derek heisler
I always look back at the early late 90s to 2000s fondly. A blur of classic music videos that would be seen as campy in today's terms. So many had these under tones of raw sexualism and higher power elements that always seemed to mesh oddly well. Please enjoy the project below.
Thanks for stopping by,
Derek
A frequent and normal question I often get from my first-time direct clients (non-agency) is; “What is your rate?” (I never work on a per hour rate for many reasons) but often the real question should be, “How much will this cost to create this image?”
“Production costs are easily described as the cost to CREATE the image, where Commercial Licensing Fees are the cost to USE the image.”
Surprises are never fun for a client, so education from the get go is key.
So how much does a commercial shoot cost? Well there are many factors to keep in mind, but let’s keep it simple and break the costs into two categories.
Production costs are easily described as the cost to CREATE the image, where Commercial Licensing Fees are the cost to USE the image.
These are the hard costs to create the image. They are very project specific but can include;
This list could be simple or it could be complex, again it really falls on the requirements of the job. It’s worth noting that I have had some clients take on provisions (basically they take on one or more of these items at their cost as they might be able to execute some items more cost effectively).
Having a creative brief can help in determining what their costs are. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and budget. It’s important to be forthcoming with your available budget, it gives the photographer a frame of mind to work in. If the job is strapped for funds, some of the list above will be done by the client to save money (or some items are just removed all together.) Without knowing a client’s budget, it can be difficult to price realistically. There is nothing wrong with coming to a photographer to get an idea of what it would cost for your idea to be executed in its entirety, but keep in mind that budget will often be much higher than you may anticipate because no budget ceiling was mentioned. It’s not because the photographer wants to charge a lot of money, it’s because they are always striving to create the best work possible. Thus the best trades people and sets help in achieving that which inherently increases production costs.
This fee is the cost for the photographer to complete the project. It has many factors that range from experience to complexity of the job, to duration of the shoot (how many days), how logistically complex the project is, etc.
As stated above: Production cost are easily described as the cost to CREATE the image, where Commercial Licensing Fees are the cost to USE the image. Why must a client license images after they’ve paid for them to be created?
The PPA has a few great points to about copyright:
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of copyright, licensing an image is the act in which a photographer allows an image to be used commercially in exchange for a fee. This would be the same as a musician would receiving royalties every time their song is played during a TV spot. The same applies to the use of imagery.
What constitutes Commercial use? Basically, it is if an image is used to promote a brand or product even via association. If you post an image on say your company’s blog but it’s not directly about your product it’s still considered commercial use as its being used to promote your company’s brand.
That’s a great question and at first it will seem very complicated for a client. It’s very specific to your needs. Most clients want an “all you can eat license” (we call it a buyout), this gives them the freedom to do whatever they want with the image. This can be very expensive and often considered overkill. I compare it to buying a brand-new car and using it for only one road trip and then driving it into the ditch and walking away from it. So, photographers break up licensing into a few categories to ensure affordability and to not go beyond what the client really needs. Luckily as photographers we don’t actually “make up” these numbers. There are many tools out there for pricing that reflect the current industry rates. Software estimating tools like Blinkbid, or Fotoquote are renowned, and commonplace.
If you are a client looking to get an idea of the cost to license an upcoming project here’s a great tool from Getty Images.
“Your customers will invest in you when they see that you invest in yourself.”
Say you’re a sportswear company and you want to license one of the images from the photoshoot for a billboard that will end up in a US city and you’ve rented that billboard for 3 months. How much will it cost?
First, we select that it is going to be Advertising – Print, Display or TV, and then we select the billboard option.
Next under Usage Specs, we select a full ad, (it is only one billboard, so one for circulation.) Start date is whenever the billboard will start and then the duration of that period (for this example we want 3 months).
Next under Target Market, we select the US and for industry we’ll select Sports, Fitness, and Leisure Activities as the company is in that industry.
When you click Get Price you’ll notice the page will update and the price will be in the top right corner. For this example the licensing fee would be around $3,370.00 CAD (this is because it is a Canadian example, but it should kick out your local pricing).
Now if you wanted to use that same image for website and social media, let’s go back and look at what additional fees there would be. Keep in mind the more uses you bundle and the longer the durations, you will often see a reduced overall rate verses paying full price for each use. Additionally, these are just suggestions and are only used for rough estimates so you don’t go blind into your estimate with your photographer. If you don’t budget out licensing for your project, it can often be a shock and kill your project due to the costs. Therefore this is an excellent tool for understanding the rough licensing costs.
