At 12:57 PM 07/28/2005 -0500, Bill Pearce wrote:
>
>> 1. Commercial Photographer: Film costs are passed on to the
>> client anyway--no hard cost savings for the photographer, just
>> time and workflow improvements. Digital is necessary for
>> growing the business or even staying viable, but yields no cost
>> savings. A digital investment on top of the studio investment
>> makes this a tenious business.
>
>Finally something I know about, but suspect that many on this list will be
>surprised. Most commerical shooters billed film and processing through at a
>substantial discount Like $20 rolls of film. Not including processing. A lot
>of profit went right out that window.
>
>Second, although work flow may have been improved for some, it isn't for
>others. If you have time to do the digital equivelent of lab work it's
>great, but if your already busy, it means late nights or another employee.
>
>Clients, especially agencies, are not receptive for paying for computer
>time, and don't see the comparison to the lab work they were paying for.
>
>Bill Pearce
Bill is 100% correct. My brother lost an important revenue stream by going
digital and not being able to "mark up" film and processing (or, to be more
precise, not passing along his volume discount to the client). He had to
raise his daily rate to compensate - and cover the cost of a $30K PhaseOne
back and computer equipment to go with it. And, on big jobs, he has to
hire a "computer assistant" to do the post-processing and CD burning.
The film store and pro lab he used are out of business now. Of course, his
wife worked at the lab, and lost her job - so my brother put his own wife
out of work.
Fortunately, the clients are happy as they save significant money by not
needing to have the film scanned for separations like in the "old days,"
and the time from studio to printing press has been cut significantly.
Also, the client can see the image on-screen and approve it immediately, so
you don't have to leave the set in place until the next day in case the
film didn't turn out right and you have to re-shoot.
Steve Troy
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