When a client doesn't have a budget vs he doesn't want to spend.

As a freelancer, we often come across clients who either have genuine budget limitations or they literally don't want to spend. Such calls will not end up being your potential client but they are practically different, let me explain to you how.

Hi, I am Shovona Karmakar, a freelance commercial portrait, food and product photographer, and a product stylist based out of Mumbai India. This is my second series of Booty call 1, these are a part of the real-life conversation with altered names to keep the privacy intact. The agenda is to let you know the red flags for many not to do the mistakes I did. Well, still there is no guarantee people will not try to have a new way to fish you.

Have you ever got a call from a client who gives you a verbal temptation of giving you regular work in exchange for your service at half the price because all it is seeing is its own profit? This technique is pretty old and many who are just starting in their career are prone to fall in the net, it is indeed not their fault because all they are looking for is some kind of opportunity to prove themselves and even sustain themselves. The following is a lesson down the line as you grow in your career.

Sam: Hii, am I speaking to Shovona?

Myself: Hii, yes I am shovona, wondering whom I am talking to?

Sam: Hey Shovona! I am Sam, an owner of an upcoming e-commerce brand, we deal with baby and toddler garments age from a month till 8 years old. We are presently based out of Mumbai and we are looking for a photographer and a product stylist for our upcoming shoots.

Myself: Hey Sam! Thanks for calling, it sounds great, wondering if you can tell me more about what exactly you are looking for?

Sam: Shovona! We are an upcoming brand and we are planning to do shoots once every week as we have around 100 products and more coming every month and we wanted to shoot all of them for our social media precisely Instagram. As we are a startup we wanted to do it as pocket friendly as possible yet we are looking for quality output. We have been doing all the shoots to date by ourselves but presently we feel we need someone of your calibre to come onboard and help us along the way.

I came across your work online and do liked your sense of aesthetics and hence thought to approach you.

Myself: Thanks for the consideration. 100 garments sound a lot. I was wondering how many products do you want to cover precisely and what kind of budget do you have and what kind of styling do you have in mind.

Sam: I don't have any budget in mind but wondering if we cover 40 products a day to start with and what kind of fees do you charge, do you charge per product or per day basis?

(Conversation to date does talk a lot about client psychology, and you have to understand it is not wrong on its parts, they are simply trying to either understand the market or trying to find someone who fits their bills. They do have a basic budget in mind if you ask me how? It's India, we all have a budget in mind. Every small and big brand is there to make money and it is going to be very weird to understand that they don't have an upper limit to what they will like to spend on their marketing ventures. Even you have a budget in mind when you look for a house to rent it out keeping your priorities in mind or when you go to a mall looking for a nice music system.

There is always a budget limit, the space for exceptions is less but there is their existence.)

Let's move on...

Myself: Hey Sam! 40 products a day with styling is a little unpractical keeping in mind the amount of time it will require to light and do the other needed to set the composition ready. At an average, we limit ourselves to shoot not more than 6-8 images a day with styling as one still shoot shift consist of only 8 hours, we can extend the shift with an additional cost.

Sam: Shovona, wondering do you charge per day or per-product basis and what all your fees will include?

Myself: Sam, I am a freelance advertising photographer and few of my brands are Samsung, Morning Star, Cadbury and more, and we charge on per day basis, my fees don't include any of the needed equipment, everything we need for the shoot from the studio, lights, styling products/props, and more are charged individually and on per day basis. My fees just include my creative service needed for your imagery requirement.

(You will be wondering why the person is asking for "per product charges", it is because there are people in the industry who do full-time e-commerce shoot and they calculate their estimate based on the number of products as they don't provide anything additional quality service than just shooting them against a white background.)

Sam: Oh! I understand now, sadly I don't want to spend more than 40k INR for 40 products and I am open to buying the props and equipment down the line if needed.

(Voila! he just told you his budget, as I said everyone has a budget especially in India. He is looking to spend 1k INR per product which includes everything from props, equipment, studio space, digital correction. Honestly, It's a tough-luck if he gets someone.)

Myself: Hey Sam! I am glad you connected me and I am happy to be a part of your venture, sadly I can't help you much in the given budget, in-case you wish to rethink both in the aspect of the number of images and your budget we can connect further.

Sam: Oh! ok... as I am going to use the images only on Instagram and the shelf life is not much I don't find any sense in spending such a huge amount. We have been shooting all these while and I am pretty sure it is not going to be as exhaustive as you are saying. I cannot pay you what you charge but can you suggest someone who can give us the same output and not bill us the same amount.

Personally, these are not my target clients, and these are definitely not a client I wanna work on a regular basis, you see he is simply interested in his profit, he has money as he has expressed his interest in buying props and equipment down the line but he is not ready to pay you your fees. His other query of suggesting someone within his budget strongly states how precise he is about his expense.

Myself: Sam, I wish I can suggest someone but keeping your budget in mind I can't help you much.

Sam: What you think what should be a decent budget for such shoots?

Myself: (I was a little awestruck, this question does irritate me a bit keeping in mind he just expressed his desire not to spend much.) Sam, I don't know as I have no idea what kind of styling and visual expression you are looking for, things can go from lakhs to corers and there is no limit to creativity.

