In todays episode of the podcast, we're talking commercial photography for wedding and portrait photographers. Why cover commercial photography in a wedding and portrait photography podcast? Because almost every wedding and portrait photography I know, shoots some commercial work and all have questions about copyright, usage rights, contracts etc.
Todays guest is Australian Photographer, Speaker and Educator, William Long, who is one of Australia’s most awarded commercial photographers. He recently earned his 4th Gold Bar for AIPP Master of Photography. He has been awarded Queensland Professional Photographer of the year, British Portrait Photographer of the year, he's been recognised for his excellence in Photography with a Fellowship by the British Institute of Professional Photography and a Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. William trained as a professional classical ballet dancer and has toured the world as a principal dancer with The Scottish Ballet.
Here's some more of what we cover:
Following what William shares, you should be perfectly placed to shoot any commercial work that you either seek or comes your way and have a good understanding of your requirements in regard to contracts, licensing and copyright. You should also come away with a new approach to pricing your commercial work and finally be getting paid correctly for what yore producing for your clients.
What's on Offer for Premium Members
If you're a premium member, you can access your version of the interview on the new podcast player or via your Premium RSS feed in your preferred podcast player. You'll hear lots more implementable content where we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed hard for that include:
What is your big takeaway?
Following this interview, I'd love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you'd like to implement or learnt from what was shared? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you'd like to ask or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.
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The Resources Page
Remember the ever expanding resources page that has a listing of products, programs, hardware, books and directories mentioned in each episode of the show. If you’re looking for something that a guest has mentioned on a previous episode but just can’t remember who or what it was – you’ll find it listed in order on the resources page.
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Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Australian Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines
Australian Commercial and Media Photographers (ACMP)
Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP)
Equipment
Chrome Nikon Nikkormat FTN SLR film camera; body only, no lens
Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L UD Aspherical Ultra Wide Tilt-Shift Lens
That's it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
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Thanks and speak soon Andrew
Great interview! Packed full of really valuable business practice.
I’ve used the ‘payment in full’ clause in my contracts for years. It really works. The fear for many photographers is that they might appear to be over-officious with their clients. In reality, good T&Cs and agreements protect both the photographer and the client, and will actually make you appear more professional and businesslike – and less likely to be taken advantage of. Everyone knows where they stand.
With regard to copyright, inexperienced clients often assume that as they’ve paid for a service they own the images. This can be especially difficult to explain to wedding couples. I do think though that photographers should be mindful of ‘over-zealous’ licensing that severely limits usage. In reality all that this does is encourage clients to just book the next photographer down on their list. It’s a fine line.
Great to read your comments James and good to read about your experiences.
I agree about the licensing points in regard to “domestic clients” – I’ve never had any trouble with retaining copyright and handing over unlimited usage rights to my clients. It’s simple and easy to explain and not too scary for them.
Couple of shots worth to view Commercial Fashion Photographer in Kolkata for modelling and acting portfolio
http://www.ipsitodas.com/best-fashion-photographer-kolkata/
This episode was packed full of useful info. I really appreciated how William touched on the reality of how people can be sometimes. It’s so true..if the client treats you well you’re so much more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty. And if they treat you like dirt, then they’ll have to pay extra if they want extra time, etc. I also enjoyed how he made everything more clear when it comes to copyright and licensing,etc. So yeah, thank Andrew for bringing us William and his insights. It was a great listen!
Joey Joiner
Thanks Joey – great takeaways and good to read your comments.
Great advise all around William. As a photographer who’s come from working in this area to now shooting weddings I can see how different the two genre’s are for photographers who cross over. I’m still learning how to properly manage the business side of my wedding business and finding that the same rules don’t always apply.
The point about not charging by the hour is a HUGE one and I think apart from wedding and portrait photographers finding this foreign the guys/girls coming from newspaper backgrounds are also struggling with this fundamental. I found what you said valuable but would also like to add that if your charging by the hour and you attempt to take the extra steps to make a good image amazing, ie wait for light, move furniture, bring in extra lights, clean surfaces, etc etc the client can get the feeling they are being had for more money and even if they don’t think your taking them for a ride the are still very conscious of time and may stop the shoot short in order to control the budget. If this means the images suffer it means that next time they hire a photographer the work you did for them wont look as good as it could have which might mean you don’t get the next gig. The flip side of this, and one of the best parts of charging for the ‘job’ is that all that extra effort you put in is appreciated by the client as extra effort. And they realise you care about the work you produce for them and they appreciate you for it.
Great to read your comments Stefan and love your point about the client possible feeling “ripped off” if charging by the hour then waiting for the best light or going the extra mile in post.
Thanks for adding your thoughts and wishing you every success in your wedding photography business.
Sorry this is a late comment, but I’ve just listened to this podcast for a second time and I found it so invaluable because I think it’s an area many photographers (including myself) need to pay a bit more attention to. I come from a media licencing background, but not photography related, so although I feel very confident in negotiating my T&Cs, the parameters that are relevant to a commercial photography job can be very different. This episode has given me a lot of clarity on commercial terms and also a way of thinking both creatively and commercially when it comes to getting more work. Thanks to William for sharing so much information.
I would love to hear more episodes like this because although the creative aspect of our work as photographers is so important, it’s equally important to understand and respect the commercial side of things if we want to be able to maintain a successful business.
I know I will probably listen to this episode again because I keep getting more out of it each time 🙂
No problem with a late comment – I see them all and will let William know too. He’ll be happy to read your message I’m sure.
I’ll keep an eye and ear out for guests who can offer other types of content and information like William has done in this episode – I agree, the more commercial and business content, the better for all photographers, no matter their genre. I’m pretty sure most photographers, wedding and portrait, all shoot some commercial work – I know I do.
Wow, blown away by the positive comments – just wow, thanks Andrew for letting me know about the comments 🙂
So many photographers are hesitant to ask for payment in advance, for fear that their clients will be annoyed or upset. But I think it’s necessary to protect yourself. It’s a full time job – not just taking the photos, but paying for and maintaining your gear/equipment and all of the time spent editing photos.
I’m with you Veronika, we need to be getting paid for the work we’re doing but also for running a business and all the cost that go along with that.
In syaning that, I don’t ask for payment upfront when shooting for commercial clients but I do not release the images or any usage rights till payment has been received in full.
All wedding client pay upfront and portrait clients must pay before prints are ordered.