compromises. These days, however, compromise and budget tradeoffs are a reality – it’s best to confide in the photographer you really want to work with rather than to pit one against the other price wise.
2) Low level experience combined with the need to CYA can be tough on a photographer. This isn’t limited to designers nor is it limited to photographers. Experience helps give the designers the confidence to let go a measure of creative vision thus giving the photographer some room to breath and add greater value. I love them all but many of my best designer clients are very fastidious about the finest detail which can detract from the emotion of a photograph and can even add needless tension to the set.
3) I’m a business, lifestyle, portrait and fashion photographer. These days I use very little auxiliary lighting since digital captures allow me to use post production to enhance the file thus making it easier to capture the emotion on set. I work fast, take a lot of frames and – more than anything – have fun with my subjects. I’m exclusively digital since the workflow is so dramatically different that it was with film.
4) I’ve been on the account side of hiring photographers both with an agency and corporate full timers. Quality and passion in the work is number one followed quickly by business professionalism, and personality. The later is much harder to get a read from a photographer you never met or comes to you with no recommendation. There is really no substitute for a one on one meeting but often that’s impossible. Trust your gut but be willing to take a chance when you can.
5) Involve me as soon as you have questions. Any questions.
6) I charge based on the scope of the project and copyright use. Production costs are as detailed as needed and the creative fee is separate from copyright fee. The trend these days is to lump creative fee and copyright but I prefer they stay separate since copyrights purchased can change mid project – it just seems easier and more transparent to keep it separate. That said, if there is one thing my 25+ year career has taught me it’s to stay flexible. Especially since I’ve been on the client side, I understand how frustrating cost structures can get.
7) Improve your skills by hiring more photographers; there is no replacement for experience.. You’ve no doubt learned something since you were first “on press” supervising a job – the same goes for working productively with a photographer. Find the most talented individual you can afford (price and talent aren’t always mutually exclusive but you know what I mean) and trust. If you run into difficulty you should be able to trust in their experience to get you the best possible photographic solution. However, knowing the basics doesn’t hurt just like with lithography.