A Question to the Commercial Photographers...

an acquaintance recently approached me with a proposition. he just turned down a handful of jobs shooting hotels because he has no experience using a view camera and that is a requirement. he came to me and offered the contracts to me, and i think it's only fair for us to divide to proceeds in some equitable fashion. he couldn't do the job without me, as it will be shot with my view cameras and my skills using them; i couldn't do the job without him, as they are his contacts that made the job possible.

so, what would you suggest as a fair division of proceeds?

thanks,
scott

Find out what an agent would charge you in your area, since that's basically what his function was.

Scott

See him as an agent. What kind of cut do they take?
I would think 80/20 would be ok, if one is a seasoned pro....
Then maybe 70/30?
Do you have experience doing interiors? It's quite a bit of work!
Will you be needing to set any kind of lighting?
I assume so and guess that it will be his equipment.
Maybe in this case 70/30 or 60/40?
Be they strobes then they are not cheap to buy or even maintain.
In this case it might be fair to offer him a little more.
Should you have taken this job entirely yourself then you would need to rent the
lighting. What would that cost in comparision to equipment that is already available
through your friend?

Hope this may help you some.

Fotograf Tedd Soost

If he's just turning the work over to you (with the client's permission, of course), I'd give him 20% for the referral. If he actually helps you with the shoot, something closer to 40% might be appropriate.

I hate to play the Dutch Uncle again, but...

Arrive at a mutual understanding with your friend as to the difference between gross fee quoted to the client and net profit after expenses, as the basis for the percentage of split monies.

Since timely payment in full on commercial jobs is a rarity, you might also work out whether he expects you to pay him a fee even if the client reneges on yours.

More than once, over the years, I have been left to pay the cost of the film to the camera store and the cost of processing to the lab and the model fee to the agency and the assistant's day rate out of my own pocket because the client went out of business or the employee who ordered the photography left the company.

You can lose friends by getting involved together in commercial photography projects. Just another cheery thought from the Old Master ;0)

Another flag of caution is that the client is willing to hire a photographer with no architectural photography experience to do architectural photography.

While it is nice to be hired based on your reputation, I always worry when someone doesn't even bother to check out the merchandise. It could mean that they don't really have a stake in the proceedings or a whole host of bad things.

Then again, this could be a fun, profitable, and educational experience. You have to use all your intuition and people skills to discern the best course. Be very clear what is being bought and sold - in simple language - and GET A DEPOSIT to cover your out of pocket expenses no matter what.

20% to an agent is the going rate.

Act professional and create a simple paper trail using a straight-forward "letter of agreement" that spells out what it is you'll be doing for how much, what the delivery and payment terms are (and what you'll actually deliver), and who owns the rights to the images. You can also base things on a pricing menu, as often inexperienced clients don't know what they want.

All the typical architectural photo question about balancing light sources, super wide angles, and fluffing the pillows are no wheres near as hard as the essential one - getting paid fairly and satisfying all involved.

I don't think it's all that complicated. I give other photographer freinds jobs all the time when I'm too busy to get to something, and they do the same for me. That is why I only ask for a couple growlers of Left Hand Brewery suds. If it was a really big job that's going to turn into a long term client for them, then I go for a couple cases.

thanks for all the great suggestions fellas! frank, i didn't mean to infer that we have no experience with architectural photography, as that is plainly not the case. he has no experience with a view camera, but has done lots of work with smaller format film and digi cams. i will certianly call some agents in my area and see what they are charging... that's a wonderful suggestion.

thanks all, you guys made this a lot simpler.
scott