Advice needed - possible paid shoot

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I've just had the following email:

Hi,

I am a producer from Bradford, West Yorkshire.

I am releasing a new single at the back end of April. This single will be my best & most advanced to date so i will be looking to have some promo photo's taken for the press sheet and promotion campagin.

I would like to inquire about your servies. I really like your work and would like to know what sort of fees you charge.

If you could get back to me with all the required info, that would be much appreciated.

This is the first time anyone's got in touch with me about this sort of thing and I'm not really sure how to respond so any advice you chaps (particularly the pros, but everyone really) can give me would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
J
 
I can offer you no advice at all except for thing.......in your shoes I would try to check out the validity of the client. By the way, if it's because of your street shots, I'm not surprised. :thumb:

regards
 
The first thing you need to do Jamie, is find out a lot more about this guy. Is he representing a local band/artist. The bit about his next single being the most advanced to date, sounds like he might not be a really big player, although that might be misleading. You should e-mail him back asking for more info on the artist/group - anticipated sales etc., before you think about quoting him.

Producing music singles at any level is expensive and no-one works for nothing - hiring studios alone is horrendous money. This could be a really good job for you and good experience, but you need a lot more info before you start quoting prices. :)
 
and just to add to the great info above, DONT give your bank details out either.
all the best, and hope its bona fide..
 
Read PeteMc's started threads....lots of advice was given on prices etc.....& good luck :)
 
Most important, don't undersell yourself. If he's on the up and up he'll pay the going rate.
 
The guy's an independent hip-hop producer who puts his own vinyl out so he's on a budget. Gonna do this fairly cheaply as I've got friends who produce independently too and I know what it's like for them.
 
go for it m8, keep us informed of your progress.
 
fingerz said:
The guy's an independent hip-hop producer who puts his own vinyl out so he's on a budget. Gonna do this fairly cheaply as I've got friends who produce independently too and I know what it's like for them.

He's still in it to make a profit, don't forget that.
 
Seeing shots on your Blo I can understand why he would approach you to do shots for him:)

Cant offer any business advice, only the obvious:
1. Dont sell yourself short.
2. Dont give your ideas away - be guarded about what your ideas would be, dont want him getting someone else to do what you said would work.

And of course Good Luck:thumb:
 
Well he lives in Bradford and I've never been there in my life so I'll have to rely on him for locations (he wants outdoor, urban type stuff, which is understandable). But I think he has a few in mind.

I hear what you're saying about profit but I've met some of the bigger names in the UK hip-hop scene and even they sometimes just make £100 on a single release, after they've paid for pressing the vinyl and the studio costs. They usually distribute themselves. It really is a tiny scene at the moment and certainly nothing like its American counterpart.
 
Whatever you do and however it turns out Jamie ... enjoy and learn m8 ! You can only benefit from the experiance get better as a result !

Good luck & KUP ?
 
I've met some of the bigger names in the UK hip-hop scene and even they sometimes just make £100 on a single release, after they've paid for pressing the vinyl and the studio costs. They usually distribute themselves. It really is a tiny scene at the moment and certainly nothing like its American counterpart.

Ok so it's not going to make you rich but your work does seem to suit really well and you could end up being a very big fish in small pond if others want your look too.

From that, you never know......... :cool:

Just make sure that when/if you go to do the job, you have a backup for every peice of equipment you might need. I know this is far easier said than done but a bit of begging and borrowing is a good way to start. ;)
 
CT - cheers :)

Dazzajl - my friend Jeff already does a lot of photography for UK producers, DJs and MCs and I'd be very wary of stepping on his toes as he's taught me a lot and I'm really grateful to him.

Not sure where I'd be able to borrow any backup kit. Perhaps off Jeff but it depends if he's got any work on at the same time. If the worst happened, could I nip to a local Jessops and buy something on the card. Do they have a 14-day return policy or anything like that? Not ideal but better than nothing. And I don't have to worry about looking unprofessional too much as the client specifically wants it on a budget.
 
Jamie...see what you are saying about not much cash available, so go for prominent logo of your own....good publicity never hurts.
 
Cheers.

Just had another round of emails. Looks like the job will be in a month or so. No date yet. He's looking for a dusky, moody feel, like the shots of Ghost I put up a while back.

It might be that I have to stand by for good weather. I've told him I don't mind doing it for one or two days but obviously I'll be keen to avoid that wherever possible.
 
Well I'm not gonna splash a logo on the photos themselves but I've emailed him to say that:

A) In return for the discounted rate, I'd expect people who view the photos to be able to get in touch with me somehow. Preferably by having a credit and link to my site printed in small text in the pictures but it's up to him. And...

B) I'd be keeping the copyright on the images and licensing him to use them for promo stuff. If he was to want to use them for anything else in the future. he'd need to contact me.

Does that seem fair to you guys?

The only thing playing on my mind is magazine rights. He's specifically mentioned that he wants to be able to use them for magazines so I'll need to allow him to do that as part of the license, but what if he gets really famous and a magazine decides they want to use one of my pictures? is that my tough luck for giving him magazine rights or should I try to build in a clause that accounts for the fact he's currently not well known (ie not signed to a major label or anything).

I'm not sure.

Edit - what about if I tell him to let me know about magazine stuff (or get the mags to contact me) and then I can decide whether to ask their picture editor for money or not. And if it's small, national music mags then I can waive the fee but if I suddenly get a call from Hello magazine, saying they're doing a rags to riches story and want to use one of my pictures for the rags element, then I can ask for some cash... Hmmm... It's a tough one.
 
You could always limit the number of different magazines he can place the image in ...thus allowing a renegotiation of price if more is required.
 
I can't really add any advice as I only have my first paid shoot coming up in 1 month but I have to say the shots in your blog are bloody amazing!

No wonder he has contacted you.

Blog saved to favourites for inspiration :thumb:
 
Cheers for the kind words.

Looks like he wants to wait 1-2 months so there's a good chance of clear weather. Shame, because I'd got myself psyched up for it but at least I've got longer to repair (and get that annoying scraping sound fixed on my car, whatever it is).
 
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