From the software they use every day to their office to their insurance to their alarm service, they’re being billed based on the fact they’re a business, the size of their business, and their industry.

Costs (and client budget) scale with all of those factors. That’s why they’re commonly used, and why usage isn’t shortchanging the client (in fact, it’s beneficial to both the client and the photographer). If a fashion designer wants to shoot a spread for a doubletruck in a tabloid-size glossy magazine, that’s an entirely different shoot demanding different equipment and deliverables than a local florist that wants to send some 4×6 postcards to her customers.

Without usage, how do I readily and fairly account for clients in lower-budget industries, or with lesser demands? Do I tell them to go to hell because my business can’t scale to meet their needs? How do I shoot and process to give them the deliverables they need without a grip on the end product?

Whether you _call it_ usage or not, you’re charging usage fees if you’re billing your clients by their needs and your associated costs. That’s usage.

Creatives think their product is different than others and price based on usage. Most of your customers can’t do that and won’t like it when its done to them.