Pro edition
Estimate Template.
The demo shows one worked estimate and the calculator behind it. This is the blank instrument — what an estimate needs in it, the clauses that decide arguments months later, and what a client should ask before signing one. Including of us.
What an estimate needs
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Header | Studio, client, project name, estimate number, date, and the date the estimate expires. |
| Creative fee | Shoot days and prep days, priced separately. One line each, never bundled. |
| Production | Crew, studio, kit, props, travel. Every line a real cost, no "sundries". |
| Post-production | Number of finished frames and the per-frame time assumed. This is where scope creeps. |
| Licence | Media, term, territory, exclusivity — stated as four values, priced as one line. |
| Assumptions | What the price depends on: samples arriving by a date, one round of amends, a named approver. |
| Terms | Overrun, cancellation, payment terms, and what happens to the licence if the invoice is unpaid. |
Six clauses worth the argument now
- Licence commences on first use
- Without it the client can sit on the files for a year and then start a three-year term. Photographers lose whole years to this.
- Rounds of amends, numbered
- Two rounds is normal. Unnumbered amends is an open cheque written by the photographer.
- Named approver
- One person signs off. A shoot approved by committee is a shoot that gets re-approved.
- Weather and postponement
- Who carries the cost of a day that cannot happen. On location this is the single most expensive ambiguity.
- Licence suspended until paid
- The only leverage a photographer has. It is also fair: usage is what was sold, so usage is what is withheld.
- Credit, where applicable
- Not always possible in advertising. Worth asking for in editorial and worth waiving knowingly rather than silently.
What a client should ask
Of any studio, ours included.
- Ask for the licence to be stated as four values — media, term, territory, exclusivity. If any is missing, the estimate is incomplete.
- Ask what happens if you need to extend. A renewal quoted now is cheaper than a renegotiation later.
- Ask how many finished frames are included and what a frame beyond that costs.
- Ask what the estimate assumes. The assumptions section is where a cheap estimate hides its expensive surprises.
- Ask whether the day rate includes prep. If it does, the photographer is either absorbing it or not doing it.
Four expensive habits
| Instead of | Do this |
|---|---|
| Buying perpetual worldwide by default | Buy the term you can actually foresee. Renewal is quoted at the same rate, not at a penalty. |
| Treating retouching as a rounding error | It is often the second-largest line. Decide the number of finals before the shoot, not after. |
| Asking to "buy the copyright" | Almost always the wrong instrument. Describe the usage you need and let the licence cover it. |
| Comparing day rates between studios | Compare total estimates for identical usage. A low day rate with production buried in it is not cheaper. |
General guidance for commercial practice, not legal advice. Licensing conventions vary by market and your contract is the authority.