Featured Promo – Stephen Denton

Stephen Denton

Who printed it?
The Promo was printed at Newspaper Club – www.newspaperclub.com. I have used them a couple of times over the years and really like the service they offer.

Who designed it?
I designed the piece myself with image sequencing help from my friend and amazing photographer, Jesse Rieser.

Tell me about the images?
The images are from a personal project of mine called “Handmade by MannMade.” They tell the story of the unique process used by two guys who share a small workshop in Fountain Hills, Arizona where they create completely custom and handmade putters. Each step of their process is done with such care, attention to detail, and deliberate intent from start to finish. Right away I thought their story was special and it was something that I would like to capture. In an industry that is fascinated by giving lengthily scientific explanations for club design, it was incredible to watch them both make putters by hand, without any CNC milling, simply “eyeballing” each part of their creations, and in the end creating top-rated, completely custom putters.

How many did you make?
I had 50 promos made. I created a more targeted list of people for this promo due to the cost of the piece and somewhat niche content of the promo.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I try to send out at least three promos a year showing new personal work.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I do think that printed promos are effective for marketing my work. I don’t always get responses to print promos, but when I do the recipients are often very thankful to have received one. To me, they seem more meaningful and thoughtful than sending out email promos. I have no idea if they’re received that way but a dear friend and longtime mentor of mine, Jeff Williams has always tried to instill in me the importance of print promotions and how effective they can be if done correctly

Featured Promo – Attila Janes

Attila Janes

Who printed it?
It was printed by Cric Print, a small printing company in Switzerland. I stage and photograph their portfolio from time to time and in return they print some editions for me. It’s a win-win situation! This one is offset printed on a special paper called Blocker, a paper with a super-opaque quality. It enables 100% opacity at 100 g/m². So I was able to use a thin paper without having the problem of the images shining through.

Who designed it?
That was me! I am a former graphic designer and art director, but I asked my nerdy design friends for their opinion. They are always up to date! Last year I founded Studio Attila Janes in order to separate my commissioned work from my art projects. Now my male Alter Ego stands for all commissioned work, while the art projects are grouped together under my name tamarajanes.ch. For the photographs on the promo I decided to have a strong layout grid, which starts generously and ends up smaller and smaller. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible and let the pictures talk for themselves. However, I like to add a handwritten note, because it makes it more personal.

Tell me about the images?
The images show what happened over the last couple of years. I set my focus on conceptual work and still life photography. I want to interface photography with visual ideas and stories – inspired by everyday life. Most of the time I start from an idea or a hand drawn sketch. Then I do a material research and try to find the right objects. When I start to photograph I always have two or three set designs to shoot and then I look out for coincidences.

How many did you make?
Something around 200 in total. The half was folded twice into a A4, the other half was folded three times into a A5. Personally I prefer the smaller version. It just works better for me and, not to forget, it’s cheaper send by mail.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
An elaborative promo like this one I would send out every three years. It’s always a big effort, and there a postage cost as well. The first official promo I did when I started as a self-employed photographer seven years ago. Currently I am working on something to add to my invoices, like a bunch of different stickers and cards.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I believe so. I still think people prefer to hold something in their hands instead of just looking at it on a screen. It is a fluid and digital world for pictures, and it seems they disappear so fast if I don’t print them. Besides I really love to edit images, to group and re-group them and to see what happens!

Featured Promo – Erin Borzellino

Erin Borzellino

Who printed and designed it?
Peter Dennen of Pedro & Jackie (@pedroandjackie) did the bulk of the work choosing the photos and designing the layout. He really was a master at finding photos I forgot I created and organizing them to tell a story of childhood. The cover and title page were designed by Cody Cirillo (@codycir) using a couple of my double exposure images.

Having Peter’s eye on my work was invaluable. It naturally progressed to an editing and reorganization of my website, which I feel now better represents my strengths.

The booklet was printed by Smartpress. And I actually ended up having them re-print a small batch after I sent yours to fix a couple of problems and change to a thicker cover before sending to certain clients. Live and learn. I’m happy to send you a new one so you can see the difference.

Tell me about the images?
The bulk of my business and passion is photographing children and families. These images are a mixture of personal work of my own kids and commissioned work for families. I really wanted it to be full of images that were not over-produced and felt like true moments.

How many did you make?
The promo was meant to serve a dual purpose of beginning to market my style of shooting to a more commercial audience but still be appropriate for my existing retail clients. I printed 100 and have so far just mailed to about 70 of my retail and prospective corporate clients. I also made it into a digital flip book using Flip Snack and it resides on my website – which I plan to link to in an e-promo to a larger mailing list.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
This is my first printed promo and the experience was great working with Peter, so I think 2 a year would be realistic for me. I would gear the next one to a slightly different audience and will probably use either images from an upcoming corporate shoot or a personal project.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I believe this has been very effective for getting my name out and making an impression in the NYC/Westchester area. I’ve heard they have been passed around and shared and that clients are hoping that a photo of their kids will make the cut in the next edition. Even in a year with so many challenges, this has been my most successful fall season.

Pricing & Negotiating: Combining Food Still Life Projects

Shoot Concept: Lifestyle images of professional talent and still life shots of plated food.

Licensing: North American Advertising (excluding Out of Home) and Collateral use of 5 images for 1 year.

Location:  A residential property

Shoot Days: 2

Photographer: Portrait and lifestyle specialist

Agency: Mid-sized, based in the Southwest

Client: A well-known food company

Here is the estimate (click to enlarge):

 

 

Concept/Licensing:           

The agency provided a detailed spec sheet featuring two images of adults and children interacting and three images of plated food. Based on the layouts and my discussion with the production manager, it was apparent that the two lifestyle shots would be used in magazine ads and in-store marketing materials, while the three still life images would be used only for the website and in-store marketing materials. I also learned that, while they were requesting a licensing duration of one year, the images would likely be promoting seasonal products, and would therefore have a lifespan of just a few months.

I decided to price both lifestyle images at their full value (rather than discounting the second image) because they would be promoting two different types of products, and after weighing the factors, their full value was $7,500 each. The three supplemental still life images were much different than the lifestyle shots, but were quite similar when compared to each other. For this reason, I decided to price the first still life image at $5,000 (2/3 the price of a lifestyle image) and the other two at $3,750 each (1/2 the price of a lifestyle image).

After coming up with these fees, I checked a few other pricing resources to see what they recommended. Blinkbid priced one image between $7,000-$10,000 for one year use in print publications and collateral. Getty priced one image around $6,000 for North American advertising use in magazines and about $4,000 for point of sale use for one year. Combined, $10,000 would have been an appropriate starting point for the full value of a single image for a prominent client like this, but this didn’t take into account the short lifespan of the images. Corbis suggested $12,500 for one image for one year within their “Print Ad, Web, and Indoor Display” flexible use pack, while FotoQuote priced similar usage at $14,000. However, these fees included a bit more than the intended use I discussed with the agency.

Assistants: The photographer would be traveling for this shoot, and I anticipated that the he would bring his first assistant while hiring a local second assistant for the two shoot days. I included five days for the first assistant to account for two travel days, two shoot days and one prep day on location.

Digital Tech: The digital tech would help to manage the flow of file intake and display for client approval on set. I included $500 for the digital tech, and then added on $750 for their workstation for each shoot day.

Producer: A project like this required a producer to help wrangle and hire the crew, coordinate casting and location scouting, make travel and catering arrangements and work closely with the photographer and agency to compile a detailed schedule and production book. The producer would also travel to the shoot and be on set to manage the crew, schedule, and handle the invoicing process after the shoot.

Photographer Travel/Scout/Fitting Days: This took into account two days for the photographer to travel there and back, and a third day to scout the location and participate in a fitting day where the models would try on the clothing and the agency/client would make wardrobe decisions prior to the shoot.

Hair/Makeup Stylist: We’d be photographing four talent and capturing one lifestyle scenario per day. I anticipated that we’d have plenty of prep time for these shots each day, which would only require one hair/makeup stylist (as opposed to an additional hair/makeup stylist assistant) on each day.

Wardrobe Stylist and Wardrobe: I grouped the stylist and the assistant into a single line, and anticipated paying the stylist $800/day and their assistant $300/day. The four days accounted for the time it would take them to shop, attend the fitting day, be present at the shoot and return the clothing. The wardrobe costs were based on the need to have two final outfit choices for each of the four talent, and I estimated $200 per outfit. The wardrobe stylist would of course purchase many different options, but this budget accounted for the wardrobe that would be non-returnable.

Prop Stylist: During a call with the agency, they made it clear that the mix of still life and lifestyle images would call for a wide range of very specific seasonal props…and we’d need to find these items off-season. At $700/day for the stylist and $300/day for their assistant, I anticipated that they would need two days to shop/prep and a day to return props on top of the shoot days.

Props: In addition to the specific prop list that we were provided, we’d be shooting at a residential property, so I accounted for a few additional home/garden props to spruce up the interior and exterior. Also, the still life images would need a wide range of tabletop props such as plates, bowls and napkins, and $1,500/day would be appropriate after discussing our needs with a few prop stylists.

Food Stylist and Food/Supplies: We’d only be photographing food on one of the shoot days. I included a half-day for the stylist to shop for ingredients and a full day for them to cook and prepare for the shoot day. I typically don’t estimate half-days for crew members, but the ingredients needed were quite simple and I couldn’t justify the need for a stylist to spend an entire day shopping. However, the food that the stylist would need to bring to the shoot would in fact require a full day to prepare. In addition, many of the ingredients would be shipped to the food stylist from the client, and our food/supplies budget would therefore be minimal.

Location Scout and Location Fee: Based on the comps, layouts and discussions with the agency, I knew they would be very picky when choosing a location. Sometimes a location scout will charge a fee to “pull” from their files and deliver a gallery of locations they’ve already photographed. If needed, many scouts charge a fee of about $650 plus expenses to go out and scout new locations. Since I didn’t know which scout I was going to use yet, I included three days for a scout to find us the perfect residential property, and figured that one of those “days” might be dedicated to pay for their “file pull”.  Based on estimates from previous projects, I felt confident that $2,000/day would be appropriate for they kind of property we were looking for.

