Price matters to clients’ and their budgets so at times there is a need to shop (yuck). As much as I’d like to think I’m “the one” photographer prospects long to work with, I’m not that deep into the fog of ego. Others can do a great job; there is a lot of talent out there. So am I advocating getting 3 photographers to bid to find the best value? No, not really. Leslie is right, bid scenarios suck; they promote bad collaborative relationships when good ones are vital.

What I do suggest – if you can’t settle on a photographer early on - is that you talk with a few photographers you like for the project, give them a price range (even the clueless clients know their limits) and listen to what they suggest as a solution. Be honest; tell them you are undecided and talking to several. How do they “frame” the job, how flexible are they, and what level of passion do you feel from the discussion. You’ll know when it sounds right. Remember, everything is a trade off – listen for the ones with which you are most comfortable.

Bids vs Estimates. Leslie’s description is spot on. The only thing I would add is that you probably will get a different price on a bid rather than an estimate. When I know I’m in a bidding war, I rarely “sharpen my pencil”. Why bother? Anyone can underbid me and most probably will. Hell … you can probably find some young less experienced photographer to do your job for free if you make false promises about massive quantities of paying work in the next year. The bottom line is that I’ll put much more effort into an estimate than a bid. I feel your trust when you say, “Bruce, we love your work – what will it take to get you to do this job within our budget?”

Further more, my experience tells me that a bid is just as much about getting a “read” on how the photographer will approach the job as it is about price. If my bidding estimate includes all possible contingencies needed for a professional “sure thing”, I will never look bad regardless of where my bid falls. Hopefully, it won’t be outrageously high or low, but if it is, it will at least tell prospects that I am a high level professional regardless. If I do it right, I will at least get the call: “I like your approach and your work. However, I have only have $XXXX, how can we scale this thing and still get a good result”?

Leslie is also correct: Think about copyrights as your friend. It’s because of the US copyright law that we have such great talent from which to choose for our projects. Commercial photography offers a great lifestyle but is also an expensive precariously risky business if your doing it right – we need to protect those brave artists who take the chance that they can make a good living on their creative skill.

One of the better examples I was given early in my career was that of a lawyer hired for a legal brief. Do you own the words, the thoughts or their research? No – you are given the right to use it. The same goes for artists. If you need the photo for 10 years to help establish your global brand you should pay more than if you own a 50, 000 circulation publication and plan to use the photo to illustrate an article in the June issue. It’s fair even if it doesn’t always feel that way to the buyer.

This is long winded – I know – sorry but I hope somehow it helps give another perspective.