Cost analysis of a project brief

The overall costs incurred when working to a photo imaging brief can vary considerably. The costs vary due to the the type of brief that a photographer has to work to and the end product that is required by the customer. Image costs vary by the type of images reqiured by the customer for eg: whether they want low res images for production of websites to be viewed on the internet or high res images needed to produce printed media,books or wedding photos.


Estimates are hard to produce because, the main features that govern the overall costs of working to a photo imaging brief are unpredictable and all depend on the clients needs:


Time (Resources).


How much of the photographers time is taken up to shoot the required images depends on a variety of factors


This can vary considerably from photographer to photographer and what the end result the client requires. Some photographers price themselves by an hourly rate which include taking a variable amount of images over certain periods of time at a location of the clients choice. Others price themselves with an overall cost of hiring themselves including a studio complete with props models etc



Studio Time Costs 


Is it neccessary to hire a studio for the photography or can the photography be completed out on location? Studio time is very expensive and the overall price for a set of bespoke images can easily run from hundreds if not thousands of pounds

Some photographers have their own studio's and chargre by the hour to hire their studio's out to others photographers others let their studio's out to groups of photographers at slightly cheaper rates

Photographer's time is very expensive. Some have there ready equiped studio's ready to produce the images complete with Models,costumes,props etc this all adds to the overall cost of pruducing a set of images

Location photography Costs:


These costs can also vary considerably. A photographer may need to travel to various locations to produce the end set of images images.


Costs incurred could  be:

• Transport, Petrol and possibly car hire costs

• Accommodation which would include hotel bills

• Food costs as the photographer may be working a various remote locations,pub meals etc would become an additional cost

• Insurance. A photographer may include this in his overall price but their equipment is vary expensive and would need to be covered out on location for the threat of,theft and damage

Post production Costs


Costs can be pushed up even further as the photogrpher has to post process the images captured using image manipulation software such as Photoshop,this is the modern day digital darkroom. Most images require some kind of image processing and the process is very time consuming




Material Costs


There are various materials needed by a photographer to produce their end results and these vary in price dependant on the the client's needs


Printing
Print costs can vary considerably. factors governing this output include: print size,printing paper,print quality, Inks and papers


Photobooks 
The modern approach nowadays is show off images in photobooks,prices vary considerably with quality. £40 will buy a nice quality photobook moving into hundreds of pounds for higher quailty books


Digital media 
Cd's and Dvd's are an excellent way to store and transport images. Clients like to purchase a lot of these items to promote or sell their business's or to send to friends as presents

Contingencies

It is very hard to put an actual price on the costs to produce an estimate for photography services. There are a lot of costs involved that a photographer will incur and some of these charges are hidden which are not accounted for  

Contingency plans must be put in place to allow for the unexpected. A bank account with substancial funds would need to be in place to cover for cancelations,none payments,bouncing checks,illness etc, payment for a photographer's services are not always guaranteed

Weather conditions are not always ideal when working on loction and contingentency plans have to be taken into consideration again. Transport to and from various locations may be cancelled which could push up the costs and this could prevent the photographer getting to the location adding more time to the photogrphers costs

A photographer working for himself has to have a certain amount of money set aside to cover a contingency fund.

Contingency funds must be put in place to allow if the Photographer becomes ill and cannot continue with their work and photo shoot's. A second photographer may have to be put in place to allow for illness and to honour excisting contracts and work

Equipment is another major cost for the photogrpher and any failure with cameras,lighting etc can be very expensive. A photogrpher may have to purchase secondary cameras or additional equipments so a contingency fund must always be available to allow for replacement of this equipment

Most photographers use a laptop and other various pc's and software to run their businesses. If this equipment is lost,stolen or fails and needs replacing at a moments notice this can put a considerable ammount of strain on the photographers resources so a sizable contingency fund needs to be in place to replace these items 


Contingencies have to be considered if the photographers camera fails or is stolen. This is the photographers main piece of equipment and is absolutely critical to any photography shoot. A second or third camera must always be carried by the photographer at all times and this also pushes up the costs of resources



Mark Up


A mark up must be added to the overall costs a photographer charges. This margin allows for a profit to be made to cover a lot of the photographer's costs such as equipment,wages and business costs etc. This mark up is passed onto the customer in the final price of the photography for their images and services