Casting Day: I planned on hiring a casting agent to help us find talent, and this covered their time, shooting space and booking of the talent.

Adult and Child Talent: We’d need two adults and two children on both shoot days. Typically I’d include backup children if they are young enough to potentially have a meltdown on set, but I didn’t’ feel that we’d have this issue with kids in the 8-10 age range. After speaking with a few casting and talent agencies in the city we’d be shooting in, I determined $2,000 per talent per day plus a 20% agency fee would be appropriate for the adults. For the children, I felt that $1,000 per talent per day plus 20% would attract a decent pool of options. In addition to the shoot days, we’d also need each talent to come to a fitting day before the shoot, and I felt that $1,000 would be an appropriate compensation for this.

Fit Day Location Fee: We would need a location for our fit day, and we could have approached this a few different ways. A photo studio would have worked, but it might have offered more than what we needed. Another idea was to pay for a conference room in a nearby hotel, or even rent a large room in a hotel at a convenient location. After making a few calls, I determined $800 would be more than enough to cover either a high-end spacious suite or a conference room.

Airfare, Lodging, Car Rental: I used Kayak.com to determine that it would be about $400 per person (including baggage fees) for the photographer, first assistant and producer to fly to/from the location, and that $200/night for 4 nights would afford decent hotel rooms for each person. I also used Kayak.com to find pricing for a minivan rental for the duration of the trip.

Production RV:  With a crew this large on location, an RV would allow the producer to keep as many “cooks out of the kitchen” as possible, while also providing a staging area, bathrooms, WIFI and an area for catering outside of the residential property. I confirmed with a local RV company that $1,500/day would afford us a nice vehicle including a driver, fuel, cleaning/dumping fees and mileage.

Catering: I anticipated $40 per person per day for light breakfast and lunch.

Equipment: After speaking with the photographer about his equipment needs, we determined that $900/day would be appropriate for the gear he was bringing and renting. This included a camera body and a few lenses (~$400), power packs and heads (~$300) plus miscellaneous modifiers, reflectors and grip equipment (~$200).

Image Processing for Editing: This covered the time, equipment and costs to handle the basic color correction, edit and upload of all of the images to an FTP for client review.

Retouching: The photographer and I determined that each of the 5 images could take up to 4 hours to retouch, and $150/hr would allow us to farm out the work to a retoucher if the photographer became unavailable.

Miles, Parking, FTP, Misc: This was to cover any additional minor miscellaneous expenses during the shoot days and while traveling.

Feedback: The agency told us that our numbers were in line, but that they’d be unable to issue the photographer an advance prior to the shoot, and they also wanted the talent to bill the photographer (rather than billing the agency directly). In addition, after reviewing our terms/conditions, they asked us to remove the clause detailing that if they don’t pay the photographer within 30 days of the final invoice, that they will be billed a $20.00/month handling fee and 1.5%/month interest.

This feedback raised some pretty serious red flags. This basically meant that the photographer would have to front approximately $38,000 out of pocket to cover the production expenses without a contractual guarantee for reimbursement or payment of the final balance.

Results: The photographer was awarded the project (and he accepted it despite the financial risk), and I produced the shoot.  The client did pay within 30 days.

In addition, the client decided to add on two product still life shots and one additional food shot to the project. While we were able to accommodate their requests within the estimated shooting time, we charged them an additional $5,000 for the first unique still life image, $2,500 for the second similar still life image, and $2,000 for the additional food image plus expenses for the stylists and retouching time. We originally quoted $2,500 for the fourth food image, but they asked if we could work with them and come down to $2,000, which we did. A few months after the shoot, we were already in discussions about extending the licensing duration.

Hindsight:

Our terms and conditions document states that “the expenses are estimated in good faith” and “actual expenses, which may be greater or less, will be invoiced”. We didn’t have any issues with overages (in fact, I was able to produce the shoot and come in about $11,000 under budget), but I did find out that our proposal was treated as a bid, rather than an estimate.

In a bid scenario, a photographer provides an invoice for the bottom line of their estimate, rather than providing receipts and billing for fees and actual expenses. If they come in under budget, the balance goes into their pocket. However, in many cases, if the expenses go over the estimated costs, the photographer is not granted an overage and they have to absorb the additional costs. This brings up the issue of including markups in estimates. We feel that billing for actual time and expenses is the most honest way of doing business (and most of the purchase orders we receive require that copies of receipts be provided with an invoice), but there are times when a client specifically asks for a bid, and in those cases we may estimate on the higher end just to cover potential overages.

You can find all of our Pricing & Negotiating articles here. If you’d like to hear more about our Pricing and Negotiating or other consulting services, please send us an email or give us a call at 1 610 260 0200!

Featured Promo – Kara Brodgesell

Kara Brodgesell

Who printed it?
Newspaper Club https://www.newspaperclub.com/. I decided on them after diving into the archive of newspaper promo information on your website and was very happy with the results. I especially appreciated the informative samples they sent over before I submitted my order.

Who designed it?
My husband Noah, who works as a public programming director, but his InDesign skills are far superior to mine. We had a number of discussions about what I was hoping to achieve and which businesses should be featured, and then he helped me select the final images and he crafted the layout. I’d wanted to do a promo of this project for a few years and always stalled once it came to deciding how to format it, so his participation was invaluable.

Tell me about the images?
This was the classic personal project in that I pursued it all in my free time because I wanted to be hired to create photographs like this. I also loved having the chance to shoot such a wide variety of types of images. I lived in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco when I shot it, which has a unique patchwork of small businesses and manufacturing. It felt like I was surrounded by people making things and spaces and I wanted to celebrate that. It now also feels like a memorial for businesses that once were, as many have closed or moved out of the area.

How many did you make?
100

How many times a year do you send out promos?
This was my first one. I’ve been fortunate to be freelancing in the Bay Area for 9 years and I set a bunch of goals in early 2020 about how I wanted to grow my businesses and find new clients – all of my work thus far has been through references. A significant printed promo was a big part of that plan. The shipment arrived in early March and I was going to send them out by the end of the month, and continue with two more over the year. Instead, we went into lockdown days later, everyone is working from home indefinitely, and the box of promos is sitting in the corner of my office. It’s a bit heartbreaking.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I’ll let you know! I’ve listened to so many panels, read interviews, and talked to other photographers about how to promote your work and I feel like, in the end, it comes down to: do it all, as much as you can. Social media, emails, printed promos… whatever may keep you in people’s minds. I certainly value printed pieces. I save promos and magazine/newspaper features that I respond to. And I thought that this body of work lent itself better to a newspaper-like format with many spreads, rather than an email or post with just a few small images.

Why did you choose a personal project for a promo?
My favorite way to photograph is to take a documentary approach with minimal equipment, in a place I may never get access to otherwise. This project afforded me that so many times, and it was a great exercise in finding shots quickly in new environments – there were no scout days or pre-production meetings. I’m also deeply grateful to the number of artists and business owners who let me wander around their spaces and ask a lot of questions. It’s one of the many things I’ve missed during this pandemic, not being able to explore and be inspired in this way.

Expert Advice: Insurance for Photographers

Aimee Baldridge, Wondeful Machine

Want to rent some gear, get a permit to shoot in the park, or hire an assistant as an employee?

You’ll need to get insurance for that — equipment, general liability, and worker’s compensation, to be exact. While you’re at it, pick up some coverage for the gear you own (equipment again), any studio equipment you have (business personal property), and the medical bills for anyone who might ever take a spill on set (general liability).

But don’t stop there. Getting a data loss policy to help you recover work you’ve done might be smart. Covering the work you haven’t done is prudent too, since unhappy clients sometimes sue for errors and omissions. If something goes sideways and you can’t do any work at all, it’s great to have a business interruption policy that covers loss of income. And if things go sideways abroad, you’ll be glad to have an international liability policy, a non-owned and hired auto liability policy, or an emergency medical evacuation policy, as the case may be.

You get the idea. Insurance is available for just about everything and everyone you can have, use, do, or interact with as a photographer, and you’ll need some of it to be in business. Fortunately, by tailoring the types of coverage you purchase to the kind of photography you do (and finding a provider who can package it for you at a reasonable price), you can avoid being bankrupted by either losses or premium costs.

 

Types of Insurance

EQUIPMENT

What it covers: Gear that you own or rent. Each item you own must be listed in the policy in order to be covered. Make sure to include both photo/video and computer gear. If you use a rental house, you will usually need to provide a certificate of insurance from your insurance provider that covers the full replacement value of rented gear and names the rental house as the Certificate Holder or Loss Payee.

How much you need: A policy that covers the full replacement cost of your gear is best. Some policies pay out only what the insurer determines the lost or damaged gear was worth after depreciation.

The fine print: Make sure your policy covers every cause of equipment loss and damage you might encounter, from theft and accidental damage to weather and environmental conditions. An all-risk policy will cover all causes except for those named as exclusions, whereas a named-risk policy will cover only the causes that are explicitly named in the policy. Also check the locations covered. Worldwide coverage is obviously best. Look for a policy that covers gear stolen from vehicles, too. And use a provider that can supply certificates of insurance quickly.

Look out for: Policy exclusions. These are uses or items that make a loss ineligible for coverage under the policy. Examples include things like shooting near water, with gear mounted to a vehicle, or with a drone.

BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY

What it covers: The contents of your studio or office space, including things like furniture, electronics, set elements, wardrobe items, and props.

How much you need: A policy that covers the full replacement cost of your property is best. Some policies pay out only what the insurer determines the lost or damaged property was worth after depreciation.

