Avoid Confusion – Talk About Usage
[by Shawn Henry]
The major point of confusion between clients and photographers with many photo assignments, both editorial and commercial, is the scope of the usage allowed by the photographer and those expected by the client. This confusion often results because the photographer fails to address the usage issue up front, instead relying on “boilerplate” terms and conditions on the invoice to limit the use, while clients are sometimes ignorant about the issue of usage altogether, believing “we paid for it, we own it.”
There’s no reason for this confusion to occur. As professionals, it’s our responsibility to address the scope of usage up front while we’re discussing our fees and production costs. In fact, the usage should figure prominently in how we determine our fees for the assignments we’re offered — the greater the usage, the greater the fee is the general rule of thumb.
The process needn’t be confrontational nor confusing. When I’m working with a new client, I simply ask how they plan to use the photographs — for magazine work, is it print only or is there a web component; for corporate work, will it be limited to the web, do they expect to print brochures, any advertising use? I then clearly outline those uses specified as well as a period of use in my estimate/contract, which I forward to the client prior to the job. If there’s an expectation of greater usage from the client, we negotiate the issue then.
Over the years, I’ve reduced the “boilerplate” language to a minimum because I’ve found that it’s often the paragraph after paragraph of boilerplate terms and conditions that frighten the client or in many cases prohibit the frontline editor or corporate contact who’s hiring me from signing the agreement. Once I reduced the boilerplate, I found that I had very little resistance…
Shawn G. Henry is currently a national board member of ASMP. He’s survived for more than 22 years as an Editorial Photographer…
2 Responses to 'Avoid Confusion – Talk About Usage'
Subscribe to comments with RSS or TrackBack to 'Avoid Confusion – Talk About Usage'.
Shawn-
Thanks for the post.
Is it possible to see a sample of your reduced boilerplate? I have had problems myself with the amount of language in mine as well, and would like to see what you have decided to keep and what you have gotten rid of.
Thanks in advance.
gg
Great points Shawn. As we continue to democratize the model and talent industry, we’ve learned to talk Usage at the very beginning of the engagement. Wrapped around the idea that our job is to solve problems, not create them, we’ve found that once the client understands we are on the same team, then the conversations are much more fruitful.
“…it’s our responsibility to address the scope of usage up front while we’re discussing our fees and production costs.” This is simply an opportunity to provide an education on your value proposition. Normal purchases are not paid for with Usage in mind (can you imagine if you bought a car based on a projection of per mile you drove? etc.) so often the client needs to change their perspective slightly. Then they’ll have a better grasp of how usage affects pricing (or ultimately if they are willing to pay for the ways they THINK they want to use the imagery).
After all, understanding the holistic client imagery need includes usage. So managing their expectations on the front end has consistently led to smoother finishes.