Establish Yourself as a Personality Rather Than a Commodity

By this, I mean you need to justify what makes your approach to the assignment unique and why YOU are best qualified for the job – beyond what they have seen in your portfolio. It’s okay to assume that the client already likes your work and that they consider you to be a good choice for the assignment since they are asking you for an estimate. Your real challenge is to establish a comfort level with your personality, and a confidence in how you approach their project.

Ask Questions

When you are asked to provide an estimate, be sure you have a basic template of questions that are relevant to ANY assignment you have to estimate, such as final usage and production requirements. This will reassure your client as to your competence and will provide you with the information to provide an accurate estimate.

Don’t be Afraid of the Money

Ask for what you need to do the job properly. Once you have established what is required, either enlist a producer if it is an advertising client, or contact the proper people to execute the shoot, and get their day-rates. Clients understand that there will be hair and makeup, styling, assistants and location scouts.

Know What you are Willing to Negotiate On

This is different for every photographer and every assignment. Some photographers are willing to negotiate on usage rates but not on day fees. Be clear in your own mind what you are willing to reduce rates on, and produce an assignment that will please the client and allow you to make a profit.

Do Not Give “Ballpark” Figures

If you give a ballpark number, you are essentially locking yourself into a price that may or may not be realistic. It is totally acceptable to ask for some time to produce an accurate estimate. Offer up a realistic time frame to create it and explain the reason. Time is always of the essence and clients are always in a rush, however, if you jump to a ballpark figure under pressure, you are setting yourself up for potential problems. Remember, once you quote a price it is next to impossible to raise it unless the client changes the scope of the project.

Use Silence to Sell

After you have provided your client with an estimate, do not to rush in to fill in the silence or provide reasons or excuses as to why your fee is what it is. Give your client time, at least a few seconds, to digest the information and let them state their objection or approval. I have been surprised how many times clients have stated that my estimate is fair when I gave them the chance to tell me this.

Validate Others

Once you have provided an estimate, there will usually be some negotiation involved – even if it’s not a financial one. You may need to negotiate on timing, the number of assistants required, locations or other line items. It is important to let your client know that you understand there are a lot of people involved in determining the requirements of a shoot, and you are willing to be flexible in order to satisfy their needs in the most cost-effective and time-efficient way.

Don’t be Defensive

One of the reasons photographers have agents and consultants is to help keep emotions out of the negotiation process when explaining the specific reasons and strategies you used in determining the estimate structure and fees.

Ask What’s Working

This is a great way to establish what is positive about your estimate and create a dialogue that will provide you the opportunity to address specific objections.

Can you Tell me Why you Would Like to do it This Way?

Asking this question gives the client an opportunity to offer their ideas, as well as give you the insight as to why something needs to be done a certain way.

Know Your Bottom Line

If you do not feel their budget will allow you to do a job you will be proud of, or make a profit, be prepared to WALK AWAY. This is perhaps the hardest thing for photographers to do because more often than not, they just want to do what they love. However, this is a business like any other, and you should not feel you have to compromise or make concessions that you are not comfortable with. If it’s an editorial job that you feel will enrich your portfolio and give you exposure AND is worth a financial loss, then it might be an opportunity you want to seriously consider. Overall, just know your bottom line.