Everyone's Favorite Thing About Being a Pro Photographer is...ESTIMATING! (You know it is.)

What do you charge when an Annual Report client asks for Unlimited Usage?  How about if a Corporate client wants you to travel across the country with an assistant?  And what about that job the local University wants you to bid for a day of shooting on campus?  Well, we can't tell you those answers (by law), because, frankly, there is no right answer.  What we can do for you, though, is help you to think about all the components that go into an estimate.  What kind of usage is your client asking for?  If they want people in the shots do you need to get models?  Is there equipment rental involved?  Is the retouching going to be done in house?  So much to think about!  Hence, Estimating 101.  

On Thursday, February 26, ASMP St. Louis hosted Estimating 101 at John Fedele's new studio in the Central West End, an event in which five local commercial photographers anonymously submitted one real life photography job each, and the rest of us got to bid it (also anonymously).  The jobs ranged from photographing an art piece for a gallery to a nation-wide campaign for a soft serve ice cream company.  Chapter president, Jeremy Deweese, and vice president, Jamin Leopold, dialogued as photographer and client while the members in the audience took notes on the details.  Anyone comfortable with estimating was welcomed to turn in their numbers (again, anonymously), which were then tallied and read aloud by secretary Julie Birkemeier.  The point of the exercise was not to reveal each other's secrets or get everyone to start charging the same amount.  Rather, it was to illustrate the wide range of numbers that can be estimated for any one job.  If you missed out on the night and would like to see the results click here.  You have to be an ASMP member though, so if you're not sign on up!