The interesting thing to note is about "passion". I think passion is an important driver for any business. If you love your work, you will do better. But on the flip side, a business is a business. You have to run it like a business. IMHO those pros, mentioned above, can turn down jobs for personal shooting time because they can afford to, This is probably only because they already have a good viable business running and can afford to turn down some additional revenue. In the end, I think it is also about survival in the beginning, and attaining sustainability. Once you have reached a certain level of reputation and revenue stream, you can pull back a little and concentrate a little more on passion.
Ok, have some time here to share a TCSS story. Talking about sustainability, I guess over time like you said you already would have built a substantial base and a sizeable chunk comes from referrrals.
I just recently had an enquiry for a weekday wedding shoot, she was referred by a client (a relative in fact). Originally everything was ok,
PDF quotation read and gone through, obligatory discount given, she actually was sourcing for her daughter's wedding and she likes my work. The daughter seems pretty bo chup, just decided on a package and that's it. Mum and I agreed on the price and I was supposed to call the daughter to meetup / confirm with deposit.
Gave the daughter a call to confirm the timings and events happening so as to ensure that all extra costs. As expected, morning timings are kept mum as its unconfirmed and i conveyed my usual work timings. At night there is a confirmed ROM so need to arrive earlier. Conveyed that there is an additional cost involved for 1 hour but I am willing to discount and charge just 30 mins...its just to "cover". After putting down the phone, Mum called me back immediately to whack.
I was labelled as unprofessional and she is very disappointed, it is a wedding and the whole thing is supposed to be a packaged deal....how to have a happy working r/s with all these extras. Its supposed to be a "happy day", you see.
In the end I was just on the phone 4-5 mins listening to all the grouses about hidden costs and LUCKILY in the end I got what I wanted to hear, the deal was called off by them. During the conversation I did try to tell that its all quoted clearly in the PDF, but she told me not to cut her off when she's talking and let her finish. :sweat:
I was already standing by to tell them that I would be unable to take their wedding no matter what the price was, but it is a last resort as more often than not it would piss them off + we are in the service industry. But I mean, you gotta stand for your own rights?
The best thing is that they are not even my clients and I got whacked. :angel: No VG, 30 over tables and its not a restaurant, no way that there's no budget. (i would refrain from revealing my charges but its more than 1k so its not low cost kinda thingy)
I can't imagine what would happen if I continued, and more often than not there is a need to arrive early, as I do charge quite a lot for early morning arrival with an additional surcharge on top of additional hours. I forsee that it will get very "tiring" mentally, and you may not be fairly compensated for the work you do.
To continue with this "passion", I think sometimes you gotta stand for your own rights and not get abused, clients are not always right especially if they have not signed with you.
My current policy is that I do not over promise, so that I do not under deliver, the repercussions may be quite bad later on.
Enjoyed my reading about your thoughts and opinions. Very well written:thumbsup:
