There are a lot of different clients that you can serve as an interior photographer. Interior designers, architects, builders, developers, home product companies, stagers… they all need photos of their projects! But what if you can do one single shoot for several of these clients at once?

Yes, you can always license photos to third parties after the photo shoot is done, and that’s a fantastic stream of income to add to your business. Cost-sharing, though, offers you the chance to shoot for multiple clients at once while also giving your clients a ‘discount’. Let’s explore.

What is cost-sharing?

If you’re not familiar with the term, cost-sharing is when multiple parties (clients) decide to hire a service provider (you) together and split the cost. It ends up giving each client a good chunk of savings, while you get to do the same shoot for a higher overall rate. In essence, the clients are sharing the cost of your services. Cost-sharing is always arranged before the shoot happens, so the savings is a motivation for jumping in on the deal early. You can also offer to add in as many clients as they want, raising the overall rate but making their individual cost lower and lower!

How does it work?

It helps to plug in some numbers and see this in action. Let’s say you have a photo shoot scheduled with an interior designer for $1,000. You tell them that if they want to do cost-sharing with any additional vendors in the project, you’ll add 30% for each one and they can split it as they see fit. The interior designer chooses to bring in the General Contractor and the flooring company and split the cost evenly. Great! So you add 60% (because there are TWO additional vendors going in on it) to the shoot fee for a new total of $1,600. You’re now making 60% additional income from this shoot!

Since the parties are all splitting it evenly, you divide the $1,600 by three and bill each one $534. This is how each party gets major savings for your services, while you get a bigger paycheck for doing the same work. Win-win!

How do I work that into my workflow?

Cost-sharing is best to mention when you’re first sending your rate information to potential clients. It not only gives them all the information they’ll need for how you work, but it also entices them to bring in additional parties to help save a bit of money. Then, whenever you’re talking about setting up another shoot, you can just ask them if they want to do any cost-sharing for it and they’ll already be informed!

Be prepared to add a little time into the prep for the photoshoot if there are multiple parties hiring you for it. This is because you’ll want each party to have a separate contract with you, you’ll want to bill each one separately, and you’ll want to make sure that the shot list or photo needs are set to cover all three. For the photo needs, you may want to ask your initial client if they can be the point person so that you’re not going back and forth between everyone. This way, that one client is the representative and can relay their needs/requests to you.

Things to keep in mind

There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to cost-sharing.

• Billing may not always be split evenly. You’ll want to definitely keep the communication open and ask as many questions as possible so that the terms are clear for everyone.

• Licensing needs may be different for different parties. Most times, your clients will all need the same type of use - website and social media. Sometimes, though, you have clients that will want to run ad campaigns, submit to publications, or even gift the photos to others. Be sure to have this conversation with each party involved so that the rates reflect the licensing needs and your contracts are clear about the rights being distributed.

• Have your process clearly planned. How do you deliver the photos? Does each party get the same photos or do they each pick their own set number of photos from a gallery? Do you need any sort of meeting before the photoshoot to plan out angles for your shots? Being clear on the process means that it’ll be easy to walk your clients through it all.

• Remember that not all situations are the same! You may have special requests or unique situations pop up and that’s okay! As long as you stay flexible and open to working something out with your clients, there’s always a solution.

• Don’t underestimate the relationship-building factor. If your interior designer client brings in that general contractor, then there’s a good possibility that when the contractor needs photos of a different project they may just go straight to you for that. Cost-sharing can be a way to get yourself in front of new potential clients!

Conclusion

Cost-sharing can be a great way to earn more from a shoot while saving your client some money. Yes, you would ultimately make more money from licensing to third parties after the photoshoot is done, but this way you have a higher guaranteed payout without having to do any legwork to license out the images later. Remember that by offering cost-sharing to your clients, you’re actually helping them save money. You’re making it easier to work with you! And since it’s all about serving, it makes perfect sense to add this option into your business.

 xo,

Natalia