I believe it was British documentary photographer Martin Parr who said, “photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work.” This observation couldn’t be truer – especially when applied to the running of a photography business.
People on the opposite side of the lens might believe it’s as easy as pressing a button, but boy oh boy would they be mistaken. Starting a successful photography business requires a great deal of technical skill combined with a detailed action plan.
And once the bookings start increasing, the added responsibility of staying on top of all things financial such as creating proposals, quotes, photography contracts, etc comes into play. In addition to carefully tracking expenses, you’ll need to create effective invoices that ensure your payments are received.
The purpose of this article is to guide you through the most important elements of invoicing as a photographer so you can get paid faster starting today.
Set Fair Photography Prices
First things first, it can be a real struggle to get the pricing of your photography services right. There are loads of ways to work out how much to charge, but it always comes back to the output being delivered to the client. The basic premise of photography pricing advances that:
Cost of running photography business + Cost of goods + Cost of time and labor
+ Profit + Taxes = Pricing
This includes base costs and expenses as well as key factors like your level of experience, location, speed of service and competition levels. Plus, because time is money, you absolutely need to include the value of your time (whether it’s spent traveling to or meeting with the client) as well as labor (during pre, post and actual shooting).
Pro tip: Always consider the likelihood of delays and any overages depending on the nature of your shoots.
Next, there are a variety of ways to go about actually billing clients, but the most common tend to be:
- Time Plus Cost – includes time taken to complete the photography session + costs associated with completion
- Lump Sum – includes a set determined price charged for various services
- Upset Limit – includes charging per hour until a predefined lump sum and expense ceiling is reached
It’ll ultimately depend on client preference and the scope of work. However, at the very least, try to always incorporate a base charge that includes a minimum number of hours to make the job worth your time.
Providing a detailed and itemized invoice that clearly spells out what costs were incurred will also save you a lot of back and forth. The good news is that over time, you’ll be able to develop a set price list that can be circulated and serve as a reference point to avoid any confusion.
Set Clear Terms and Conditions
Next, it’s important to note that carefully outlined service terms can end up being a real lifesaver. For example, cancellations are having a serious impact on the photography industry right now since countless events have been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This highlights just how worthwhile it is to spend time crafting explicit and concise terms and conditions for each client contract and (by extension) invoice. A thoughtful cancellation and refund policy could end up being crucial for protecting you in the event of any disagreements or unforeseen circumstance.
A photographer’s terms should clearly state: whether payment is required before or after completion of the photo session, the amount of time allotted for payments to be made and whether any late fees will be applied. The types of payments you accept with guidance on how best to make them will also go a long way.
Life happens and flexibility is oftentimes warranted, but you absolutely need to outline your terms as a way of holding both yourself and your client accountable.
Craft Attractive Professional Invoices
When you think of an invoice, you probably conjure up an image of a boring sheet of paper with a date, invoice number, contact information, list of goods/ services and the amount due. But in addition to being an optimal place to concisely remind clients of your payment terms, it’s a great chance to show some pizzazz.
It might not seem like it at first glance, but leveraging different types of invoices can be ideal for displaying your personal brand and boosting up your killer communications plan. A creative invoice like the one pictured below is much more likely to elicit smiles from clients.
Something as simple as developing an invoice template and replacing the columns with a film reel design, will go such a long way in making your photography services more memorable.
Trust me. When you bother to make an effort, people are much more likely to remember you (and remember to pay you too!)
Read more: Marketing a new photography business
Consider Using Invoicing Software
Finally, going back to Mr. Parr’s quote on photography’s complicated simplicity, there are plenty of existing invoicing templates you can use to save some time and effort. But they’ll all still require you to manually input information, over and over again on seemingly endless loop.
Talk about time-consuming! By investing in an online invoicing software that automates your entire invoicing process, you could instead spend time culling photos or editing final images. Invoicing software is super at helping photographers stay organized with its ability to easily manage invoices, track expenses, send reminders, generate reports and customize as needed.
Of course, as you gain more experience as a photographer and widen your client base, you may perform work for certain customers on an ongoing basis. In this case, you’ll benefit from leaning on invoicing software that enables you to accept recurring payments without having to generate new invoices each time.
As an evolving photographer/ business owner, you’ll no doubt be donning many hats and trying to do as much as humanly possible. There’s zero shame in using software to quickly send out great invoices that help you to make more money through photography.
Written by Uwe Dreissigacker, CEO of InvoiceBerry.
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