During the last 2 months, I have been collaborating with Peruanos en Los Países Bajos, a Facebook Group that makes connections between Peruvians living in The Netherlands with a Live Broadcast, social media posting, and of course images. 

As part of that collaboration, and for illustrating a recent interview made to Callao Cevicheria Chef Jaime Pesaque, I was asked to do some pictures for the restaurant. This collaboration helps me to illustrate What to ask your photographer before starting a project, as I don't usually share Business Projects on my blog. Great idea, right?

Peruvians in The Netherlands is a voluntary group fueled by a passion for helping others to connect, to learn, and to inspire.  They give hours of their personal time, and they are not paid for doing this job. The group is only funded by voluntary donations. This allows them to pay for basic things as website, tickets to visit different businesses across The Netherlands, equipment to edit photography & video, and broadcasting software that help them to interview even respecting the social distancing and stay-at-home measures. If you want to help Peruanos en Los Países Bajos you can send your donation through Paypal to peruanosenlospaisesbajos@hotmail.com.

Let's dive in on the 5 important questions to ask your photographer before to start working with him or her

Callao Cevicheria Peruana is located in Scheveningen, De Haag.  

Number 1 -  Do you work in the studio or do you go to the location?

This is key. Sometimes we work with home studios and have equipment that is hard to transport. Depends on the project we are going to recommend doing a studio session or we are going to tend to go on location. In this case, we went on location because we had 2 goals in mind: Architecture + Documentary images which we can only achieve on location. The extra question here is how much your photographer charges for going to your location. 

Number 2 -  Do you work per project or per time?

The main difference, from my perspective,  between photography for personal use to business use is the way we charge it. When photographing couples or families we charge per time at the location. But when photographing businesses we do it per project, that means there is no one fee covers it all, but it is important to understand what is included in your photographer's fee. And of course, this depends on each photographer.

This Personal Branding collaboration was made in a 30-minute session during business hours at the restaurant. 

Number 3 - What is included in your photographer fee?

This will be my personal response to my fees, but keep in mind that it will vary from photographer to photographer, ok?  And also, this applies only to business projects.

* Photographer day rate. This estimate depends on the time we are going to be doing the session and comes from the online meeting we have to know more about your project.

* Pre/Post Production. Images for social media have a different treatment than images for magazines or billboards. Different equipment is used too to optimize your budget. If a Creative Director is needed this is the line where is added too. A Professional Retoucher can be added too.

* Image fee: Some of the projects have some pictures included, some others don't. That depends on the complexity of the project. I had a project for Glamour NY to photograph a Business Nomad while in Peru. They asked for 1 picture with production included (MUA, Retoucher, Catering, transport, etc) was for one picture only.

* Usage rights. Normally the images for business projects are not posted in any of our social media if not asked. We only post pictures that have been a product of a collaboration. It is important to know the difference between Client-Subject-Photographer, and I believe this is the hardest to understand if not involved in Product Photography before, as it is different from Family Photography. I am going to explain a little more, but in case of any doubt let me know and I can explain it further.

In a Family Session, the final images are for the use of the family in personal publications. This is called Personal Use. As you know, photographs are the creation of the Photographer and they have the right to give permission to use them. But there is another Permission that is Image use, meaning faces or brands, these are protected, and for using a picture made for a brand 2 consents must be given in order to post a photo for Commercial Purposes: A permission from the Photographer to use the material created during the realization of his/her work, and the permission of any person or brand that appears on those pictures. In case there is a client involved (intermediate) a permission of this Client is also necessary. Usually, during a Personal Branding Project, there is the possibility to buy the right to distribute an image - that is what happened with Glamour and the picture I mentioned - In that case, the magazine is the only one allowed to post the picture. That is the main reason why photographers usually repost pictures made by the brands, or we need to collaborate/do personal projects for having a portfolio.

* Sponsored posts. In case the company asks us to make a sponsored post we make a Blog Post. Options for Pinterest, IG Post, IG Stories, and Brand Reposts are available. 

* Production: This is every aspect of the session that is not related to photography as catering (or meals for the crew), transport, space fee,  etc.

And so on. But keep in mind every project is evaluated individually and not all need the same. 

Number 4 - How and when I will receive the images?

Normally the images take 10 days to be in a Gallery for selection, but this also depends on the Post Production, if you need a Design work or Professional Retoucher a personalized time will be sent to you.

Number 5 - Lighting

Yes. This is important in business projects You need to know if your photographer works with natural light only or with a lighting system. This also can be a personal preference for the brand. We need to be consistent in the output and that's why light is important. Sometimes it is not possible to shoot in natural light, that's why we need to have the ability to shoot anytime and have the look of the desired time of the day the client needs. 

Natural lighting can be achieved with flash. Having a controlled environment any time makes the session faster and smoother. This is even more important when you're working during business hours with clients arriving at a restaurant.

I hope this helps you understand more about Product & Personal Branding Photography. If you require further information about how we can help your business send us a message here or directly in Whatsapp.

Joanna, your Amsterdam photographer

+31626567232