Quotes and communication

Learning goal

You will be able to prepare a quote that clearly states a job's scope, delivery and price for a client, and build a communication routine that manages expectations throughout the job. Before giving a quote, you will learn through a discovery call the client's need, where the photos will be used and their expectations about the people who will appear in the frame. In the quote you will write the scope of work, that is, what will be shot, where, when and for how long, how many photos will be delivered in what form and by what date, the usage rights, the limit of the revision allowance, the payment and cancellation terms and how long the quote is valid. You will record everything that changes in conversation with written confirmation, and also say clearly what is outside the scope. You will discuss retouching expectations in advance and, by writing clearly in the quote your approach of not changing people's skin, prevent from the start a disagreement that could arise later.

The question

The baker had chosen the narrow package, and your friend had written them a short message: "it's a deal." A week later the baker calls: they want to do the shoot not at six in the morning but at noon, because there are more customers at that hour. They expect the photos within two days. They say that by "internet use" they also meant the brochure. And they ask for the master's face to look "a bit lighter."

Your friend freezes at the phone; none of these requests had been discussed, but none had been left out in writing either. How do you give a client a quote? How is an agreement written so that both sides can be sure they understand the same thing?

Context

In the price calculation you wrote separately all the hours of a job, the figure you won't go below, and in which media the photos will be used (Lesson 28.5). While building your own web page you put at the bottom of every page a sentence calling the visitor to the next step (Lesson 28.4). While shooting portraits, too, you practiced getting permission from the person in front of you and telling them what you will do (Lesson 16.1).

This lesson turns a calculated price into a document shared with the client. A quote, beside the price, also says what that price covers; the client knows what they will get, the photographer knows what they will do. A good quote often prevents from the start most of the disagreements that would come later. The relationship between a quote and a contract, and how an agreement becomes legally binding, vary from country to country; contracts will be taken up in the next lesson, and for legal questions you need to consult a lawyer.

Simple explanation

What is learned before giving a quote?

A discovery call is the short conversation held with the client before a quote is prepared that brings out the job's purpose, conditions and expectations. The questions to ask in this conversation are written on a list in advance: what and where will the photos be used for, where and at what time can the shoot happen, how many photos are needed, by when are they needed, who will be in the frame and do they know about the shoot, what is the budget? If these questions had been asked of the baker from the start, the noon shoot, the brochure and the delivery time would have been discussed within the quote. A discovery call also shows whether the two sides fit each other; sometimes a job isn't accepted, because what the client expects doesn't match what the photographer offers.

A discovery call also includes retouching expectations. Some clients may want their own faces or their employees' faces to look lighter, smoother or different. Hearing these requests for the first time after the shoot creates a difficult situation. Many photographers adopt as their own working principle a retouching approach that cleans up spots and temporary blemishes but doesn't lighten or darken people's skin. Explaining this approach clearly in the discovery call and writing it in the quote gives the client a choice from the start, and removes the pressure to change the faces of the people you photograph without their consent.

What is written in a quote?

A quote / proposal, the two names used for the same document, is the document the photographer presents to the client for a job, stating in writing the job's scope, delivery, price and terms. The scope of work is the part of the quote that defines what will be shot, where, on what date and at what time, and for how long. A concrete sentence such as "The bakery's products, venue and employees; inside the bakery; on the morning of a set day, a three-hour shoot" is far less open to interpretation than saying "bakery photos."

In the delivery part it is written how many photos will be delivered, in what form, at what size and by what date. The usage rights are repeated as medium, duration and region; if the brochure wasn't written separately, it isn't within internet use. The payment terms state when and in what stages payment will be made, and whether a deposit will be taken to book the shoot. The cancellation and postponement terms say what happens if the shoot is canceled at the last minute or postponed because of the weather. The quote ends with a validity period, taking into account that prices and the calendar can change.

A revision allowance is the term that defines how many rounds of changes the client can ask for in the photos after delivery, and what these changes cover. Revisions such as color, cropping or small cleanups can be limited to one or two rounds; requests beyond that, or a completely new edit, are discussed as a separate job. A revision allowance with no limit can stretch the unbilled hours forever. Writing through which channel and within what period revision requests are to be sent also makes clear when the job closes.

How is communication managed throughout the job?

Written confirmation is a change discussed by phone or face to face being put into writing in a short message or email and the other side's approval being obtained. When the baker wants to move the shoot time to noon, what your friend should do is write a message such as "As we discussed, we're moving the shoot to noon; because noon light will be harsher than the morning's, I'll bring a few reflectors; the delivery date stays the same" and ask for approval. That way both sides remember the same thing.