Now we will look at what the website and social media costs might be for that same image that was on the billboard; this one will require two licenses or a “bundled” license, as website and social media are two different uses. First we will look at website use.
We first select Digital Media. Then we select Digital Advertisement (as seen down below it includes website, banner ads, over-page, in-page or web video advertisements).
Second, we select All Digital Media, the start date and for this example a duration of up to 6 months. Often clothing is seasonal so licensing this image for more than half a year might be too much.
Next, we select the target market of the US and the industry as before. And click Get Price. We see here that one image would cost roughly $1,200 CAD to license.
Now we need to look at social media licensing fees. As before we select Digital Media and now we select Social Media under format. As stated it’s a one-time use on any number of social media platforms, but it’s based on the target audience (so make sure you know how large your audience is before costing this piece out).
Let’s select under 1 million followers and duration of 1 year. Same territory and Industry as before. This results in one image costing roughly $263.00 CAD.
Together we have the billboard ($3,370), the website ($1,200) and social media ($263). Now, if you licensed this as a bundle the photographer would most likely lower the total cost, the amount the bundle is lowered is really depend on the photographer and the job itself.
Your first large campaign for your company is a big endeavor, but if executed correctly can mean the difference between making or breaking it.
Your customers will invest in you when they see that you invest in yourself.
Knowing the costs of that first photoshoot and licensing can help shape your marketing budget. This ensures you are investing in something worthwhile that will uplift your brand verses potentially damaging it.
Thanks for checking out this quick guide, it’s not perfect but it should help remove that “black magic” behind photoshoot costs.
If you’re interested in working together on your next big project, click here to see why you’ll love working with me.
Until next time,
Derek
It's about the car, the girl and the road. All distractions we need. The open road gives us the freedom to stretch our wings and refresh. The car gives us the power we need to travel through miles and miles of thoughts. And the girl, the girl. Music reminds you of her, glimpses of her smile in your peripheral. She's the angel and the devil on your shoulder on an adventure we all need to take. Take a deep breath, this is what life is about.
I sit down with Pro Photo Blog from Vistek to discuss all things photographic. Check out the full interview here.
I have partnered with Vistek, Canon Canada and Elinchrom for a great seminar on lighting and great equipment. Here's an excerpt from the event posting;
If you'd like to check out the seminar click here for more information.
UPDATE: I have been told we are currently at capacity for both events. I believe they are building waiting list, so please do signup if you're still interested. Thanks to everyone that signed up! Looking forward to meeting you all.
Warrior | April issue of Ellements Magazine
Photo + Creative Direction | Derek Heisler
Model | Raika Tavares
MUA + Hair | Sara Lindsay
Styling | Taylor Lightning
1AC | Nicole Sarah
Retouch | Pratik Naik
Sunday's are meant for PJs and goofing off. That feeling that no one is watching while you throw on the tunes and have a dance off with yourself. That pure Sunday. We all need them.
Model Kelsey Frisch of One.1 in NYC
A Portrait Series; American Stuntmen of the Wild West
Throughout the years of motion picture making, the old western film faded in and out of popularity. The truth of the matter is that when the motion picture industry first started amid the early years of the twentieth century, the western was the best. Everybody wanted to make western films. Today we see a resurgence and rebirth of the western genre, most recently with the fantastic film, The Hateful Eight.
What makes westerns so immersive and exciting are the bountiful gunfights and impressive stunts. Without the stuntmen of the wild west these films could not be made. I had the opportunity to capture portraits of such men. Their stories are written in every wrinkle, every grain of sand and dirt on their faces.
Model Svetlana Romanova
If you'd like imagery like this with your products, feel free to reach out via our contact page.
Model - Rachel
If you'd like imagery like this with your products, feel free to reach out via our contact page.
Model - Rachel
www.derekheisler.com
Jerome, Arizona the largest ghost town in the United States of America. I've been to my share of ghost towns and Jerome is by far the most interesting/spooky. Founded in the late nineteenth century for it's rich copper mines. At Jerome's peak it had a population of 10,000. Much has changed since those prosperous mining days.
Clearly we are scared.