Sam: (he finally gave up) Hey, thanks for your time, have a good day.

Sam was either looking for someone who fits his bills or he was just trying to understand the market, people do give random calls to understand aspects like work style, fees and more for future consideration. It is going to be tricky to come to any conclusion of what exactly he is looking for but nevertheless he was not able to crack his deal with me, frankly, it was not a deal at all. He does challenge my working style which I have simply followed of what other professionals do at a standard was little itchy but you see that is how people tend to provoke you to see any possibility to bend you according to their ways.

The biggest challenge in freelancing is finding a midway to do the job and to do justice to it. It takes a lot of rejection and errors on ones part to understand what works for one and how to make it work for one.

There are different kinds of people, good people, kind people, clingy, generous, and smart. As a freelancer, your service is as good as your personal investment in terms of upgrading your skills and psychology about the subject you wish to master on. Alike any job we deserve a promotion and sadly as we are our own boss hence we need to leave things down the line to crave better opportunities and payscale. You cannot cling to the same client forever who doesn't respect your skills and style of working. As they proportionally use our service for their profit we need to do the same and it's entirely ethical. There was a time I have worked for a client as low as 2.5k INR a day all-inclusive against a work which helped me build my initial portfolio, down the line, they refused to pay me any more than that and I gradually shifted towards better opportunities. Well, that's is freelancing.

Clients who have genuine budget limitations do comes back to you if they really see value in your service and hence they are worth to chase for.

Clients who don't want to pay at all is not worth any run or bargain.

The business has various aspects and everyone is right in their space, we humans are selfish and this aspect helps us to keep us alive. Similarly, you are running a business and you too indeed have a right to say NO! if they don't fit your profit margin.

The only thing I learnt from this conversation is it is good at times to tell people where you stand and what you are worth of. It is not about blowing your own horn, it is more about letting people know how much your journey is worth it.

Stay tuned for a more real-life conversation to understand the red and green flags in freelance life.

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Feel free to connect me for any queries and questions you have and any portrait, food, and product-related photography and styling. I am presently based out of Mumbai, India and have a cross-functional company production still and video content for various marketing needs.

#foodphotographer #mumbaicommercialphotographer #femalephotograppher

Freelance

The word freelance according to google "A Basic Definition. Essentially, a freelance job is one where a person works for themselves, rather than for a company. While freelancers do take on contract work for companies and organizations, they are ultimately self-employed"

Freelancing is a lifestyle, is a life choice that you have as a side hustle or a full-time job. Everything you do is building up for yourself hence it is a selfish act yet it has many benefits.

I have mentioned various articles over my blog regarding freelancing, how to go about it, and what to expect. As a freelancer, I see the world, the people around me a little more critically than many seeking a job may think and see. My life is nothing to do with security and I have to have the social contentment in me every day with a mere line of

Things happens for good!

Everyone has its own journey to be one and it is worth reading and observe everyone possible and learn the things we can as down the line the situations are not newborn yet it recycles from one person to another.

Photography and product styling remain my primary source of income and rest is on the way to an exploration of finding the target audience who will like to hire me and help me pay my bills. Here I do not exactly wish to talk about freelancing and how to go about it rather there are many things I learned a little faster than else.

An adult and growing up to be an adult is a choice and I chose to be a child who is curious as long as possible. I have realized how being an adult is a trap and how being a child leads to a better world. A child, in general, doesn't look for perfection and adapts anyone unless it hurts. A child is more venerable and open to get molded and re-shaped. A child leads to discovery very new to itself.

Then why are we asked to grow up and how well it is important?

There is a difference between growing up and being a child and they are pretty broad lined.

As a grown-up, we are expected to understand things and be careful with our words. We are expected to earn and be compassionate and less venerable to being emotional and anxious. We are more aware of the rights and less aware of the very subconscious mind. Having the content attitude is a sign of being an adult for many and we choose to be choosy with the kind of people we should be with and shape our lives. We find being sad and low as a sign of being weak and less worthy to be with and successful people to be the ones you should look up to.

We complicate ourselves more than ever. We behave as a complicated being yet calling self the simplest and minimalistic of all just because we are not ambitious and we don't let our mind wander madly.

You have to understand if things are crazy in your head and you see it exist then it was always a part of being a human.

A child, on the contrary, is new to the world and everyday it tends to evolve, biologically it goes through a cycle of being a human, being a specie which is advanced and more mobile than anyone else. It discovers everything cause it is new to it, every word it says and everything it sees is new to it and the cycle will continue unless it is forced to be a grownup.

Very recently I have been rejected by someone I potentially saw as one worth to be a partner. I was exploring you see and my past has not been kind enough to me and it floats upon the surface the moment I find someone finally understanding me and giving me time to let them know the best part of me being me but it seems it was too late. The person was looking for a quick fix and he moved on and I eventually kept thinking that he will be back.

I let myself be venerable and I am thankful for it coz I wouldn't have been productive the way I am now just to overcome the feeling of being abandoned all over again. As a child, I rant, I take chances and I let people come into my life and I rest my trust in them easily. I let myself mold the way one wants me to and on the way, I discover the best of me.