The fine print: Business personal property can be covered under its own policy, as part of a commercial property insurance policy that also covers the facility that you own or rent or as part of a business owner’s policy that also includes equipment and liability coverage. Look at different providers to find the best package for your situation.

Look out for: Policy exclusions. These are causes for loss or damage that make property ineligible for coverage under the policy. Flooding is a typical example. You should purchase flood insurance separately if that’s a risk.

 

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY

What it covers: A dissatisfied client can sue you for “errors and omissions” in the work you produce, which can mean anything from missing a deadline to shooting out of focus to flubbing a key shot. Professional liability insurance will cover the cost of legal fees, settlements, and judgments.

How much you need: $1,000,000 or more. Getting sued can be pricey, even if you win.

The fine print: Coverage is offered with either a “claims-made” or an “occurrence-based” policy. An occurrence-based policy will cover any liability incurred when the policy was active, even if you don’t have the policy anymore when you get sued and have to make the claim. A claims-made policy will only cover a liability if the policy is still active when you make the claim. 

Look out for: Make sure you understand your coverage limits, which can be listed per incident or as a total for all claims.

GENERAL LIABILITY

What it covers: Your legal and court fees, defense costs, settlement, and judgment amounts, and other costs in the event that someone sues you for property damage or bodily injury occurring at your studio or on location, defamation, slander, or libel. Locations and venues may require you to be insured to shoot there.

How much you need: $1,000,000 or more. Again, getting sued can be pricey, even if you win, and locations that request a certificate of insurance will usually require a $1,000,000 policy minimum.

The fine print: Make sure your policy covers the types of locations where you’ll shoot outside of your studio. Also use a provider that can supply certificates of insurance quickly.

Look out for: If you work in international markets, consider an international liability policy. If you have employees or hire independent contractors, you may need worker’s compensation insurance to cover liabilities incurred through the actions of people working for you.

 

BUSINESS INCOME INTERRUPTION

What it covers: Income lost due to an interruption in your ability to do business, as well as costs for temporary relocations and operating costs due to the interruption. The interruption can be an incident such as a blackout, fire, or weather event.

How much you need: The limit of your coverage will be based on an estimate of your future earnings. Your policy should cover up to a year of costs and losses related to a business interruption.

The fine print: Business income interruption insurance generally doesn’t cover income lost due to personal illness or injury. Short-term or long-term disability insurance can be purchased separately.

Look out for: Coinsurance penalties. If you purchase less insurance than your provider determines would be required for you to recover from a total loss—say, if your studio and everything in it was destroyed by a fire—you may not receive full coverage in the event of any claim. Ask about the details on coinsurance penalties before you pay for a policy.

TRAVEL MEDICAL

What it covers: Medical care abroad, where your usual medical insurance can’t be used; and emergency medical evacuation, which generally means a flight home on a plane with medical staff and equipment.

How much you need: This depends on how often you travel for work, where you go, and how much risk of illness or injury you expect to encounter there. Purchasing insurance for each trip as needed can be an affordable route for infrequent travelers. Emergency medical evacuation insurance can be purchased on its own to cover only the most serious situations.

The fine print: Medical evacuation isn’t the same as general evacuation insurance. If you’ll be working in a conflict zone where you might need evacuation for non-medical reasons, look for a general evacuation policy.

Look out for: Policy exclusions. These are conditions that disqualify you for coverage. Things like being a combatant or the victim of a weapon of mass destruction are typical exclusions that you probably don’t have to worry about, but make sure the conditions you expect to encounter aren’t on the list.

 

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

What it covers: The medical expenses and some part of the lost wages of an employee who is injured while working for you.

How much you need: This will depend on your location and the specifics of your business.

The fine print: Look for a policy that also protects you from lawsuits related to injuries.

Look out for: Workers’ compensation is often required by law. Get up to speed on state and local requirements before hiring anyone or purchasing a policy.

 

NON-OWNED AND HIRED AUTO LIABILITY

What it covers: Auto liability for rented and employee vehicles that you use for work.

How much you need: This type of insurance is very affordable, especially as an addition to a business owner’s policy, so opt for the maximum available.

The fine print: This type of insurance generally covers only liability and not physical damage to vehicles. Make sure physical damage to the vehicles you use is covered by other policies.

Look out for: If an employee rents a vehicle under his or her own name for use on a shoot, has an incident, and gets sued for it, the liability may not be covered. If this might be an issue for you, ask about adding an Employee-Hired Auto endorsement to your policy.

 

Force Majeure

One very serious and timely consideration involves the famous “force majeure” clauses appending most insurance policies. Although at this point COVID-19 may no longer be considered force majeure, you will want to look into how this clause can affect the policy you are purchasing.

Ways to Save

Choosing insurance is always a question of balancing cost with risk. You want to protect yourself from financial disaster without spending more than your budget permits on premiums.  If you’re at high risk for a loss or liability, it may make sense to pay a higher premium with a lower deductible.

There are a few ways you can reduce costs:

Join an association that offers discounted insurance to members. Many offer a range of options, from short-term insurance to packages of different types of insurance.

Purchase short-term insurance. If you can’t afford all the insurance you’d like year-round, you can find inexpensive policies for short periods when you’re on a riskier shoot.

Rent your gear through a peer-to-peer service that lets you purchase insurance with each rental instead of requiring you to have your own policy and insurance certificate.

Look for a Business Owner’s Policy. These policies bundle equipment, general liability, business personal property, and sometimes other types of insurance relevant to photographers in an affordable package.

 

Resources

INSURANCE COMPANIES

If you just need to insure a small amount of gear that you own, you can look into adding it to your renter’s or homeowner’s policy with a rider that lists each item and its value. Beyond that, companies that specialize in insurance for photographers will give you a better deal and packages that meet all of your needs. Here are a few:

TCP & Co.

Insureon

HISCOX

Package Choice

Heffernan Insurance Brokers

Athos Insurance 

 

PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATIONS

Professional associations for photographers often offer insurance packages at discounted rates, and some include certain types of insurance coverage in the cost of membership. Look for an organization geared toward the specific type of photography you do. Here are a few:

American Society of Media Photographers

American Photographic Artists

Professional Photographers of America 

 

SMALL BUSINESS, FREELANCER, AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Organizations that are not specifically geared toward photographers may still offer insurance discounts and benefits that will cover some or all of your needs, depending on the type of photography you do. Here are a few associations that offer insurance packages of interest to photographers:

Freelancers Union 

 

PEER-TO-PEER GEAR RENTAL SITES

You’ll usually need to have equipment insurance and present a certificate of insurance in order to rent gear from a rental house. However, peer-to-peer gear rental sites like KitSplit and ShareGrid offer an alternative by allowing you to purchase short-term insurance when paying for the rental. ShareGrid also offers members annual insurance options.

Kitsplit

ShareGrid

 

Further reading:

https://www.pixpa.com/blog/photographer-insurance

https://photographyspark.com/5-types-of-insurance-every-photographer-needs/

Featured Promo – Catherine Losing

Catherine Losing

Who printed it?
I was super trashy and went through Vistaprint.

Who designed it?
I did.

Tell me about the images?
They are my favourite images from my portfolio over the past 3 years. A combination of editorial, personal projects, and commissions for names such as Vogue and MoMA. I’m always keen to include technical examples of my still life work with a variety of products as this is important to my commercial clients. However, I like to balance it out with more fun and creative shots as I often get hired to put my own spin on commissions.

How many did you make?
Only 10. I’ve been super selective about who I’ve sent them to, just a few art directors and creative producers at ad agencies, and you!

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I’ve never done a promo before. It’s a result of my London photography rep closing down and Covid. I’m usually lugging my portfolio around London meeting people at agencies face to face. I thought mailing out a mini-portfolio could be a good way to bridge the gap.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Yes, I’ve only sent out 6 so far and had 3 advertising enquiries.

Featured Promo – Ryan Duclos

Ryan Duclos

Who printed it?
Moo.com

Who designed it?
I designed the cards with help from my partner.

Tell me about the images?
I’ll start in the order that is posted on IG. The first image is a self-portrait I took in the Alaskan tundra on a 2-week moose hunt that I documented. The second image is a shot of our guide in Valdez Alaska on a 1-week Heli-snowbaord trip with Valdez Heli-Guides. The third image is the 2020 APA First place awards for Sports/Adventure. This was shot in the backcountry at Mt. Baker ski area. The peak in the background is Mt. Shuksan. One of my most favorite places on earth. The fourth image is of my good friend and pro snowboarder Johnny in the backcountry of Mt. Baker Skin area. The fifth image is a shot of our helicopter on a helicopter snowboard trip in the Canadian Rockies. The sixth and final image is of Mt.Hess and Mt. Dorothy in the Alaska Mountain Range. Both mountains sit at 11 thousand feet.

How many did you make?
I made 200. There are 4 different sets with 5 cards per set.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I try and send out a new mailer twice a year. But to add to the mail out marketing, I started a monthly zine that I email out. The zine has new content that I shoot the month prior. This way clients can see new work and I stay on their minds constantly.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I do feel that printed materials are effective marketing pieces. More now than ever. I have had a great response this year over previous years.

Featured Promo – Jackie Dives

Jackie Dives

Who printed it?
East Van Graphics in Vancouver, B.C., which is where I am based.

Who designed it?
I did most of the layout design but my designer, Alicia Carvalho made it all happen.

Tell me about the images?
The images were all taken during the first three months of the recommended quarantine in British Columbia. I was living alone and spent most of the time in my apartment with my cat. Taking photographs is a tool for me to cope with whatever is happening in my life so it just made sense for me to keep taking photos, even if it was just the mundanity of living during that weird time. I find photography to be incredibly healing, and it has helped me deal with a lot of things over the years. The other books I made this year included a book about my solo cycling trip across South Korea, and my choice not to become a mother.

How many did you make?
100

How many times a year do you send out promos?
It’s pretty random. In 2020 I made 3 of these book/zine things and only sent them to very select people. I usually sell them through Instagram and my website as well. Before that, I have only sent out paper promos two other times.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
My personal experience is that the promos I have made have not brought me any work. I’m not entirely sure why. It could be that I’m sending them to the wrong people or that they aren’t very good. I don’t know!

Pricing & Negotiating: Real Families for a Technology Client

Craig Oppenheimer, Wonderful Machine

Concept: Lifestyle images of real families interacting with technology

Licensing: Unlimited use of up to 60 images for two years from first use

Photographer: Reportage and Portrait Specialist

Agency: Large, specializing in digital campaigns

Client: Large technology company

 

Here is the estimate:
Pricing and Negotiating Real Families for Technology Client

Creative/Licensing Fees: The photographer came to me having never done a commercial assignment with an ad agency or a client of this size before. His previous work focused on family portraits and reportage, and that was exactly the kind of content this campaign called for. The agency hoped that the photographer could present options of real families to them using his personal connections, rather than working with a casting director or talent agency. These families would be photographed in their actual homes interacting in staged setups, that would ideally look as authentic as possible considering they were real family members. The shoot would take place over two shoot days, with two families, each in their own homes. While the shot list was a bit of a collaborative effort, we settled on 60 final deliverables for unlimited use for two years. Based on previous similar projects I’ve estimated, I had a sense that this client would want to end up paying a few hundred dollars per image if broken down that way, and likely around 10-15k/day for a creative/licensing fee. We were asked to break out the creative fee from the licensing, and I landed on $3,000/day plus $20,000 in licensing fees. There would also be two pre-pro days added in, which I included $1,500/day for. As we approached $30,000 for these items collectively, I felt confident that we were in the right ballpark, especially considering this would be the photographer’s first assignment like this.

Crew: I included a first assistant and a digital tech, each for the two shoot days

Styling: The families would wear their own clothes, so we didn’t need a wardrobe stylist, but there was definitely a need for specific props based on the creative brief and the situations being prescribed by the shot list. I therefore included a prop stylist with an assistant and the appropriate expenses, but marked the prop costs as TBD since we were still sorting out the exact prop needs.

Casting and Talent: Based on previous projects we decided that $3,000 per family would be appropriate to cover each family and their property.

Equipment: While we initially started much lower due to the photographer’s style and lighting approach, the agency specifically asked us to include $3,500/day for equipment.

Health and Safety:  On all shoots now, we are considering PPE and cleaning supplies at a minimum, and on some shoots we include a health/wellness officer. In this case, since we were still sorting out the exact families and their comfort level with a minimal production, we marked this at $1,000 while bidding. At most, we anticipated hiring a cleaning company to come clean the location after the shoot.

Misc.: I included $250/day for each day to cover miscellaneious and unforeseen expenses that might arise.

Post Production: I included $1,500 for what I anticipate would likely be about a day of post, just to organize the assets and delivery them, even though the agency would be handling the heavy lifting on the retouching.

Feedback: The first item the agency wanted to discuss was the licensing. Rather than select 60 images after the shoot and have the usage period start when the first image was used, they wanted to be able to make selects over the course of the two year licensing period, and have each image start a two year licensing period when each image was used. It seemed odd to me, but regardless, I wanted to account for the potential lengthier usage term that would be possible, and the work that the photographer would have to do each time more files were requested throughout the two years. I had a very frank conversation with the art buyer about this request, and they suggested that they had $15,000 potentially available to put towards this licensing request. That seemed like an excellent deal, so we ran with it and adjust our estimate. Additionally, we learned that the production company involved with this project planned to pay the crew, styling team and talent directly via a payroll company, and that they’d handle any cleaning fees directly as well. They therefor asked us to revise our estimate to reflect that.

Here was the final estimate:
Pricing and Negotiating Real Families for Technology Client

Results: The photographer was awarded the project.

Hindsight: Given the extra $15k that magically appeared, I wonder if we started too low initially. Also, it seems many shoots in these strange Covid times revolve more around the resources that a photographer has available to them (family/friend talent and locations specifically) as opposed to the actual appropriateness of that photographer for the assignment, which is a bit disconcerting. I think the photographer was a great choice for this campaign, but I’ve seen other projects where seemingly perfect photographers drop out of the running because they don’t have that perfect talent/location at their fingertips.

 

If you have any questions, or if you need help estimating or producing a project, please give us a call at 610.260.0200 or reach out. We’re available to help with any and all pricing and negotiating needs—from small stock sales to large ad campaigns.

Featured Promo – Robin Westfield

Robin Westfield

Who printed it?
Newspaper Club, based in the UK. I had read great reviews about the work they do, and the prints I received lived up to my expectations.

Who designed it?
I did… I am a fashion and beauty photographer by trade, but also comfortable as a graphic artist with Adobe InDesign.

Tell me about the images?
As with many of us that work in the creative field, I found myself with a lot of (unwanted) free time here in Montreal, waiting out the uncertainty of the lockdown during the late spring/early summer days of the pandemic, not knowing what would come of the rest of the year.

I gathered that there would be no better time than the present to put the finishing touches to a printed version of my portfolio. I had been working on it for a few months, but, before the lockdown, I was too busy to give it the time it needed to be completed. It is a collection of my favorite photos, from personal creatives to client briefs, that also included my personal travels. It starts with a fashion exhibition of Alexander McQueen in London, followed by shoots in Singapore and on the outskirts of Paris, and ends on a personal project done back home in Montreal. I also wanted to provide a short story for each shoot, which I edited with the help of my partner Sara. My main desire was to share either the inspiration or the circumstances that brought me to each personal photo essay.

How many did you make?
100

How many times a year do you send out promos?
It was my first time sending out physical copies to prospective clients.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Definitely. I was very happy with the reply rate to this portfolio (far better than any email blast). I feel that the process of creating it helped me to re-evaluate my archive and the direction I wanted to take with my photography moving forward. It was an invaluable tool to revisit my older work and to plan my future creative projects in the field

Featured Promo – Paul Dimalanta

Paul Dimalanta

Tell me about this promo.
At the beginning of the year, the marketing plan was to edit down my email list, go to more portfolio shows, and follow up with printed mailer follow-ups. After getting all my print collateral designed and printed the pandemic hit, and people could no longer meet and no one was at the office.

My initial reaction was to just wait. To pass the time I broke out some puzzles to complete with my wife that were saved from our yearly tradition spending time with friends in a cabin in Tahoe over New Years. We would snowboard in the day time, play drinking games, and dance into the night, but we always had a puzzle in the corner for a quiet semi-social activity whenever we needed to chill.

We quickly completed the few puzzles we had then ordered more of increasing difficulty. I fell in love with the flow state I would get into while finding pieces, analyzing textures, and subtle changes of color. It filled a void I had for visual problem solving, I felt like I was flexing similar muscles as when I retouch photos or mix colors when painting.

I was also fascinated by how I interacted with the image, and learn about the world piecing together. That interaction was what inspired me to create my own puzzle using images that meant a lot to me. It also made sense because so many people that I work with Art Director, Creative Buyers, Producers are visual problem solvers, and I thought sharing this gift would help people relax a little during these stressful times.

Who designed it?
I wanted the packaging to be simple and elegant like a coffee table book. I have just enough of a design background to use InDesign and Illustrator to take the style guide my designer, Joe Lee, created for my brand to create the packaging for these puzzles.

Who printed it?
I tried several companies, and in the process became a bit of a puzzle snob. The first company left a weird metallic residue on my fingers, another company had pieces that didn’t quite snap together the way I liked, another had a varnish that was too shiny. I also was looking for a place I could have total control over the design of the box.

I finally printed puzzles using https://www.createjigsawpuzzles.com/sell/dimalanta
They had a nice blend of all the things I wanted, and they gave me full control to design my template in Adobe Illustrator.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
Prior to Covid I would send out mailers 2-4 times a year. I would generally shortlist people I found that opened or clicked through my emailers. This year the only promos I sent out were in the form of these puzzles. I will get back to my regular schedule when people are back in the office.

How many did you make?
This first batch I had printed 25. The hard part was tracking down people I have worked or have met with because I had to ask for an address I could ship to outside of the office.

Tell me about the images.
The image I used was captured in Lake Como while on vacation with my wife. We had just finished our gelato in the town of Menaggio and took a walk along the lakeside. I chose this image because I wanted to share that calm and content feeling I had when took this photo.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Print promos are just another tool in the toolbox. The best thing about print promo is that you have so much control over how the viewer will see the final image — the size, the scale, the texture. It feels finished, tactile and real. Those attributes can hurt you if you aren’t thoughtful about the process, but when it comes together it can be a great extension of your brand.

How did the campaign go?
The response I got was great, I got a few selfies with the box, and a couple of people showed off how quickly they put it together. One person said they aren’t into puzzles, but thought it looked great on their coffee table. So between the response, and the follow-ups needed to get all the right addresses, it was a total success, and I plan to do another round after meeting more people in the various virtual meetings I have been able to attend.

Pricing & Negotiating: A Large Production Cancelled by Covid-19

Craig Oppenheimer, Wonderful Machine

Concept: Stills and video content featuring seven athletes participating in various sports, as well as images of each athlete posed with product.

Licensing: Unlimited use of all images captured for 2 months from first use.

Photographer: Sports and portraiture specialist

Agency: Canadian office of large international group

Client: Large telecommunications company

Here is the estimate:

Creative/Licensing Fees: The scope of the project included stills and video to capture seven athletes participating in five unique sports over four shoot days in two different cities. Each athlete had unique needs in terms of gyms/facilities where they would need to be captured, and the need for posed shots on white led to some unique scouting and location needs. Some of them could entirely be captured in a studio, and others were a combination of them at a facility where a seamless background would be set up.

The creative needs called for a specialist who was technically savvy and could photograph/direct athletes who had limited time. These needs, along with the large agency/client, put upward pressure on a creative fee (which they asked us to break out from a licensing fee, as opposed to combining the two numbers), and we landed on $5,000/day for each of the four shoot days. While the high exposure and request for all images captured put upward pressure on the licensing fee, we knew that they had hoped to get about 30 total images, and would likely use just two for each athlete. Additionally, while they asked for unlimited use, the duration was very limited with a request for just two months. With those factors in mind, and based on previous experience, I thought that around $3,000 per subject or less than $1,000 per image for 30 shots would likely be appropriate. We initially settled on $19,500 for a licensing fee, which broke down to $650/image for the 30 shots we had been discussing, and just under $1,400/image for the 14 shots they were likely to use (7 athletes X 2 shots each).

On top of the creative and licensing fees, we included two travel days and two tech scout days based on an itinerary we detailed in the job description.

Producer Day(s): While the talent would be provided and the styling would be minimal, this project had a ton of moving pieces, and the logistics required a seasoned producer to lend a hand. We included six prep days prior to the travel/tech/scout/shoot days plus a wrap day.

Production Assistant Day(s): We included 10 days, two of which would be prep days to lend a hand with whatever tasks arose, plus the travel and shoot days.

Assistant Day(s): We included four assistants in total, two of which would travel with the team to both locations, and the other two would be locals and just be needed on the individual shoot days. Given how fast the team would have to move, the multiple setups/scenarios that would be needed, and the equipment requirements, we needed a lot of hands-on deck.

Digital Tech Day(s): We’d hire a digital tech locally in each city, and this accounted for each of the four shoot days.

DP/Camera Operator Day(s): We included $3,500/day for each of the four shoot days, and $1,500 for two travel days. While the photographer would be capturing stills and directing the video, we felt it was important to have a separate person actually capturing and focusing on the video content.

Grip and Gaffer Day(s): To assist the DP/Camera Operator, we included a grip and a gaffer to help with equipment and electrical needs, hired locally for each shoot day.

Hair/Makeup and Wardrobe Stylist Day(s): The subjects would be providing their own wardrobe and would have minimal hair/makeup needs, so we just included a single hair/makeup stylist and a single wardrobe stylist, hired locally in each city, just for the shoot days without any prep/wrap time or expenses.

Location Fees: This was a big TBD, since we were told that that the athletes might be able to leverage relationships with various training facilities for scouting purposes, but we needed to account for the payment of those facilities in our budget. We ballparked some numbers here, and also added $2,000 for the day where we’d just rent a studio instead of shooting on location.

Equipment: We included $8k for both photography equipment and video equipment, based on $2,000/day for four shoot days.

Catering: We anticipated about 22 mouths to feed each day and included $90 per person to include breakfast, lunch, craft and additional meals to support a long day with overtime.

Travel Expenses: I based this on the schedule detailed in the job description and the number of people that would be traveling to each of the locations. The cities were within driving distance, which eliminated the need for airfare.

Parking, Expendables, Additional Meals, Misc: I included $1,500 here, truly as a buffer for unforeseen expenses that might arise throughout the production.

Insurance: A loose rule of thumb I use to calculate insurance is to base it on 2% of the expenses. In this case that was closer to $3k, but I wanted to come down a bit as it was feeling a bit excessive, so I included $2k.

Post Production: We included $2,000 to handle basic processing of 30 selects. The agency would handle most of the retouching, and this just included both color correction and file cleanup but would still take a decent amount of time to sift through the images and perform those tasks.

Overtime: On three out of the four shoot days, we anticipated 14-hour days rather than a typical 10-hour day. It’s customary to bill for crew at time and a half for up to 12 hours, and double time after 12 hours. So, in this case, we had two hours per day at time and a half, and two hours per day at double time, for three shoot days.

Once the photographer and I finished collaborating on these numbers, we looped in a local producer to further tweak the fees/expenses based on local knowledge and preferred logistical approaches. Overall, she bumped up the estimate by about $12k, bringing the bottom line just under $200k.

Results: The photographer was awarded the project…but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This led to a lengthy process of uncertainty regarding how to tackle the project. Since the dates for each part of the project were spread out, they had discussed canceling some dates but just postponing others, and each day brought a new update on how it might shake out. Surprisingly, given the size of the agency, their purchase order didn’t detail any sort of cancellation policy, so we stuck to the cancellation policy in our terms/conditions. At the time when they asked us to formalize what a cancellation agreement might look like, we were a few days out from the first shoot date, with the next trip schedule just over a week away. They asked us to focus our cancellation fees/expenses on just these first two projects for now, hoping to just push the later shoots/dates. Here is what we came up with:

I noted that the out of pocket expenses would be billed at 100% and handed this off to the photographer’s producer to help detail what those exact expenses were, and she tackled it from that point on. Ultimately, they cancelled the entire project. The photographer was able to charge part of his creative fees, half of his licensing fees, and all out of pocket expenses based on how our terms/conditions were worded.

If you have any questions, or if you need help estimating or producing a project, please give us a call at 610.260.0200 or reach out. We’re available to help with any and all pricing and negotiating needs—from small stock sales to large ad campaigns.

Featured Promo – Noah Webb

Noah Webb

Tell me about your promo.
The one I sent you is book #6 in an ongoing series of books. The first book was created after an editorial assignment from Monocle magazine back in 2007. The magazine had sent me to travel throughout Ecuador and cover the status of events in the country at that time. Being that it was 2007 I brought both my film camera and digital camera to shoot. Upon returning I was going through my film proof sheets and started to cut out specific frames I really liked. It came to me then that I needed a way to tell my story of this adventure with these small proof prints. My first passport was fairly simple with a craft brown color passport size book with the words “Ecuador, February 2007” “Noah Webb” embossed on the front. I hand adhered the proof prints into the pages and made a total of 30 books. They idea clicked and people responded in a way I knew I needed to continue the idea. Subsequent books became more fine tuned in the design and feel of the passport. Each book different colors and overall cover design to match the travels abroad. I hire different designer friends to collaborate on the cover design and have a local print shop do the foil embossing. I increased the quantity of books as I progressed since I was getting more demand. The latest book is and edition of 250 and I am still in the process of printing, cutting out and adhering the rest of the books. It’s a great pandemic project. One born out of my love of travel, a physical memento to hold onto which seems appropriate right now. Ecuador 2007, France & Switzerland 2008, Italy 2009, Berlin 2012, Rotterdam & Brasilia 2017, Seoul & Hong Kong 2019.

These books take a lot of time and energy but I love making them. I’m fairly certain some jobs opened up to me specifically from these books.

They have had coverage over the years, being included in “No Plastic Sleeves” book in 2010.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7646254-no-plastic-sleeves

And last year PDN did a cover story on my passport books:
http://digitalmag.pdnonline.com/pdnonline/may_june_2019/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=Cover#pg1

https://digitalmag.pdnonline.com/pdnonline/may_june_2019/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1528742#articleId1528742

Featured Promo – Fred Mitchell

Fred Mitchell

Tell me about this promo.

I had it printed in Los Angeles at a place called Nonstop Printing. I actually found them when I was doing my wedding invitations last year and they were really pleasant to work with. So when I was looking at making these promos, I asked a friend who works with Curran Hatleberg for his maquettes with TBW books and he ended up pointing me back to Nonstop Printing for cost efficiency & quality. With them I did an ed. of 25, which I mostly used for marketing at photo fairs and conferences, but once the pandemic hit I had about 12 leftover and so I decided to offload the rest of them. I designed the book myself and did all the typography, layout and sequencing. This is actually the first time I have ever sent any printed media out blindly, but during the pandemic I started sending a digital PDF of recent work which includes this project (which is ongoing) along with some other ongoing personal work. If you’d like to check that one out, here is the link to that.

I believe in the printed object within the photo community, but I am also a strong advocate for photobooks. Most of my personal work is project/series based so a lot of it has turned into book projects. I actually have a book coming out through Yoffy Press that was set to be released this fall, but with the pandemic, it may get pushed back slightly. (Here is a link to that one) With my small bit of experience talking with commercial clients/agents, I have found mixed emotions on printed vs. digital portfolios. But a general consensus seems to be that if a project is intended as a book or zine people do seem to react positively to it rather than a digital portfolio. That being said, I try to have multiple tailored portfolios for different forms of marketing. So when I have done meetings, if it is with a photo editor, I try to lead with giving them a printed object they can keep and I let them know that they don’t have to look at that with me because it is for them to take away. Then I segue into a digital portfolio on an ipad which I also let them flip through at their own pace. When I was doing meetings with publishers to try to find a home for my upcoming book I also brought with me the hand-bound maquette of that project as well, but I have only a few copies of that one. That being said, people also responded positively to that and every now and then I will bring that with me to set if I am working with a client that I have a relationship with to let them check it out because it is a rather unusual project where the tactility and physicality are part of the concept.

I suppose for my work, if there is a reason the project should be printed then I try to do it, but I always want to make it something special. I have another project I am currently developing with my partner and fellow photographer, Alan Nakkash, that is also going to be a physical magazine/promotion tool. Part of our thinking was this is a special opportunity to make something different that gives us a reason to reach out to photo editors and potential clients. Additionally, our intention is for this to be a long term project where with each issue we create a visual dialog & narrative between two new featured artists. At this stage, a large part of this project highlights photographers similarities and differences in their artistic processes. This results in something truly collaborative because one artist takes the other artist’s work and they build the layout based on their interpretation of said work. So when this is printed it will continually evolve with each issue, thus giving a reason for us to frequently send these promos, and also hopefully help under-represented artists get their names out into the world. Sorry for such a long-winded explanation of my enthusiasm for printed matter haha!

Finally, the stories behind the images in Sweetwater. Inevitably, each image tells a story of its own, so I will try to give general context and then highlight my favorites so I hopefully don’t bore you!

