Do you charge different rates for photo vs film shoots? If so, how do you advertise the different rate or do you do it custom? This has likely been addressed here before, I see the Topic on tiered pricing… on my listing I state the hourly difference of photo vs. video and point to that when people reach out. Many people understand even if they did not read it on the listing at first, but I have also received distinctive and unpleasant backlash over this policy. I am open to taking the feedback as an opportunity to reevaluate the pricing though I am curious how others navigate this topic! I also offer flexibility on the rate depending on the date, though too many variable of course complicate the booking process. Overall thoughts? Thanks!
Film/video rates being higher than photo used to be an understood thing in the industry. Now it’s hit or miss whether producers accept this.
I used to list my space at photo rates and then try to explain to film/video productions that the rate was actually $20 more an hour. This often lead to disagreements and irritated producers feeling like they’d been bait and switched.
It also started getting complicated because I was getting photo productions that were as large as some film/video crews. They were also bringing in multiple huge Arri M18 continuous lights that added hundreds to my electric bill, but they were still being charged the cheaper photo rate.
To solve this, I now just charge a flat rate add-on for productions that use continuous lights regardless of what they’re shooting. I bill it in half day (5 hrs), full day (10hrs), and extended day (12hrs +) blocks. This seems to work.
Sometimes if it’s a small production with just 2-3 LED panels, I’ll waive the extra fee.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply Geoffrey! Good insight re: using continuous lights! Do you have that listed as an “add-on”? If so, can I ask what you label / categorize it as? If you have had smoother experiences going that route, that is very helpful! I have faced some issues with “add-ons” for similar reasons that producers express that fees listed there are also unexpected. Of course maybe there is not a perfect solution here and the add-on sounds like a clean option of how to do it!
Hello! I find that photo shoots typically involve 2-5 folks on-site, whereas video shoots can have 10 and up to 30, with extras casting. I charge the same rate for both – BUT add a fee if there are more than 5 for the shoot… That gives me a small incentive for video over photo shoots. Great question… and Geoffrey B’s insight is also helpful.
cheers!
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In short - absolutely! At Casa Berliner we are very selective about which types of film productions we are willing to work with (no hip hop videos!) If we field a request for a larger production, we are upfront in stating the rate would need to be negotiated. It has caused some requests to vanish but is worth the extra caution. The inverse is true as well; if a 3-5 person photo shoot crew asks for a discount I am happy to work with them.
I know this is an old thread but I’ll add one thought. I quickly realized that a photo shoot in my home only used the area of that shoot. I could be on the phone in my office or even completing my workout class in my garage simultaneously. A video shoot “capturing audio” effectively rents the entire home even up to my bedroom and bathroom…can’t go up there and make noise, run the shower or hairdryer. So they are very different also in the level of vigilance I have to have in terms of interference of everyday things like mail delivery, gardeners etc.
That being said, I do the same and charge an extra fee of $50/hour for production over 9 people.
I see it from both sides because I am both a studio and a production company that rents other spaces. But I always charge a flat fee for rentals. I think it depends on what your rental space is like though. Personally, I don’t care what they do in my space. If the space is tied up the entire time and they are in and out on time, why does it matter what they do in there? They could have a BBQ for all I care. But if you have split space or multiple spaces, then maybe different rates might make sense. But for one unit, I don’t see why one type of shoot should be less than the other. If the photoshoot uses less electricity than the video shoot, yay for me. That savings is not getting passed onto my renter.
Maybe I am just used to renting from larger facilities though and I tend to mirror their policies. When I go to hospitals or sim labs to shoot, they don’t care what I do in there. They charge what they charge, no negotiating. But there isn’t a lot of competition for medical spaces (my space is a medical office) so I don’t necessarily have to be that flexible as opposed to a normal studio or home. So I might not be the best source on this one.