Managing expectations is saying clearly what won't be done as much as what will. When a request outside the scope comes, instead of doing it quietly or refusing it rudely, saying that it is a separate job and what its price is protects the relationship. Proposing a little beyond the promised delivery date and delivering early leaves a much better impression than the reverse. Answering messages within a reasonable time, and if you can't answer, saying when you will get back, also gives trust. When a problem arises, for example if the weather turns on the shoot day or delivery will be a day late, telling the client before they notice it themselves, apologizing and proposing a solution often strengthens the relationship. It also matters that the tone is simple, respectful and clear: translating technical terms into words the client will understand prevents a large share of misunderstandings.

Visual evidence

Your friend arranges a discovery call with the baker and asks their questions from the list. They note that the shoot can be done at noon, that the photos will be used both online and in the brochure, and that they are needed within four days. On the retouching question, they explain that they will clean up spots and flour but won't lighten the master's skin, and that this is their own working principle. The baker thinks and accepts; the master too, looking at their photo later, says they recognize themselves.

They write the quote in two pages: scope, a three-hour shoot at noon; delivery, twelve photos, in internet and brochure sizes, within four days; usage rights, one year for internet and printed brochure; revision allowance, one round of color and cropping; payment and cancellation terms; the quote being valid for one month. At the very bottom, they also write what is outside the scope: billboard use and new shoots.

When the baker says the brochure will be double-sided, after hanging up your friend puts this change and the small increase in the number of photos into writing in a short message and asks for approval. The baker's short reply becomes an attachment to the quote.

Common mistakes

Summary

Before giving a quote, the job's purpose, place of use, calendar, the people who will appear in the frame and retouching expectations are learned through a discovery call; the quote, in turn, states in writing the scope of work, delivery, usage rights, a limited revision allowance, payment and cancellation terms and validity period, together with what is outside the scope. Throughout the job every change discussed is recorded with written confirmation, what won't be done is also said clearly, and disagreements are prevented by sharing from the start a retouching approach that doesn't change people's skin; a lawyer is consulted for legal bindingness.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will write a sample quote text for a job suited to your niche; this text is part of the module's project.

1. Prepare a ten-question discovery call list you will ask your target client; place of use, calendar, the people who will appear in the frame and retouching expectations must be on the list.
2. For an imaginary client, write the scope of work in a concrete sentence, the delivery with number, form and date, and the usage rights with medium, duration and region.
3. Add the revision allowance, the payment and cancellation terms and the quote's validity period; at the very bottom write what is outside the scope. Take the amounts from your own price calculation.
4. Write your retouching approach in two sentences that say clearly it doesn't touch people's skin. Then draft a short written confirmation message for a term that changed in a phone conversation.

Check yourself

• Can a stranger reading your quote clearly understand what will be done and what won't be done?
• Does your revision allowance have a limit and a scope?
• Do you have a sentence to explain your retouching approach to the client before the shoot?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. What is the purpose of a discovery call before preparing a quote?

• A) Naming the price right away
• B) Learning the job's purpose, conditions and expectations
• C) Showing the portfolio
• D) Doing the shoot right away

2. What happens if brochure use isn't written separately in the quote?

• A) It is automatically included in internet use
• B) It is always free
• C) The quote's validity period gets longer
• D) It doesn't count as within the scope and needs to be discussed separately

3. How is a change discussed on the phone recorded?

• A) It isn't written at all
• B) It is only remembered
• C) It is put into writing in a short message and the other side's approval is obtained
• D) It is discussed after the shoot

4. If a client asks after the shoot for an employee's skin to be lightened, what could have been done to prevent this?

• A) Explaining the retouching approach in the discovery call and writing it in the quote
• B) Doing no retouching at all
• C) Removing the employee from the photo
• D) Quietly fulfilling the request

Answers

1. B — A discovery call brings out the information needed for the quote to be written with the right scope.
2. D — Usage rights are limited to the media written; an unwritten medium is a separate matter.
3. C — Written confirmation makes both sides remember the same thing and becomes an attachment to the quote.
4. A — Sharing the retouching principle from the start gives the client a choice and prevents a difficult request before it arises.

Summary card

• First a discovery call: purpose, use, calendar, people, retouching.
• Write the scope concretely: what, where, when, how long.
• Delivery, usage rights, revision limit, payment, cancellation, validity.
• Also write what is outside the scope.
• Confirm every change in writing; say from the start that retouching doesn't change skin.

Bridge to the next lesson

The quote ran to two pages and the baker approved it. After reading the quote, the older member asks a question: if the baker gives the photos to an advertising agency after delivery, what happens, who owns the photos, what is done if payment is late, and if your friend falls ill on the shoot day, who loses what? Your friend realizes the quote doesn't fully answer any of these questions. Why is a contract essential? The next lesson takes up how anything not in writing can cause problems, and the basic clauses of a contract.