I grew up skating and that largely shaped my life as a young adult. California was a dream to me because it always appeared that this was where all the best skating happened. But as I grew up and eventually moved out west (first to Las Vegas where I did my MFA and taught college for about 3 years) I was terrified to visit this place I had dreamed of. When I finally did come out here it was just as incredible as I had imagined it would be. But I didn’t move here as quickly as I would have hoped. At the time when I had the opportunity to make the move, my (now) ex-girlfriend’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer, so we instead moved back to Alabama to be close to her family. The relationship didn’t last, and I ended up leaving the academic world when I was offered an in-house photographer job at a fashion brand. After three years of working in fashion as what turned out to be an art director, I met my now wife who lived in CA and I drove west. That first few months was tumultuous to say the least. I sold my camera equipment to have enough money to buy food. I lived in my car for the first 5 months or so, then I found a room share on Craigslist where I slept on a massage table. And finally I got my own apartment. Because I had spent the past three years learning the ins and outs of the fashion world, I found a place working as an unpaid intern at Milk Studios. I think it was the week that I was finally hired that I found out my father passed away. For fear of losing my financial security, I was unable to go to the funeral. Then my mother ended up undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor (which turned out to be benign) but I was also unable to visit her because I would have lost my job. My coworkers became my surrogate family. We worked overnight from 3pm-8/9am, doing backbreaking work (literally, one of my coworkers broke his back on the job). Another person nearly lost a toe, and I fractured or broke my heel when it was run over.

It was at this job that I began meeting many people transplanted from the midwest great lakes area. I didn’t know much about surfing but it always felt similar to the skating world. As I got to know these new friends they boasted of the surfing on the great lakes. Specifically how incredible but brutal the peak surfing season could be. I spent about 9 months researching this before my first trip to Lake Superior. I suppose my mentioning all the difficulties leading up to this because it informed where I was mentally & emotionally when I started this work. Essentially, I was broken and unsure about life, let alone making photographs. I had been fired from my position as night-time equipment manager at the studio and still without a camera, I told myself that if I got a flight and rented gear, I had to do it. I was photo assisting full time so I worked extra to save enough money for this trip and suddenly I was thrust into the frigid mid-western winter. I treated it as I had treated skating trips as a kid. I contacted friends of friends who introduced me to other people and I began making my way around the upper peninsula of Michigan. Across the Wisconsin Coastline on Lake Michigan. Over the Mackinac Bridge (terrifying to drive over in a white out). All over the Mitten that is Michigan. Whenever I encountered new people, they would always ask where I was staying and offer me a couch to sleep on or a spare bedroom. Literally the opposite of my experience in California when I was homeless. And then there is the surfing. I wanted to craft a narrative that was true to the experience and community. An experience consisting of days we would go out and find nothing but ice. Other times there were long fantastic sessions ending with long frozen ice beards and hair. All of these days, filled with incredible people in a foreign frozen tundra.

The day that stands out most to me can be seen in the image of the girl with the bloody lip. Her name is Jaime, and we had corresponded through text messages for about a week or so before meeting. On the day we were finally set to meet she told me that she was uncomfortable meeting with me alone because for all she knew I could be a crazy person. So I told her that I totally understood and if she wanted to bring someone along with her to feel more safe that would be more than fine. So Jaime agreed to meet and arrived with her springer spaniel Murph. We talked and snapped a few photos while Murph ran around the frozen beach. Eventually, while we were talking we realized Murph had made his way onto the icy break. He couldn’t figure out how to get back and he was more than comfortable swimming in the cold water. But instead of jumping into the side with open water, he leaped into the side of the break that was mostly chunks of ice. As Murph began to panic and try to get onto the ice we ran toward him. Jaime was in her wetsuit, but hadn’t put on her gloves yet. She entered the water and began to try to help her dog from drowning. I was close behind her but I had fallen making my way across the icy break. As I made it to the ladder Murph was pushing Jaime underwater and her hands were beginning to freeze. I threw the camera aside and climbed down the ladder as Jaime pushed Murph toward me. I grabbed him and helped him back onto the land but Jaime’s hands weren’t working anymore. We linked our arms at the elbows and I pulled her up and as I did blood streamed down her face. As Murph trotted back to the beach I first asked her if she was okay and she said she was alright, just glad Murph was safe. Then I told her that her lip was bleeding, and she asked “how bad?” I told her it was okay probably. Immediately she responded, “well, do you wanna take a picture of it?”

Honestly, most of these photographs are stories like this. Rental cars having blowouts in the middle of the night. There was a time some friends accidentally blew up a propane heater inside of a van (photograph of the orange wetsuit next to the van tires). Falling asleep inside camper vans in sub-zero temperatures (boards storage photograph with the plywood room). Late-night talks of philosophy in relationship to surfing while drinking freshly harvested chaga tea. Moments that felt like I was talking to Gary Busey’s character in point break when he jumps on the desk (someone literally did this haha). I could go on but I don’t want to bore, and if I have, then I apologize. It’s all really fun to discuss and relive for me.

Featured Promo – Eric Forberger

Eric Forberger

Who printed it?
Newspaper Club in the UK printed it after a design friend recommended using them. They even have an interface for you to layout your newspaper if you don’t have a designer.

Who designed it?
A client of mine named Wendy Sheaffer designed it. She takes on her own design work on the side as she works full time as a Director of Creative Services for a College. I knew she would be the perfect person to put it together as she has years of experience creating, printing, and mailing promo pieces of all sizes for higher education.

Tell me about the images?
Once lockdown started due to Covid-19, I knew I had to stay busy creating so the time not taking assignments wasn’t wasted. It started out as me experimenting with techniques and styles I wasn’t normally doing so I could expand my abilities and once I got it down, then I could add that lighting style or photo technique to my toolbox to offer to clients once they were tested. I only had access to one person the whole time which was my wife Gina. I thought making different portraits of the same person was an awesome challenge to take on its own, then adding experimenting with new techniques would really force me to be creative. Once I started sharing these shots every week and they started picking up steam, I thought it would make a great project to feature as a gallery on my website. But then, an even bigger idea came, to take the project and present it as a promo piece to agencies and clients I was trying to get in front of. So additionally, I ordered seamfoam green envelopes with my logo in pink from envelopes.com to really make the piece stand out on the desks of Creatives. I was super happy with how the print job and the envelopes came out.

How many did you make?
I had 200 printed of the 32-page project

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I was just wrapping up with a 15-month promo project with Agency Access. Together we had sent out 4 mailers in that 15-month span. I think every quarter is a good average.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
That’s always been my question. I think regular directed promo mailings help keep your name in the forefront of clients’ minds. I’ve always loved seeing “project” based promos. Multi-page print pieces that together show a cohesive project that a photographer put together vs. many strong portfolio images that aren’t associated. It is one of the reasons I added small snippets of info about the shoots throughout this piece and even behind the scenes images at the end of the publication and lastly, a paragraph on the back page wrapping it all up for an ending. I have to say, that even with the limited numbers I have already mailed since not everyone is back in their offices yet from COVID, I’ve received a lot of email from prospective clients thanking me for sending it and giving great feedback about how much they enjoyed the mailer.

The willingness of my wife to help me out with this project is just one of the reasons she is such a great person. She was able to continue working her job from home, and because she knew how excited I was to try new things and keep creating, she was just ask excited as I was to shoot nights and weekends. She even helped me source props and wardrobe and I could not have made the best of the lockdown without her.

Featured Promo – Joe Giacomet

Joe Giacomet

Tell Me about the images.
Notvery Athletic is a joint collaboration between myself and art director Mark Denton. Mark and I have worked together numerous times and the idea for this started as a tiny element to drop into a commercial job we were pitching on. The thought of a funny soccer card in the back of an advert- this was the idea that started it all.

A few months later, Mark and I decided to shoot a comedy soccer player. From there, we thought we should do a few more and then two years down the line, we’ve got 9 teams, a tonne of images and a full sticker album.

The images are designed to both satirise and evoke memories of a bygone era of soccer when the hairdo was almost as important as understanding the offside rule.

We had great fun shooting these, with myself even getting in front of the camera. Mark persuaded me to try on a wig. Initially thinking it would make a funny profile pic, I turned out to be one of the star players. (a.k.a Baqov De Nette).

A central part of these images was getting the hair right. We worked with expert hairstylist Anna Longaretti whose skill with wigs and 70’s hair creations are second to none.

The attention to detail that went into creating these is staggering, from casting to designing and creating teams, kits, backgrounds, lighting, and an exhaustive post-production process to authentically age the images.

Who Printed it?
The actual Zine is printed by a mid-level printing company called PrintedEasy.com, because in emulating soccer zines, a premium glossy print job wouldn’t have felt right.

It was printed digitally (as opposed to litho) which meant we could try out multiple paper stocks. We tried a number of uncoated and coated stocks of different weights and settled on 170gsm matt coated for the outside and 140gsm uncoated for the inside.

Although the print was better on coated stock, it had better colour repro and dynamic range. The uncoated felt more authentic for the images.

We ran a number of other print processes in order to create this unique look. All the cards were risographed once retouched, scanned back in, and then retouched again.
Although time-consuming, this analogue stage really made a difference.

One image was poster printed – we then creased it and rephotographed it to make it look like a pull out poster. The centre spread is also a photograph of a physical page we created. The cards were printed actual size and stuck to a print out of the background image and then rephotographed. Same with the inside front and inside back covers. A lot of extra processes overall, but all part of the endeavour to make it authentic and unique.

Who designed it?
It was designed by Mark Denton Esq. with the help of Kate Henderson and Tivy Jones.

How many did you make?
There are a few iterations knocking around with subtle changes to the print stock, images, and design but in total around 500 copies.

How many times a year do you send out printed promos?
Previously about 4 times a year, but in recent busy periods, it has been a lot less. This is the first thing I’ve sent out in 18 months.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
It’s really hard to say. In the past, I’ve been saddened by the lack of response but then equally, jobs come out of nowhere which could be down to printed promos.

This promo, however, has been a different experience altogether.

