Assignment Photography Pricing Guide for Beginners
When starting out as a photographer, it can be challenging to know how to price your assignments/services. Many beginners set their rates too low, only to find that they are barely covering their costs. This handy photography pricing guide gives you some great information when setting your price. Our fotoQuote Pro 7 pricing and quoting […]
Pricing Research – Figuring Out How Much Photographers Should Charge for Their Work
“What should I charge for my work?” is a question freelance photographers have been asking for decades. Before Cradoc released the first fotoQuote in the early 1990’s there were no resources available to photographers that provided comprehensive pricing information. While organizations like the ASMP were working hard to support the industry, there was no central […]
10 Ways to Fight for Your Digital Rights as a Photographer
By Paul Melcher The fight for your digital rights would seem to be an uphill battle these days. Let’s face it; the rights of photographers have been badly battered. First came Google, when it won the case to publish images in its search results without paying anything. Then came National Geographic and others, republishing entire […]
Pricing – the Bottom Line Price for Professional Photographers
Your Bottom Line Price Your first decision about pricing is your bottom line price. You want to decide, what is the lowest price you will charge, no matter what the usage? Generally, my bottom line price for a single usage is currently $250. On very special usages I might go less, but it’s just not […]
Save as PDF
One of the questions most frequently asked by our users is: “How do I create a PDF of my document to email to my client?” In this article we’ll share how to do this on MAC and Windows OS. Creating a PDF on MAC or Windows computer To create a PDF from your Cradoc fotoSoftware program, first […]
Defending Your Price
The first thing to understand about defending your price is that it’s psychological. Don’t get back in touch with the client until you know you’re ready to defend your price. When you’re confident in yourself and the research you’ve done for the job it will be harder for the client to talk you down in […]
Negotiating in Tough Times
Negotiating in tough times is tricky. To stay in touch I’m constantly asking photographers how they are doing in this economy, and what works for them and what doesn’t. I recently found out something that should not have surprised me, but it did. I was in Tucson and spent time with an old friend, the […]
The fotoQuote Coach
When you’re pricing photographs and images numbers alone don’t mean anything. The key is being able to convince your client that your photograph is worth what you’re asking. The different Coach sections in fotoQuote are designed to help you with these negotiations. Using the coach components and learning to negotiate will mean the difference between […]
Staying in Touch with Clients
Clear, consistent communication with clients in one of the main keys to success as a professional freelance photographer. Staying in touch helps you to stay top of mind with your clients. For example, thanking the writer who worked with you on an assignment may get you a recommendation the next time that writer gets an […]
The Importance of a Mentor for Freelance Photographers
Mentoring – Business Tips for Freelance Photographers by Cradoc Bagshaw As a professional freelance photographer, what can you do in a down economy or during uncertain times to be sure you stay in business? One proven idea for you – look for a mentor. Times are strange, but things have been tough before. The freelance […]
Negotiation Tips for Freelance Photographers
by Cradoc Bagshaw In another tip, I mentioned that the photographer’s consultant Mary Virginia Swanson said the photographers she knew who were doing the best right now were the ones who had negotiated the best deals in the past, deals that had the clients coming back to photographers for extended uses. I’ve always found I’m […]
Photo Keywording Tips and Hints
Photo Keywording Tips – The job of keywording your images can be a daunting task. With the proper help, like the fotoKeyword Harvester™, and this exhaustive list of photo Keywording Tips, your keywording nightmares are over. The primary goal in keywording photos is to attach the words to your image that accurately describe the subject, […]
Keywording – Choosing the best keywording tool
Do you need keyword generator software? Cradoc started writing photography software over 25 years ago. When he started, one of the biggest problems photographers were experiencing was that their images were not getting to market because they had such a backlog of slides waiting to be captioned. So, he wrote the Cradoc CaptionWriter, a program […]
Work Smarter Not Harder – Pricing Your Work
by Cradoc Bagshaw If you are closing the majority of the estimates you submit, perhaps you are not charging enough and are leaving money on the table. A good gauge to determine if you are charging enough is if 20-40% of the estimates you submit don’t get accepted because your price is too high. This likely […]
The Importance of Image Copyright Protection
Image Copyright Protection With a busy schedule, the last thing you may have time for is registering your images with the copyright office. But image copyright protection is something you might want to put at the top of your to-do list. Copyright protection for your photos exists the moment the work is created. However, in […]
The Importance of Tracking Image Licenses
Tracking Image Licenses by Cradoc Bagshaw In the middle of the last recession, I asked my friend, photography consultant Mary Virginia Swanson, how her clients were doing in the depressed economy. She shared there’s a group of photographers who typically do better than most. They’re the photographers who create clear, specific licenses for their clients and […]
Get Images Seen Online – The Importance of Photo Keywording
By Cradoc Bagshaw Recently I talked with photographer Ron Watts about his stock shooting and his image keywording problems. Ron and I have known each other since the 1980’s. We met in Los Angeles at the Westlight photo agency, while we were both in town on agency business. We have been friends ever since. A prolific stock […]
Be Successful Doing What You Love
It’s a New Year – Time to Scale Up As we step forward into 2019, many photographers – small business owners and solopreneurs – are looking for new ways to become more productive and efficient. They’re looking for ways to run their business more effectively and to find new avenues to accelerate business growth. They’re […]
Negotiation – Image Uniqueness
By Cradoc BagshawOne of the keys to negotiation – image uniqueness. When I first wrote fotoQuote in the early 90’s word was that stock was dead. There were a lot of changes happening in the photo industry as things shifted to digital. No one knew what the future held and photographers and agencies were in […]
Photographers Track Costs and Profits with Stock Production Worksheet
Photographers track costs and profits of their stock photo shoots using the Stock Production Worksheet and ImageLog that are built into fotoBiz X. A stock shoot is actually just another assignment, but it is an assignment produced by you. There are expenses involved, as there are with any assignment. The idea of your self-produced shoot […]