Alcatraz, infamously known as The Rock. Walk in the foot steps of the most feared criminals.
Mysterious and full of awe. There is no real way to explain the beauty of this place without seeing it with your own eyes.
\ˈsäl\
Light and dark. Polar opposites that require many shades of bending and blending to reach either end of the spectrum. The day night cycle of Sol (our sun) follows this practice. Like the rising and setting of a sun, our lives and personalities find themselves in the same such dance. Between light and dark, the Soul finds itself. We transform as we grow, and every new experience either drives us closer to light or dark. Some need to experience true darkness before they realize the importance of the light. Others shine brightly to lead the way for others. What side do you find yourself on?
SOL
Photography - Derek Heisler http://www.derekheisler.com
Model - Patience Silva
Creative Direction - Derek Heisler
Assistant CD - Bekka Gunther
Wardrobe Design - Derek Heisler and Bekka Gunther
Makeup - Marissa Vossen
Location - Santa Clarita, Califorina
Also published for 1968 Magazine and Stellar
I wanted to share a very cool campaign I recently worked on with WAX and DDG. The idea for this year’s TEDxYYC was Where Ideas Mix.
To achieve that we set out to make dripping mannequin heads which would appear to be dripping into each other… ideas mixing.. you’re getting it now.
It was amazingly fun to work on, and was very happy with the resulting stills. Follow below to see the campaign and the amazing video from the guys over at DDG. A few behind the scene shots follow as well.
Wax recently featured the campaign on their blog here
Make sure to check out the credits at the end.
Trailer:
Credits:
Client: TEDxYYC
Ad Agency: WAX
Creative Director: Trent Burton
Art Director: Brad Connell
Copywriter: Chris Lihou
Production Company: Deluxe Design Group
Director/Camera: Nick Thomas, Chris Krieger
Camera operator: Brock Mitchell
Editor: Brock Mitchell
Post production: Creative Fields
Supers: Greg Marshall
Audio House: Redemption Audio
Music: Mitch Lee
Photographer: Derek Heisler
BTS:
My recent spread with Chantel Rae was published on SportsIllustrated.com today. derekheisler.com was then hit hard with over 250,000 hits shortly after. Very thankful for the success and response from the set. As always Chantel was a pleasure to work with.
Recently I had the pleasure/honor to sit down with Scott Shepard of Nik Radio to talk about my photography career to date. We talked tech, my engineering background, the mistress known as photography and how I lost my heart to her.
Or for you Apple boys and girls;
I also had a chance to sit down for a separate written interview for Nik’s Pro talk. Check it out here.
I was going to post about my year in review, however I decided to write these words instead.
We have a very limited conscious reality to allow barriers we create ourselves to prevent us from our true potential and happiness. We must lean into the sharper points of life and remove all weakness and doubt. Ignore the expectations we think others have of us, and take that leap of faith.
Put yourself in your shoes say fifty years from now and ponder about all the opportunities that you let slip away. Now act with such clarity and step forward.
Create change, create courage, create love.
Be who you are meant to be.
May this be the year you rise. May it be the strong foundation to something greater.
I often haven’t told the story of how I got into photography. Did it start with all these beautiful women? Oh god no.
Back in University, second year I believe, I was taking on a few small graphic design projects on the side for some extra cash. I needed a lot of stock imagery, so I bought a point and shoot digital camera, I believe it was a Canon A75. At the time it was great for what I needed, however soon enough I found it’s limitations. I wanted more control, I wanted to control depth of field and shutter speed. So on my first work term I purchased my first DSLR. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. Originally I think I even bought the kit lens *shakes head*.
I read, read, practiced, practiced, experimented and read some more. I loved capturing nature and especially landscapes. I love to hike, so this was a excuse to do even more.
Soon enough, my female friends noticed my talent and wanted me photograph them. At first, I wanted nothing to do with it. I bought this camera for landscapes not women haha. Sooner or later, I did give in. After a couple shoots I knew I needed to learn a lot more, so back to more reading, practicing and experimenting.
After shooting a lot outside I wanted to try indoors. I purchased my first lighting kit off of eBay for $399. I believe it was a Smith and Victor or something like that. It was great, but due to being continuous light (tungsten 500 watt bulbs) things got hot very fast, both myself and the subject would sweat under the lights.
So the next step was to learn how to use strobes. But that story is for another day.