Being in lockdown, I sent this out all my existing mailing lists. It turned out a lot of these were no longer valid which meant I individually reach out to everyone I wanted to send it to. This turned out to be a fantastic opportunity to re-connect with old contacts, it helped me make new contacts and I believe this made the mailer more effective than usual.

Scam Alert: Freelance/Independent Photographer Needed For a Fashion Shoot

This scam is making the rounds again. You can see how determined they are to making it work if you check out the thread below. If anyone wants to pay you an advance and have you send part of the money to someone else (who you don’t know) DON’T DO IT!

–aPE

 

From: adambartlett70@gmail.com 

Inquiry for your photography services

Hello,

I’m Adam, a beauty, fashion and lifestyle writer and editor at basementapproved.com. I saw your profile on workbook.com which led me to some of your work online and after going through your portfolio, I would like to learn more about your services.

I am working on a new project and I’m compiling shots for www.basementapproved.com “fashion page” segment and would love to collaborate with an experienced photographer on genres such as beauty, fashion, vintage, art, lifestyle, and outdoor.

As the photographer on this project, you will concept, shoot, and produce 36 images, featuring 3 models. You will be required to work with a recommended hair/makeup artist and a wardrobe stylist, and bring a smart, fun approach and distinct style.

Please check the link below for some samples of my previous work and the attached PDF for a full job description and let me know if you find the project interesting and would like to know more.

LONDON FASHION WEEK STREET STYLE

BACKSTAGE AT PFW SS/20 WITH TOM GOT THE KEY

128 PLAYERS, 4 TOURNAMENTS, 1 GAME

Warm regards,

Adam Bartlett

Job Title: Freelance/Independent Photographer Needed For a Fashion Shoot

Job Type: Contract/Freelance

The Basement, one of the world’s fastest growing fashion and lifestyle media brands, is looking for a professional model/fashion photographer to produce an independent outdoor/indoor fashion photo shoot for the magazine’s fashion and style contents (Web, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube). The Photographer will shoot with our wardrobe stylist, three models and H/MUA.

To be considered you should be experienced on genres such as beauty, fashion, portrait, culture, art, lifestyle, and music.

Job details:

  1. You will be required to work with 3 models (a male & 2 female), H/MUA and a wardrobe stylist. 2. There will be 3 outfits per model, 4 images for each model and outfit, which totals 36 images
  2. Outfits/Wardrobe will be supplied by us
  3. Shoot budget: $9,200
  4. Photographer’s compensation: $3,000 ($1,500 upfront; and $1,500 balance payment).
  5. Talents’ compensation: $6,200
  6. You will hold full image right (Licensor)
  7. Images will be posted as an editorial content on www.basementapproved.com for 12 months

Deliverables:

  1. We want 36 professionally taken pictures in High Res Digital Copies
  2. Editorial Web Large images: 1080p
  3. Image type: JPG
  4. Transfer method: Fileshare or Dropbox
  5. Images delivery deadline: July 24th, 2020.

Responsibilities:

  1. Photograph six to eight hours fashion shoot
  2. Produce focused images for use online.
  3. You will evaluate and pick your Location, date, and shoot time
  4. All editing/post production will be handled by photographer (little retouching)
  5. After the shoot, photographer will upload the top 40-45 photos for the client to choose from
  6. Contact and work with a recommended talents’ agent for the shoot

As the photographer we want you to handle other aspect of the gig and dictate the creative direction.

If this seems like a project you would like to work on, please reply for more details.

——————–

Hello ________,

Thanks for the reply and the interest to work with us on this project. The details of the gig include an agency which will be providing three fashion models, makeup and hair stylists. The total budget for the project is $9200 (photographer gets $3000 and $6200 for the talents). You will be paid 50% ($1500) upfront plus the talents budget while your balance payment of $1500 will be paid after sending us proof that the job has been done; usually watermarked images.

Wardrobe will be picked by our in-house stylist but styling will be handled on location by the talent agency and their stylist; the outfit will be sent to them.  I’m a writer and an editor for Basement Approved and I handle most of their content for North America. Images are guaranteed to feature as an editorial on basementapproved.com for 12 months and you will be credited for the images.

We want a gritty outdoor look with a clean product focused image; I’m attaching some pictures as samples. I will advise you to use 2 to 3 locations, doesn’t have to be city centre but must be urban; one could be very natural/parks while the other is gritty/old bricks/streets but clean. You will have to do little retouching if pictures can be taken with natural lighting. Final images will be 300dpi or larger, to be delivered via dropbox.

Photographers we hire usually take on the responsibilities of coordinating the shoot, selecting location, and disbursing fees. Your upfront fee will be issued prior to the shoot; this covers your upfront and extra for talents’ fee payable in advance to their manager.

Please confirm if you are comfortable with this arrangement by providing the name and address to be written on the contract as well as for your check then I can work on the contract and the mood boards.

Regards, Adam

——————–

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello ________,

Thanks for clarifying things. I believe there must have been a misunderstanding. What I meant to say during our call was that the $3,000 budget covers stuffs like retouching/editing and parking fees but not EQ rentals and assistant’s fees, that was why I asked for your assistants fees so I can bring it up with my team head. I sincerely apologize for the mix up. We’ll be able to cover fees for both assistants, EQ rentals and refreshments for the crew in a new budget. I’ll get back to you with more info on this when I hear back from my team head.

Warm Regards, Adam

——————–

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Good Morning ______,

That sounds good. I’ll let you know as soon as the new budget is approved. Thanks for accepting to take the job. I apologize for the delay in getting back to you with the mood boards and talents info. We just rounded up discussions with the talent agency yesterday.

The agency providing models, stylist, and H/MUA is Keele & Barton Talent Management and I will want you to discuss possible dates and locations with the agent (Andrew Barton) while I work on getting your upfront and the contract; you can contact Andrew on abarton@keeleandbarton.com or text on 631-770-7240.

I have attached the wardrobe mood boards to this mail for your review, I hope this helps with the creative direction. Let me know what you think.

Regards,

Adam Bartlett.

——————–

Adam,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have to ask: why doesn’t this talent agency have a working website?

Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi ————,

Thanks for your email. I believe they mentioned during one of our many meetings that their website is currently under maintenance and should be back up shortly before a shoot date is finalized. You could reach out for a better explanation on their side.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

Hi Adam,

I just tried calling you, but I got your voicemail. Not sure if you are already on holiday…

I have a few questions for you;

– When can you send the contract to me?

– Can you put in the contract what expenses you are paying for.

– When will I receive the advance payment?

– I heard from your contact Andrew at the agency. I’m a bit confused by some things in his email….

– I would prefer that Basement Approved pays his agency directly. He seems to think I am paying him?

– You mentioned in our conversation that you wanted “real people” models for this shoot. However, Andrew is showing me “beginner” models.

– He is also only showing me three models. Did you want me to look at more people before we decide?

– Andrew at the agency is asking to see location scouting images. Why? I have never had an model/hmu agency ask for location shots. Does he need to approve them? Just curious. :)

– You, and Andrew have said you will pay for “refreshments” for the crew. I assume that means snacks only?

I feel that since we are shooting a full day, that we should also provide lunch for all crew members. If we only provide snacks then people will be hungry. And hungry people don’t work very hard. :)

Let me know on the above. I am going to be working on the shoot today, before the holiday weekend.

Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

to me

Hi ————-,

Happy 4th of July. Sorry i missed your call yesterday, had to go be with the family for the holidays. Please find the answers to your questions below;

– When can you send the contract to me?

By Tuesday (7/7) or Wednesday (7/8), it should be fully drafted by then.

– Can you put in the contract what expenses you are paying for.

Yes sure.

– When will I receive the advance payment?

Once we receive the signed contract.

– I would prefer that Basement Approved pays his agency directly. He seems to think I am paying him?

We normally let photographers handle all aspects of the shoot including selecting talent agencies, casting of models and paying models but as i mentioned to you during our call, due to time constraints for the deadline, our clients who is also the sponsor of the shoot recommended an agency to source for the talents based on their specifications.

 

I haven’t worked with Andrew personally before but i’m told he’s good. I have had some bad experiences with talent agents in the past where they end up not being professional on shoot day because i wasn’t there to coordinate the shoot. This is why I thought being paid by the photographer who would be present for the shoot would be a better idea. Let me know your thoughts and if this is a deal breaker for you.

– You mentioned in our conversation that you wanted “real people” models for this shoot. However, Andrew is showing me “beginner” models.

We selected three models out of a total of six that were brought up that met the specifications of the project. However, I’ll suggest to Andrew to send com cards of the remaining three models so we can get your thoughts on them.

– He is also only showing me three models. Did you want me to look at more people before we decide?

Yes, I’ll let him know to send you the remaining three models to make a decision

– Andrew at the agency is asking to see location scouting images. Why? I have never had an model/hmu agency ask for location shots. Does he need to approve them? Just curious. :)

I was cc’d on the email. His responsibility isn’t to approve locations, I believe he wanted to know the locations selected in order to coordinate the logistics of getting his team there.

– You, and Andrew have said you will pay for “refreshments” for the crew. I assume that means snacks only?

I feel that since we are shooting a full day, that we should also provide lunch for all crew members. If we only provide snacks then people will be hungry. And hungry people don’t work very hard. :)

Yes I understand. Light refreshment in the morning and lunch would be provided for the whole crew. (No one needs to shoot while hungry )

Please let me know your thoughts on the answers and if everything looks good and i’ll send over the contract early next week. Have a lovely day and enjoy the holidays.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

Hello Adam,

I hope you had an amazing weekend.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

I am fine with all you have responded with, except for the issue around paying the agency. For tax reasons I do not want to have the responsibility of paying the agency fees. Thanks so much for understanding.

I spent a portion of my weekend looking at potential locations for your shoot. I have narrowed them down to two very strong locations. I think you are really going to like them.

I will send the location shots to you in a separate email on Monday.

