Hello there, I have a small question regarding photographic assignment that I may have to do. I have been approached by a person responsible for making information brochure (to be mailed on behalf of a foundation for raising money) which needs around three photographs of healthy babies. I am willing to do that and actually have some stock photos that can be used, but I do not have a registered business in California, so how do I charge them?
You charge them what you negotiate as a fair fee for performing the assignment and to cover the costs incurred in completing it.
To arrive at a fair fee you take into consideration what's generally referred to as your Cost Of Doing Business. A calculator to help you determine this number can be found on the Editorial Photographer's web site. Keep in mind that by using equipment belonging to someone else (Stanford) to perform the assignment you are getting that use rent-free. Self-employed photographers have to pay for that equipment or rent it, so your Cost Of Doing Business should include numbers for that rental, even though you might not actually be paying it.
You charge them sales tax on some part of the job. Your state office can tell you how much and on which parts of the bill. Rules for charging sales tax vary from state to state and may include municipal sales taxes, so you must go to your own state to figure this out.
When you figure out who to ask, and go ask them, they will ask you to pay a fee to register yourself as a business. You will register as a sole proprietor and, months later, they'll give you a certificate and after a while start asking you to declare how much sales tax you collected and decide how often you have to pay it to them.
Some of the information to more completely answer the mechanics of this question may be found on the editorial photographer's web site http://editorialphoto.com
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Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@cape.com 508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf
