Management roles,structures,situation management

Running a photography business a photographer must be responsible for the whole management of the company and also manage the different structure and roles within the  business. You have to be a very versatile person to full fill the various roles associated with this business. If he or she is the only person running the business then they will be responsible for all of the different roles that a small business needs to function properly


I have outlined the major roles that a single photographer will have undertake to make their business successful


The Managing Director:
Responsible for the everyday running of the business making major key decisions,financing the company,keeping the company afloat.Looking ahead in to the future to outwit competition and make sure that the company remains competitive


The Manager:
Usually controls the management of staff and resources of the company. Makes sure the company runs smoothly without any hiccups. Make sure deadlines are adhered to.Responsible for organisation of studio hire,venues, props, models and equipment and making sure everything runs smoothly. Buying equipment and managing resources while sticking to tight budgets and deadlines.


The Administrator:
Responsible for the everyday upkeep of all correspondence and finances associated with the business,sending out appointments,filing documents,typing spreadsheets,sending payments,cheques etc


The Salesperson:
In this role the photographer is responsible for finding work and marketing the company. Advertising the company or services to produce more work.Producing promotional material such as advertising,flyers,chasing up leads of potential customers


The Photographer:
Responsible for the production of the images for the customer. Needs to be very alert and quick thinking with major decisions taken at an instant. This role entails many roles within a role. For example,wedding photography, managing equipment ,organising the shots, organising people telling them where and how to stand, managing all his equipment and lighting on the day
Also responsible for post processing of the images and making sure that they are produced exactly as the the project brief requested


The Customer Services Manager:
Responsible for problems and complaints that the customer may have. Must be able to investigate complaints and resolve issues that may occur quickly and efficiently. Keeping the customer happy at all time is a very important part of the business for future orders and continued success


The Quality Controller:
The need for quality in the business of photography is second to none.The end product ,the photographs,need to be in pristine condition and produced exactly to the customers specifications and requirements. Quality needs to be controlled right from the start of image capture to the final prints. Producing a good  end product  at the right price will always bring in repeat orders and continuing work and also help to market the business in the future




Situation management


Situation management can be a large concern for the photographer and there are a whole lot of varying issues that need to be taken into consideration.There are many problems that may arise on the day when the the photographer records the images.The photographer must therefore have contingency plans in place to allow for when the inevitable problems happen.

The photographer must envisage these problems before they happen and produce very good managerial skills by having solutions ready in place when things do go wrong

When problems do occur the phtographer must identyfy these problems quickly and find solutions as soon a possible. The problems need to be reviewed and measures need to be put into place to prevent them happening again in the future 

Problems will always occur so the photographer needs to look into how to stop them re-occuring or prevent them happening in the first place. 

I have listed below some of the most common problems that may occur while photographer's are going about their everyday business


If travelling travelling far and wide to different locations,hotels may be double booked so new accommodation must be found which may be possibly more expensive than originally thought which could all add to the photographers costs


A photographer may loose photographs,memory cards, a wedding album may be lost or stolen. so good management procedures must be always be in place to allow for these catastrophes
Backups of these types of media are paramount

Losing or breaking the camera is a major concern to the photographer as these are the tools of his trade A second camera is paramount and possibly even a third may be needed to accommodate for breakages or malfunction


Models not turning up for the photo shoot is another problem. The model may become ill during the shoot.The photographer needs to have backup models on standby to help shoot the images. If a customer is waiting on a set of images time is very inportant so management of these resources is paramount


The weather can always be a nuisance to the photographer and cannot be relied on or predicted in this country. If shooting out doors in this country he must allow for possibly shooting the images inside as the weather can turn in a matter of minutes. A good photogrpher will always keep an eye out on the weather forecast before planning a shoot


The management of all of these problems must be considered and to stop them re-occurring or even preventing them in the first place.The shoot may take a whole lot longer than anticipated to produce the desired images,so contingency plans must be considered and time management plays a major factor in the photographers life

Work flow and preparing a flow chart

Work-flow and preparing a flow chart

A photography workflow is made up of a sequence of steps that a photographer has pre planned and works through to complete the process of producing his photography.

This process normally starts with the initial idea or project brief to produce a set of images on a given theme. The workflow then proceeds through a set of stages until the final images are delivered to the customer.There are a lot of steps involved in the workflow process, I have outlined some of the major ones below:

Inception or project brief

The starting point of the process.This can be working to a project brief or working to a basic idea that  the photographer has initiated. Some of these steps will involve arranging meetings with clients to discuss the project brief and initial ideas which a photographer needs to document to produce a work flow. Ideas are presented by the photographer or pre defined by the customer and a plan can be formulated to create a work flow that both parties understand and can follow.The client would be updated on the progression as the work flow proceeds


Estimate costs and resources


Is the photography going to to be taken out on location or will it be shot in a studio? Will there be travel,hotel costs?will a studio need to be hired? will models need to be hired? These are just some of the possible costs and considerations that a photographer may incur.Costs need to be estimated for what resources are needed to produce the photography. This initial assessment is vital in the work flow and very important for both parties to understand and estimate final costs to produce the photography which are all essential to produce a successful work flow.


Time is an essential factor that must be included in the cost analysis,time is money!.
Hour and hours cane be spent by the photographer, preparing the shots,getting the shots right and then post producing the final photographs to a high satisfactory level. All of this is very time consuming and adds large sums of money to the photographers expenses


Select Locations


Arrange photography locations. This could be in a studio or at a specific location outdoors. Finding the correct location well in advance before shooting the images is essential as a photographer's time is very expensive Dates will have to be pre booked if hiring a studio,travel arrangments will have to be put in place if shooting at a specific location. A plan of the shoot would have to be documented beforehand to time manage the photography and make sure all
all models,props,backgrounds and sets are all in place at the chosen locations

Meetings and communications

Regular meetings must be kept with the client to outline any changes to the original project brief or to notify of any additional costs that may occur. Meetings will also include identifying time-scales,confirming deadlines,producing updates,making alterrations to schedules. A progress report is essential to reassure the customer that everything is still on track. One of the most  convenient forms of communication is email, used by all of us everyday all over the world. Using this method of communication is instant,electronic mail can be sent and read instantly. Sample images,instructions and changes of plans can be forwrded instantly and read by the recipient in seconds

Shoot images

Shooting the images may take a while to produce if shooting out on location for various reasons. Weather conditions may not always be ideal and rain,dull and cloudy conditions which may persist could cause setbacks to the planned times scales. Other complications may arise,models not turning up or stuck in traffic for example. It's essential that the images are shot before a given deadline which will allow plenty of time for the images to be post processed and printed etc


Arrange a post  shoot meeting with the client 

This is an essential part of the workflow,it is very inportant to arrange a meeting with the client at this time after the images have been shot to discuss the final images.There may be a large amount of images that the photographer has produced and these need to be thinned down to select the best images that the client requests. At this stage confirmation of the final images and how they are to be post processed must be agreed before the work flow can continue

Post process images


Images need to be post processed. This is the process of maniputaling  your images using various types of software to change the overall appearancec of the final images


Photoshop is the main piece of software used to perform these transitions and can transform a dull lifeless unintersting image into a really vibrant eye catching image using a variety of different processes and tools. These include dodging and burning,sharpening, cropping etc. Images will then need to be graded and batch processed ready for the type of output that the client has requested


Images will need to be converted  from raw files to a more useable format such as JPG.
A final meeting with the client may be needed at this stage to view the final images to discuss the final file format


Output


This is the process of outputting the final images to the preferred medium of the clients choice. The majority of clients prefer their images to be printed. This would normally be photographs, photo books, posters or calendars. Other methods include the production or DVD's or CD's for promotional use etc. Other clients just want to purchase the final files which they use for web use and the Internet. They will produce websites or use the file on the internet for promotional  business uses etc.


Deliver product and final meeting


The final product is delivered to the customer. A meeting with the customer is essential to receive feedback and discuss product satisfaction and reflect on the photography taken. Delivering a first class product and service well within given time scales is essential for repetition of orders and recommendations to other potential clients.When the customer is satisfied with final product present the client with the final bill

Arrange payments

Payments with your customers must be completed now and an invoice for payment is presented. Some photographers demand payment straight away as they hand over the end product others allow a certain amount of time that the outstanding bill may be paid

Digital Work flow


Shown below here is a digital work flow I have researched on the Internet which outlines a lot of considerations that must be thought about before completion of the final images

Below is a Formatting error on my text I cannot resolve

There was a time when photographers bought strips of material called film. They'd put this material inside their cameras and take some pictures. When they were done, they'd take it to a photogrphy lab to be processed Here, people in white coats would process them and return in a few hours with actual photographs. This was the old fashioned workflow

Today, many of us don't use film. We have sensors, chips, flash cards, megapixels, and files. We don't look at our nagatives over light boxes, or store the film in filing cabinets. Instead, we sit at a computer managing our workflow We've become experts in IT, dealing with new concepts such as metadata etc


Shown hers is the definition of a print workflow taken from the dictionary "the sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion".

Nowdadays, I have to consider a lot of factors along the print worflow,such as,What did I shoot and where? Where are my images stored and are they safe? Having a solid workflow keeps you organized, and allows you to focus more on the creative process than worry about the disposition of your images.

Workflow begins before you pick up your camera to shoot and record your images. You need to consider all sorts of things: Will you shoot raw files, JPEGs, or both? Is your camera's clock set to the right time. If you're using more than one camera, are their clocks synced? Is the color space correct? Will you back up your images while on location or leave them on your memory cards? 

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Legal & Ethical Considerations

There are a lot of legal and ethical considerations that photographer's have to consider throughout their careers to produce their photography. There are a lot of laws that a photographer has to be aware of and may easily come into conflict with if not the properly versed with up to date laws that apply to a photographer
Listed below are the subjects that may be of concern and may affect  how a photographer goes about his or hers everyday work


Law of trespass 


This has to be taken into consideration. Photographer's have to be careful they remain on public land and public places in pursuit of their images,it's very easy to stray onto private land and private property which could result in prosecution
Shopping centres for example can be considered as private places and the owners have the right to expel a photographer taking images on their properties


Shown below is an extract from a website I have researched on the Internet which I find is a really good guide for a photographer which outlines all the major laws and photographers rights

http://www.how2fundraise.org/OneStopCMS/Core/CrawlerResourceServer.aspx?resource=D9C09F0D-16DB-4F20-92DA-CA8B1FE90462&mode=link&guid=41c98c36a1c54e1283d1b27391e36803



Obsenity law


Law established by the Obscene Publications Act of 1959 prohibiting the publishing of any material that tends to deprave or corrupt. In Britain, obscene material can be for example pornographic or violent, or can encourage drug taking.There is a defence in support of the public good if the defendant can produce expert evidence to show that publication was in the interest of, for example, art, science, or literature. 


Copyright


A copyright basically allows the author of a photograph (the person who took it) control over how that picture is copied, transmitted and reproduced. Copyright issues have become more commonplace since the birth of both digital cameras and the internet because people now have far more freedom and flexibility when they share images, and it is all too easy to copy or post an image that you do not own


People may be unaware of copyright laws on the internet. When they  reproduce an image in digital form and copy it many times without consent of the person who took the original image they are actually breaking this law


Copyright law is there to protect your images and prevent you taking credit for other peoples work.



Health and safety at work act
All workers have a right to work in places where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Health and safety is about stopping you getting hurt at work or becoming ill caused by your working environment. Your employer is responsible for health and safety, but the employee is also resposible must follow giudelines set out by this act

The main piece of legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA). All work places are covered by this legislation which says that an employer must do everything reasonably practicable to provide a safe and healthy workplace with adequate welfare facilities. HSWA has been supported and extended by various sets of regulations, codes of practice and guidance, all of which deal with various aspects of health and safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the government body which decides upon and implements health and safety policy.


Please see a more detailed Health and safety document I have compiled on blog "Health and Safety Considerations" (Unit 205)


Photography of children or Minors

IIt is important to note that there is no law against photographing children. You are perfectly within your rights to take a photograph of a child. Ridiculous stories are common of parents being told to put their cameras away at dance competitions or swimming pools.

There are some common sense guidelines that you should keep in the forefront of your mind when photographing children. The first of these is that, where possible, you should always seek approval from a parent or guardian before you begin shooting. This is particularly important if you are doing street photography. Photographing children in public places can be controversial and is also a sensitive issue,permission should be granted first and with this in mind no real problems are encountered


If in any doubt, I would suggest when taking photo's of minor's always make sure that the parents are present when the photography takes place. I would then show all images to the parents and ask for their approval before the images are processed or printed



Contract Law



A contract intends to formalize an agreement between two or more parties, in relation to a particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters, including the sale of goods,property,services etc


In order to be valid, the parties to a contract must exchange something of value. In the case of the sale of the photographs, the buyer receives something of value in the form of the photographs and the photographers services, and the seller receives money for these services and the images


There must be an offer and this must be accepted to make an agreement. While this would in the first instance appear to be self explanatory, it is important to distinguish between what the law says amounts to a valid offer. An offer can be made orally, in writing or by way of conduct.

Contract: the elements of a contract

The first step in a contract question is always to make sure that a contract actually exists. There are certain elements that must be present for a legally binding contract to be in place.

Shown below are the two most common elements of a contract

• An offer: an expression of willingness to contract on a specific set of terms, made by the offeror with the intention that, if the offer is accepted, he or she will be bound by a contract.

• Acceptance: an expression of absolute and unconditional agreement to all the terms set out in the offer. It can be oral or in writing. The acceptance must exactly mirror the original offer made.