I look forward to receiving your contract, and moving forward!

Best regards,

——————–

 Re: Upcoming Basement Approved Shoot

 

Inbox x

Andrew Barton <abarton@keeleandbarton.com
to me, adambartlett70

Hi ————,

I’m trying to touch base regarding the upcoming Basement Approved shoot. Adam and team informed me you’ll be creatively directing the shoot and requested we decided on dates, locations and details. We’re to provide 3 models, a Hair/MUA, stylist and a mini van for the shoot you will be coordinating.

Our total fee for the entire services is $6,200 including refreshment for the crew.

My team will be available to shoot any of the days from July 8th to July 19th, but I will be waiting for you to pick a date that best suits you. Also what are your thoughts on shoot location and will i be getting some scouting shots before the shoot day?

If you have any question, please feel free to email me or call on (631) 770-7240. www.keeleandbarton.com is presently undergoing maintenance for a 2020 new look and is offline at the moment but should be back up in no time. So I have attached the models’ com cards; Ray, Tory and Hannah fits into the profile Basement Approved are looking for.

Looking forward to a great shoot with you.

Thanks

 

— 

Sincerely,

Andrew Barton

(631) 770-7240

——————–

dam Bartlett
Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Good Morning Guys,

 

How are you today? ———-, thank you for sending in the scouting photos, I must say they look excellent and I do like them especially the graffiti walls and the combination of waterside, rail tracks and hills make for a good shot. These should work well for the urban theme we’re trying to achieve. Well done! I’m excited to see how the images turn out at these locations.

One question though. How far apart are these locations?

Regarding your questions; Yes the clothings would be sent from NY to the stylist in California and i’ll make sure to add some cool face masks as well. I’m attaching our Covid-19 safety plan currently implemented in our studios and offices, maybe you might find some safety features you’d like to incorporate for the shoot. I believe Andrew should be able to provide the model releases for the shoot.

 

I’m glad and satisfied with the production plan so far. I’ll finish the contract draft today with all the expenses being covered stated inside and send to you either at the end of business day or first thing tomorrow morning. 

Thanks once again for the photos, I’ll share that and other details with my team head to keep him in the know.

 

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

Andrew Barton <abarton@keeleandbarton.com
to me, Adam

Hello —————- and Adam,

 

Thanks for the detailed brief. I will let the talents know of this and get them geared up and working towards it. Also, shoot on the 17th sounds good but i’ll suggest we have a back up date as well just to be safe. I agree with Adam, the locations images look great. Awesome choice.

 

Please find attached com cards of some of our female models of African descent (Esme, Taylor and Mzahni) as requested. I took the opportunity to include Gabe and Eric who i believe also meet up with the BA specifications and have been approved by Adam and his team. Let me know your thoughts on them so we can decide which to use for the shoot.

 

Adam is right, i’ll provide the model releases and send them over. Yes we’re also providing a van for easy movement between locations and I would be driving the van on the day of the shoot and handling the insurance. My brother in-law is based in Oakland (Adams Point) so i plan on travelling down from LA a day before the shoot. Maybe we could meet up over coffee to go through the shoot plans for the next day.

 

I also had some questions/suggestions i’ll like your thoughts on so as to be fully prepared for the shoot.

 

  1. I know you mentioned hair/mu to start from 9-11. I’m thinking that the models should come to the shoot all set on hair and make up with just little touch up left so as to save time. What is your thought on this?

 

  1. If you’ll be handling the meals/refreshments for the crew, is it ok to let you know the refreshment preferences of my team so you can factor that in as well. My team would consist of just myself, three models, a Hair/MUA and wardrobe stylist.

 

Let me know your thoughts on the questions and i’ll work on it. I’ll also look forward to receiving the call sheet once we finalized the shoot details and be sure to be at the photo studio meeting point on time

 

Myself and the team are all excited about the shoot and look forward to working with you and your team soon.

 

— 

Sincerely,

Andrew Barton

(631) 770-7240

——————–

Expenses

to Adam

Hullo again Adam,

You are already proposing a $1500 advance that would cover 50% of my final fee. I would like to ask you for 50% of my estimated expenses as well. I generally always ask for both before any shoot.

Are you ok with that?

I would then, after the shoot, provide you with receipts showing what my actual expenses are.

So, in advance of our shoot, here are my estimated expenses:

Digital Tech Assistant: $450

Grip Assistant: $300

Crew Lunch and Snacks/Water/Coffee x9 people @ $20 per person: $180

Covid Precautions – Gloves, Masks, and Hand Sanitizer: $40

Equipment Rental: $375

Total Estimated Expenses: $1,345.00

50% of Estimated Expenses due before shoot: $672.50

——————–

Adam Bartlett
to me

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi ———–,

Thanks for working tirelessly on this project and being proactive with the production plans. You make working with you so easy and I appreciate that. I received your request for 50% upfront for the estimated expenses and will submit that to the accounting department so they begin working on it.

Also, I spoke with my team head today regarding your concerns about possible tax issues arising from paying the agency as you mentioned in your email, with that he reached out to Andrew to let him know about the situation of things and Andrew agreed to provide an invoice, W9 and any other tax documents when required. I hope this resolves the issue. LMK.

The contract is done being drafted and it just got signed on our end so i’ll be sending it over to you first thing tomorrow morning. Hope to hear back from you soon. All the best.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

to Adam, bcc: H

Adam,

Thank you so much for your kind words. It is my pleasure.

And thank you for making arrangements for the payment for estimated expenses.

Regarding my being in charge of paying Andrew. I try to stay away from having any W-9s when it comes to tax time. It gets complicated as a freelancer. As well, I really would prefer not to have the responsibility. I hope for those reasons you will allow him to invoice you directly. Thank you so much.

I look forward to receiving the contract from you – and to your response to my emails today. I’m so enjoying this process with you!

Warmest Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett
to me

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi ——–,

Sorry I couldn’t send over the contract yesterday as promised. This is due to the fact that although all estimated expenses have been included in it, the clause about having coordinate payments and plans with the agency was still in it. I had spoken to my team head regarding getting this edited but it seems like that might prove a bit difficult as a similar contract was signed with the talent agency which states that the photographer would be responsible for coordinating talent fees and directing the production of the shoot.

As it stands, i’ll have to refer the issue up the chain of commands to find a resolution which I fear might take a little longer than I hope for. I’ll be doing this today and letting you know. Once again, I apologize for the mix up and delay. Talk soon.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

 

to Adam

 

——————–

Hi Adam,

Am I in danger of losing this shoot over this issue?

I hope not. Please let me know.

Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett
Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:
to me

Hi _______,

Not atall. Sorry if my last email startled you a bit. You aren’t losing the shoot, just that we might have to put it on a temporary hold and possibly push the delivery date till we’re able to sort out the issue. What i’m not sure of is the time in between it might take to resolve this (you know how it is sometimes with office bureaucracy). Whichever way it goes, I’ll do my best to keep you updated. Thanks.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

to Adam

Hi Adam,

Hope you had a good weekend.

I’d really love to know where we are with the shoot.

I have crew and equipment on hold for this coming Saturday, our shoot date.

Will I have the contract today or tomorrow?

Please let me know.

Warmest Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett
to me

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi ______________,

I had a great weekend, thank you for asking. I hope you had one as well. I have sent out a situation report to my senior editor already and just waiting to get a reply and how best to proceed from here. I’ll get back to you before the end of the day.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

Adam Bartlett
to me, Andrew, H

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi _________,

Here are the answers to the remaining questions for my part:

**I would like to change the tentative shoot date to Saturday, July 18th. Our back-up day will be Sunday, July 19th.*
Does this work for everybody?

If it works for you and the talents then i’m fine with it.

Adam: What do you think of Mzahni as our second female model? Are you ok with her piercings, or would we have to ask her to remove them?

She was originally one of the shortlisted models we looked at and I believe she looks great. She can also have her piercings on, we’re totally open to them.

Adam: Are you ok with Ray as our male model?

Yes.

Regarding Hannah, the second female model you sent over – She is awfully thin. Adam, would you be ok with me asking Andrew to send over more female/white models? Or have you decided on Hannah?

I think we can go on with Hannah as our client has approved her.

——————–

to Adam, bcc: H

Hullo again Adam,

Thanks so much for answering my questions.

One more question: you refer in your email to “our client”.

I thought Basement Approved was the client? 

Regards,

——————–

Adam Bartlett
to me

Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi _______,

Basement Approved is the magazine I work for which will be publishing the images together with the article “Fashion In The Time of A Pandemic” on it’s website. The client however (Rag & Bone), like i mentioned in a couple of my emails to you is the sponsor of the project. Have you heard of them before? They are a clothing company based in New York and have been on the scene since 2002 and currently donate proceeds of each mask sold to health care workers across the country and those most affected by Covid-19 through the Center For Disaster Philanthropy.

I just heard back from my senior editor and she advised that since the contract with the agency had been signed already, we’ll need to negotiate new terms with them. I fear this might take a longer time. Would you be willing to go on with the original plan of coordinating payments with the talent agency or would you rather wait for a renegotiation?

If you decide to go on with the original plans, I’ll advise Andrew to provide all necessary documents like he promised. Also, if you’d prefer not to handle the payment and rather wait for the renegotiation, I’ll keep you in the know as things go. Please let me know your thoughts and we can go from there. Hope to hear back from you soon.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett

——————–

to Adam

Hi Adam,

Can you let me know where we are with a contract?

Thanks so much.

——————–

Adam Bartlett
Adam Bartlett <adambartlett70@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi _________,

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get the renegotiation with Andrew going yet as he’s been on a trip to Maui for a shoot out there and communication is rather sporadic but he promised to reach out today so I’m waiting on that. Would you by any way be open to going on with the original arrangement so as to save time and avoid possible delays? I can have the contract which has been drafted already sent out to you today. Let me know.

Warm Regards

Adam Bartlett