CHAPTER2 / DOYOUHAVE APRODUCT TOSELL?element that all of their work may rest upon. Agencies
require not only great pictures but also good service. By
thinking of the whole package as a product, I have
learned to make the front- and back-end process—from
shoot concepting, to estimating, to file preparation, to
final invoicing—as easy and simple as possible for our
clients.If you still think that you don’t need to “have a product”
because you are a photographer, think again. As a commercial
photographer you are in business. As a businessperson you
need to clearly show your potential clients what you are offer-
ing for sale.
I don’t know of many industries where a manufacturer or
service provider goes to market without a product to sell.
Photographers are indeed both manufacturers and service
providers, yet rarely do they enter the market with a finished
product in hand. Developing a finished product as a photogra-
pher starts with having a defined vision that is identifiable.
Buyers need to know what vision you offer. They need to know
why they should hire you rather than pull their image needs
from existing stock or royalty-free photo sources.THE NEW PHOTO BUYERThe advent of royalty-free and high-end stock photography
has created a new assignment buyer. Contacts hiring assignment
photographers now tend to fall into one of two categories, and
they all make their decision to assign photography based on
the photographer’s visual approach in relation to a pending
assignment.
The first type of buyer is continually told to buy royalty-free
or stock images and rarely gets to buy assignment photography.
These folks need to justify an assignment buy, and it is usually
the need for a very specific “look” that provides the justification
that they need. When they are sourcing photography, they are
looking for a photographer with a specific type of visual.
The second type of buyer is a high-end contact. These buyers
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