Disability Discrimination

Consideration must be given to people with disabilities so we all have the same equal opportunities. The photographer may need to go to extreme lengths to provide resources and to accommodate people with disabilities but equal opportunities must be of paramount importance

The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to other members of the public

Extra provision may be needed to enable a disabled person to fulfill their every day lives and this may come at quite some considerable cost

It may be necessary to have another person available to help with people with disabilities. They may need to be lifted,guided or helped in a variety of situations to carry out their everyday duties that an able person may take for granted

A studio may need to be kitted out to meet the requirements of a disabled person and a variety of different aids may need to be put in place to accommodate this. Wider doors,lower sinks,ramps and larger toilets are all a major consideration to provide proper equal services for everybody

Similar considerations have to be taken into account when shooting on location or outdoors which maybe an even harder challenge for the photographer to complete if additional resources are needed to accommodate someone with a disability


Handling Confidential Information

Care should be taken when handling other peoples information. This information is very personal and confidential including banking details etc.. The photographer needs to protect this data and care must be taken if this data is stored on pc's etc.. There are laws governing the storage of  personal data, this is called "the data protection act" The DPA was first composed in 1984 and was updated in 1998.Shown below are the basic principles of this law

The Eight Data Protection Act Principles

The act contains eight “Data Protection Principles”. These specify that personal data must be:

1. Processed fairly and lawfully.

2. Obtained for specified and lawful purposes.

3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive.

4. Accurate and up to date.

5. Not kept any longer than necessary.

6. Processed in accordance with the “data subject’s” (the individual’s) rights.

7. Securely kept.

8. Not transferred to any other country without adequate protection in situ.

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

Project brief imaging approaches and pricing

A sample calendar including my images

Project brief imaging approaches and pricing

I have been asked by a friend of mine to produce a calendar to help her to promote her business which sells a range of aromatherapy oils and products. She knew I was a very keen amateur photographer so consulted me and asked if I was interested in producing the photography to produce a portfolio of about 20 images for the calendar which she wanted to have a personal touch

She particularly wanted the images to be original, She asked that some of the photos could show Autumn colour,trees,leaves,lakes,misty mourning's and frost's etc.

These photos would need to portray a calming effect to enable her to sell her product of relaxing aromatherapy oils to ongoing customers. She could have bought stock photos but wanted to give the calendar that personal touch and tell friends and customers that she had personally created the calendar with photographs that she had commissioned

My client set out a brief of her requirements for the photographs and calendars,these included :

Aims and objectives:

To produce a calendar to help her to promote her business. Having calendars on the walls of potential new clients enables her to market her business more effectively. Calendar's are a very clever marketing tool. Your company name and business phone number is displayed permanently,in homes,offices and factory's all over the country

Timescale:

The timescale for this project was approx one month as the calendar's need to be in circulation by mid December ready for circulation before Christmas. This time-scale was rather a tight deadline but I estimated I could have the photography ,images, photo-books and calendar's finished and ready for distribution by mid December

Images:

My client required a set of approximately 20 high quality Images that she cold pick her final 12 from to produce her promotional material for her calendar's. I informed her I would shoot approx 100 images for this project then she could pick her favourite or best images from this amount. 

She required that the Images needed to be original, having an autumnal landscape theme. She wanted me to produce a set of images taken from around the lake district area in Cumbria where she was born and grew up

My client wanted to give the calendar her personal touch and did not want to include stock photos etc in her calendar and really wanted new original images

Printing: 

My client wanted me to produce 100 A3 calendars for her promotions. She wanted me to manage all the photography and all the printing for this project and virtually wrote me a blank cheque to produce the finished articles. She was very busy in her business and wanted me to manage the whole project from start to finish

I have used a very good online photography printing company to produce the calendar's,they are called DS Colour labs a company from Manchester. I have used their printing services before and their quality is really excellent

Shown below are some screen grabs from DS's website which shows some of the sample calendar's I have designed including my images before approval from my client

The price for 1 calendar at a size of 12" x16" delivered to any address in the UK is £10.00 

The price for 100 calendars comes down to £6.00 each delivered which is a massive saving

Costs:

I work part time as a photographer and normally charge £25.00 an hour to cover my costs but on this occasion I have given my friend a 20% discount as I knew her really well

I have costed the whole operation from travelling up to the Lake District, taking the photo's and delivering the Calendars to my clients door. This is a breakdown of the total costs involved and the final cost of a single calendar delivered to any address in the UK

I had priced up A3 printing on high quality papers,other companies were cheaper but my friend required high quality images and calendars for her business

My time and costs breakdown

Return petrol travel costs up to the Lake District            £  50.00

Hotel bill for 2 nights accommodation                            £120.00

Produce 100 images for selection.

Hourly rate £20 an hour.8h @ £20.00                            £160.00

Final editing time of the 12 selected

calendar images.3h @ £20.00                                      £  60.00                     

    

Total                                                                         £390.00

Printing costs

Print Costs for 20 A3 High Quality

(Sample images)  20 units @ £4.00 each                      £  80.00

Printing,Calendar and delivery costs

100 units @ £6.00 each                                                £600.00

Total                                                                          £680.00

10% mark-up on a total of  £1070                                  £107.00

Grand Total                                                               £1177.00

So to summarize, to produce an original bespoke calendar to my friends specifications including all photography,printing costs and mark-up, the final total cost of each calendar was

£11.77 each including delivery