Understanding the Bidding Process for Professional Photographers
Never just “pop off’ a price without knowing what is really being asked.
Lots of photographers want to go professional, but do not know the ins and outs of the business enough to even know where to start.
First, you must be a very good photographer, have great organizational skills, be honest, understand budgets, and realize your role in the creation of visual elements for those who need them.
You know all that, right?
Good… let’s get onto the article on understanding the bidding process.
There are many phrases that strike terror in the hearts of photographers.
“Hi, mom. Is it OK if your camera accidentally went into the dishwasher?”
“Hi, this is Agent Wells, and I am Agent Smith. We are from the IRS… may we come in.”
“Great portfolio. How much would you charge for doing this assignment.”
Bidding is always a challenge at first. I have found that after about 70 years in the business it begins to get easier. I am told, anyway.
We are going to start with the small gigs first and examine how a photographer, or any creative actually, should approach these different tiers of clients.
Mom and Pops. Small businesses need your work. Whether the images are for an Instagram campaign, a local magazine, a website, or online branding, photography is the leading tool for marketing.
Bidding a job for a mom-and-pop or entrepreneur has its own challenges. They are sometimes art director, producer, and client all rolled up into one possibly neurotic person. They are unsure of what to do, and the photographer must be very careful and totally transparent in what they are doing.
Mom-and-pops may need a lot of handholding, and they may not know exactly what they are looking for, so you have to guide them to the right answers. This means tight controls on additional expenditures, tracking all the work, and NO surprises in the billing.
Bidding for larger companies and ad agencies has a bit of an advantage in that they have done this before. While the larger clients are fundamentally the same, the difference is that with an ad agency you are dealing with a middle-man situation as the agency is rarely the final client.
Usual corporate assignment work will come from the Marketing / Communications department. Referred to as MarCom, these departments can be as small as one person or as large as an entire floor.
Or two.
MarComs are like ad and PR agencies that are in-house. In larger corporations, you may find C-level managers working with a creative staff that could dwarf many medium-sized ad agencies.
Occasionally these MarComs will work with outside agencies on special assignments, or if a specialty is called for that they cannot handle… like TV or Radio.
The basic structure is the same as an ad agency. Creative leads work with art directors and designers on everything from cafeteria menus to annual report documents.
And they hire photographers when they need them.
Ad agencies can run from one-person shops to entire buildings devoted to making and creating advertising for consumers and B2B businesses.
The creative team leads are usually called Creative Directors, and then right under them, you have Art Directors, Designers, and Junior Designers.
The largest agencies may also have a position titled “Art Buyer”. These have become a bit rarer but in the largest agencies, so usually you will be face-to-face with creative directors and art directors.
Creative Directors are the final approval point for most hired freelancers. Art buyers can be the most important influence on who gets hired when working with an agency that uses an art buyer.
Art buyers look at work. Think of them as casting agents. They steep themselves in the creative work that the agency is doing and then look at the photographers that come in as a sort of matchmaker.
The Art Buyer will assemble a selection of photographers and the final decision will then be made by the Creative Director or the Lead Art Director for the final hire.
In agencies without an art buyer, the senior art directors and Creative Directors will make that call.
Your job is to stay top of mind with art buyers, creative directors, and art directors. And I personally think that special efforts should be cultivated toward the junior art directors as well… they don’t stay junior art directors forever, you know.
Bidding a job for an ad agency differs from a mom-and-pop because ad agencies and MarComs KNOW the way the business works, and are familiar with rates and rights and copyright.
That does not prevent them from asking for a buyout with no extra compensation, and oh, by the way, can you do the job gratis cause the last guy screwed it up and used up all their budget, but no problem they will make it up to you next gig…
Yeeeaaahhhh… no.
Always remember you do not have to agree to anything, but they may ask. And they have every right to. They are in business.
When working with an agency or Marcom, I find the most efficient way to get to a fair and equitable price is to ask questions. Lots of questions. The answers can make the bidding process go so much smoother.
If you know the information you are requesting, and you articulate the bid, they will understand that you know what you are doing. A bad bid structure can scream “I’m a total NOOB and I just want to hang around supermodels…”
You are going to be asked, point blank, ‘what’s it gonna take to do this”?
Simply blurting out a price without asking a lot of questions will reinforce in their minds that you do NOT know what you are doing.
And that’s never a good position to be in.
Getting the answers to questions can make the bidding process so much easier, with a complete understanding of what is going to happen.
First, let’s find out if we can actually do the gig.
1. When is the shoot scheduled and when are the final files due? If you are already booked, it may not make sense to pursue this bid. Finding out what they have in mind can also help you look at your schedule with different priorities. If it is 30 below for the next month and the shoot is in the Bahamas for a week, it could make a wee bit of a difference… heh.
