More is (every now and then) More
[by Barry Schwartz]
Speaking aesthetically, less is usually more. But not always so in business.
Your contract has a list of what you’re going to deliver; how many files, what size, that sort of thing. Expectations on both sides of the arrangement – what your client gets, what you expect in return – are well-understood. No surprises.
But sometimes surprise can be a good thing – even, to quote Martha Stewart – a beautiful thing. (Don’t laugh about Martha – she’s made a lot more money than any photographer and gets to appear on Letterman.)
Surprise can take lots of forms: you deliver early; or you find a way to reduce costs after the contract is signed and pass the discount on to the client; or after completion you send your client a gift, maybe a print of personal work or a good bottle of wine.
Perhaps the best surprise is to structure your work so you can offer your client so many fabulous images beyond the original number in your contract that they pick extra ones and pay you extra money for the privilege.
Imagine how happy that makes your client, too. Imagine how much more likely they’ll be to hire you again.
A beautiful thing indeed.
Barry Schwartz is a photographer, writer, and designer in Los Angeles, who has learned much from Martha Stewart but has no expectation he’ll ever be invited to appear on Letterman.
