delivery, payment methods, etc

i quite by accident fell into a situation where i now have access to possible photography 'clients' in effect putting me in a business situation but i'm not sure how to handle certain aspects of the business. for example..

1. do i have to be incorporated to put the copyright symbol in a watermark to place on my pics?
2. how do i deliver the finished pics? - zip em up and put them out on Skydrive for download?, put the pics on a memory card and mail it to them?
3. what method should i use to get payed? - PayPal, something else?
4. what would you normally charge when first starting out for original prints, copies (if applicable), etc?

and yes i realize i have a lot more to learn but these first few jobs could net me enough to get a decent portrait lens.

1. No
2. You could set up a site and sell digital downloads or prints directly from that and they also handle the credit card payment/taxes (I use Zenfolio, see my site in my signature)
3. See #2
4. I'm charging about 5x's my cost. Costs will vary if you are a hobbist or trying to make a living. I'm in it for fun and a few bucks on the side along with a nice tax write-off (see # 5)
5. At your county office you should be able to set up a "DBA"- Doing Business As. This allows you to conduct a legitimate business and register to collect sales taxes. This also allows you to write off gear purchases and expenses on Fed and state returns. If you start doing people shoots like weddings, you might want to consider insurance (liability).

Zenfolio cost some $, dont know if your up for that yet. I use bank transfer, and then at the time zenfolio for prints, but are working on a different solution (because I cannot get it in my language or with my countries currency). Zenfolio takes hmm, 15% I think, of every sale, plus a yearly payment.

When I started, I just mailed or dropbox'ed the original files, also website formats. Then people could print themselves.

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Regarding payment:

It's worth the time to use the merchant account setup at Paypal.com. Safe, secure and easy to use. You can accept major credit/debit card payments and the fees are less than or comprable with your local bank without the startup costs.


Delivery:

Do you plan to sell prints and self-fullfil the orders? Find a GOOD local lab to print your work for you.

If you plan to deliver digital copies use a DVD or invest in bulk thumb drives with your business name printed on them. Very inexpensive.

Slipperman said:

i quite by accident fell into a situation where i now have access to possible photography 'clients' in effect putting me in a business situation but i'm not sure how to handle certain aspects of the business. for example..

1. do i have to be incorporated to put the copyright symbol in a watermark to place on my pics?
2. how do i deliver the finished pics? - zip em up and put them out on Skydrive for download?, put the pics on a memory card and mail it to them?
3. what method should i use to get payed? - PayPal, something else?
4. what would you normally charge when first starting out for original prints, copies (if applicable), etc?

and yes i realize i have a lot more to learn but these first few jobs could net me enough to get a decent portrait lens.

Click to expand...

1. No. I recently made a post addressing this very issue: Image Protection 101. Read it, it will be very helpful to you moving forward.

2. There are many photo delivery systems, all of which you'll have to research, figure out a profit margin, and decide which to offer your clients: online galleries/print ordering (Zenfolio, Photoshelter, etc), prints through a pro photo lab, and digital media solutions (DVD, USB drives, etc). Keep in mind that the more control you give a 3rd party service, the less profit you make.

3. A business bank account is always best. Cash/check/money order. You can set up a merchant account to accept credit cards, but that can be expensive. Personally, I use Square for credit card transactions, as do several others here.

4. Rates charged are largely going to depend on your area. Do some homework and find out what local photographers are charging for their services and prints. You'll be able to come up with a high/low/average and price yourself accordingly. You're new, so I would recommend starting at the low end of the spectrum until you get some experience under your belt. Personally, I doubled my prices after year one.

one more thing.. do i have to shoot the pics in the resolution that the customer wants for when/if they want prints or do the photo processing places like CVS, etc have the ability to take the original image and resize it smaller? btw, i shoot in Raw at the highest MP rate the camera offers (16 i think).

carguy said:

Regarding payment:

It's worth the time to use the merchant account setup at Paypal.com. Safe, secure and easy to use. You can accept major credit/debit card payments and the fees are less than or comprable with your local bank without the startup costs.

Click to expand...

Over the years I've had my own merchant accounts and ended up with PayPal for the past five years. Difficult to beat regarding cost, security and ease of use.

Delivery:

Do you plan to sell prints and self-fullfil the orders? Find a GOOD local lab to print your work for you.

If you plan to deliver digital copies use a DVD or invest in bulk thumb drives with your business name printed on them. Very inexpensive.

Click to expand...