2. How did you find me? This is important to know. If they found you off the web, they may have been looking for someone in your area, or with your expertise or vision. The fact that they were looking for talent instead of working with someone they know is also good information to have. If you were referred, then you are ‘endorsed’, and that carries third party weight that may give you an edge. (It also means a thank you note to the referrer.)
3. Are there layouts and are they flexible? As a former agency Creative Director, I can not stress enough how important it is to understand the process of working with clients to get approvals. The CD and AD and their teams may have gone round and round with the client for approval of the layout they have. It is the fruit of many late-night negotiations and lots of bitter, too-old coffee. Don’t take for granted that it is a guideline and you can do what you want. Do what is asked before going off on a tangent… and in my agency, tangents were always welcome.
Sometimes you can do the gig, and sometimes you can’t. It may not be something you are comfortable with. (For instance, I do not fly in planes that are too small for someone to bring me a drink… ya know.) Find out before you bid so you can make the necessary plans to work within the approved needs of the shoot.
4. Usage: What are the plans for this shoot? Is it for TV, print, web… all of it? Knowing what the final use is can help you bid on the job. Not only from a price point but from a gear and team point as well. Knowing what you are shooting for is absolutely important for creativity as well.
5. Who will be doing the legwork and pre-production? Will your studio be in charge of props, models, stylists, location scouting, craft services, and transportation? Or are they contracting those out to their own vendors? Why bother bidding that stuff if they are going to provide it, and knowing how they work with the outside vendors in these situations is also good knowledge for future bidding. (Note: some of these may of course be broken out… the agency has a location scout, but looks to you for hair and makeup. Good to know so you can bid accordingly.)
6. Will there be a need for extra insurance? Jewelry, pre-release electronics, and possibly dangerous locations may require additional insurance… who is purchasing that? If it is you, then you should already know a broker you can work with. This may require quite a bit of additional resources, and the agency/MarCom needs to be aware of those costs.
7. How will location costs be handled? Are they up to you and to be included on the final bill or will the agency be handling that through their own people? (NOTE: I am a photographer, not a friggin’ bank. The more of these upfront charges I must bear, the less capital I have to work with. And if the agency is going to take 60–90 days, my capital is tied up in a job I already completed… I personally do not front gigs, but there are some photographers that do. You will have to choose which way you go with the knowledge of how much capital you can work with.)
8. Who will be on set or location to approve the work? Will it be a senior AD, someone from the client side, or both or will the work be done by the photographer without approval and supervision of the shoot. (Note: that rarely happens in big ad / MarCom shoots, but it can be found in some genres — adventure photography for one.) If no one is on the set to approve, then they have already agreed to purchase the images… that is in my contract and it needs to be in yours.
9. Who will be handling post-production? Will you and your studio be doing all of that post-work, or will images be delivered for the agency to work with? On hard drives or FTP? Formatted or RAW? What level of post-production is required?
Some of this is based on your style. If you are a very manipulative photographer creating photo illustrations, it may naturally fall to your studio to do the post. If you are more of a ‘straight’ photographer, they may want to handle the post-production themselves for consistency across their presentation.
However, if you feel that post-processing is something that is indeed a part of your work style, then let them know that you prefer to do the post, and include it in your bid. They will say yes or no. And you can do with that information what you will.
10. Options? There are always options. What kind of licensing do they want? What kind of licensing do they need? Sometimes the two are not the same, and it behooves you to help your client understand the best way for them to go to get what they need.
And not only in the licensing area but in the entire shoot. Become an ally, a partner in the work. Help them see how something can be done better, with more efficiency, or with a different spin. Showing genuine enthusiasm is quite important and can help tilt the scales in your favor.
When you know the answers to these questions, you will be able to look at that blank piece of paper and start to fill in the line items with much more ease and accuracy than if you had no clue. Eliminating the frustrating parts of not knowing, makes the tally simpler and more in tune with what they are asking for.
There are lots of other questions that may be needed, especially for location work (permits, travel, sherpas… all the things and personnel you may need to interface with on the shoot.
One quick thing… photographers are visual people. Why do so many of them use boringass, crappy bid forms? Make your bid something wonderful to behold. Add photographs, good typography, design…
Other visual people will pick up on your attention to detail, and remember you.
And that, my snap-happy friends, is what a lot of this is all about.
I am a photographer, designer, and photo editor. You can find me at my self-named website or at Project 52 Pro System (enrollment begins January 6, 2023) where I teach commercial photography online. This is our tenth year of teaching, and it is the most unique online class you will find anywhere.
Check out my newsletter and community at Substack. We are new, but growing.
You can find my books on Amazon, and I have taught two classes at CREATIVELIVE.