Now with everything possible said what is the connection of everything above with being a freelancer, and the answer is simple it all depends on you and just you how you shape your freelancing career. There is the right way to be content and do things that work and keep life as safe as possible. There is another right way to let your child be alive to discover every possibility to raise your bar and aspect of your skill and talent. Be complicated, be difficult, be moody and keep ranting about things but at the end make sure you discover for better tomorrow.

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Hii, I am Shovona, a freelance commercial photographer who resides in the economic hub of India, Mumbai. As an artist, freelancer, and businesswoman, money, and creativity always intrigue me and I am passionate enough to share my knowledge with others too.

Feel free to contact me for any portrait, corporate, food, product photography related queries, or just drop a hi! at

shovonakar@gmail.com

#coronaindia #mumbaiphotographer #femalephotographer #portraitphotographer #commercialphotographer #freelancecommercialphotographer

My worst driving skill

If I say every assignment of mine as been as smooth as a butter on bread, I am clearly lying to you all. If I say every client treated me professionally I am not honest. If I say I didn't learn and grow from the experiences I am definitely bluffing. As a freelancer in the early days of my career, I did the mistakes which come from an anxious mind, untrained attitude and the inability to trust people.

To inject it is still a little difficult to trust people but I have no choice than to calm the f**k down myself and let the flow take it along its pace.

I am here to share a few things which I did in my early days and I am sure many out there did the same and in fact, must be in the phase currently. There is no right or wrong way to go about freelancing and but there are few things I feel are basic and I wished someone would have helped me understand things better.

Communication:

Early days comes with an ego and an urge to specialize over things and one goes downhill from there, every time a client calls and if it doesn't fall your genre if you tend to say "No", you are potentially losing an opportunity to have something for yourself. Just because you feel you are good at something it doesn't mean you have to restrict yourself to that arena. Say yes to every opportunity and find a way to make it happen and when to say No, read along to know about it.

Be curious to know what the client is looking for and be humble to hear what they want from you and be patient to do things again and again.

The entire urge to bombard and get the best and do the best comes along the time so let yourself be in a learning curve as long as possible.

TRUST:

The urge to jump into a project and not keeping things over mail and often clients feel skeptical to keep it over mail led many to feel anxious about many things and up above remained the fact if they will pay one on time as per the telephonic conversation. The anxiety grows and the urge to ask for money is embarrassing, it is if one ask at the wrong time.

Many even do a mistake of not keeping the terms clear and let the client have a zone where they ask for more than agreed and with no written confirmation one gets handcuffed to do the job, that's the con of being early in the career.

Keep the information and terms and conditions as much as possible over the mail, an absence of response keeps the client in question, not you.

ANXIETY:

The overwhelming feeling of many things does rupture a lot many elements than you can imagine. Your subconscious mind has things to say and you are bound to hear to it and believe it than anyone else and there is absolutely no harm. One thing to learn along the way is anxiety is just going to degrade your image for future prospect so practice the art of being calm. F**k the calm out of yourself!

Instilling the art of meditating and building focus in your day to day work is the best thing you can gift to yourself.

CHAOS:

Creativity takes birth in chaos, a chaotic mind wanders enough to let you see things which others don't see and this is something you should not get rid of but learn to cage it enough for it to not overwhelm you when you don't want or need. Early days look like everything needs to be perfect and perfection is an enemy not a cure and frankly let the chaos be there in you in some way which helps you to bring the best out of you.

There is a clear difference between chaos and panic, the feeling of everything going out of hand to do happen in the early days but there is no cure than to breathe in and breath out and simply take things slow.

Potential Red Flags:

• When the client doesnt agree to come over mail. They tend to keep everything over a telephonic conversation.

• There is no clarity about the job description in terms of quality and quantity expectations and keeping the assignment as an open experiment.

• Raising questions to every terms and condition you have kept to work along.

• Asking too many options for one potential assignment on the job floor.

• A habit of bargaining for everything even after confirmation.

One of my personal experience dates back to 2014 and one of my initial commercial assignment where the client bargained and came to a mutual price, argued my choice of having my assistant and then later agreeing to it, Eventually flying me down and I was little taken aback with the fact of doing more than asked for and hanging me with my advance untill and unless I had to shamelessly ask for it in the middle of the work floor (don't do it). My chaotic mind led me to miss a piece of equipment back in the hotel which pushed the shoot time and I was guilty enough. I realized they pushed the agreement on the day one and I dropped a mail to state my position to do a certain aspect of the job and not been able to do other (always keep things over mail). Well eventually things went well and I ended up doing the job at my best.

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Hii, I am shovona, a freelance commercial photographer who resides in the economic hub of India, Mumbai. As an artist, I undergo the above almost every day and I am here to support others to let them feel cool about anything happening in life.

Feel free to contact me for any portrait, corporate, food, product photography related queries or just drop a hi! at

shovonakar@gmail.com

#dailyblogger #mumbaiphotographer #freelancetipsandtricks #portraitphotographer #freelancer