freelancing

By The Hour

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Another basketball photo because I seem to shoot a lot of basketball. This fisheye photo was shot mostly to amuse myself while waiting for the game to start.

Imagine if a restaurant charged for its meals based only on the time it takes to prepare the food. What if clothes were priced based only on the time it took to sew that piece of clothing? How about a grocery store that priced by the hour? For example, you get all the groceries you can grab for a rate of, say, $200/hour.
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Purchasing Photo Gear in December

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I rarely photograph US college sports but this is a men’s basketball game between Harvard University and the University of Buffalo. It was shot for, you guessed it, the Basketball Hall of Fame.

This picture has nothing to do with this post. It’s just another view-from-my-office photo.

Are you thinking of buying new photo gear or other expensive business items? If so, December offers a couple of tax benefits.

Many businesses, especially sole proprietorships, have their fiscal year match the calendar year because it makes doing your income tax easier. If this describes you then December purchases might be beneficial.
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Procuring Photography

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Another view-from-my-office photo. I was photographing a parade a few days ago and lots of people came out just to watch me work :-)

Someone this week asked for a quote to photograph “a one day corporate business event” they were hosting on a specific date “at a downtown Toronto location.” No further information was provided.

The person used a Gmail address with a rather silly username instead of a business email address. Surely an organization big enough to host a “corporate business event” would have its own company address.
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Refurbished products can keep your wallet happy

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Refurbish: to repair and clean equipment so that its condition is like new.

 

Photographers like buying new equipment and that equipment is often quite expensive. What you may not know is that many manufacturers sell refurbished or demo products at a discount.

Nikon Canada used to have a semi-secret mailing list selling demo and refurbished camera gear. While Nikon does continue to sell some refurbished and demo products at its head office in Mississauga, it seems that some refurbished camera gear is also sold through Henry’s. Many camera stores also sell demo products.

Nikon USA has a site for refurbished products but the prices aren’t very good. Canon USA and Canon Canada also sell refurbished products but the discounts aren’t the greatest.
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Kilometric Rates For 2019

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Just wanted to point out that the Canadian government has posted its 2019 kilometric rates for car travel by government employees.

These rates are the bare minimum of what photographers should be charging for use of their vehicle.

Your situation may require you to charge more. For example, it costs me about 85¢/km to drive my car. This is much higher than the government’s 57¢/km (including tax) for Ontario.

 

Please check the date of this article because it contains information that may become out of date. Tax regulations, sales tax rules, copyright laws and privacy laws can change from time to time. Always check with proper government sources for up-to-date information.

 

A Losing Opportunity

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A well-known stock photo company is currently hiring for many positions including human resources, sales and marketing, numerous tech positions, product directors, business development, photo editors and photographers.

All of these jobs are salaried and come with “first-rate Apple gear, generous vacation plan, health benefits, solid compensation/bonuses and a company culture that values empowerment, passion, integrity, courage and transparency.”

In fact, the company states that their employees enjoy “Stellar medical, dental, and vision insurance”, “Generous vacations. Game rooms”, “Competitive pay”, “Tuition reimbursement. Holiday parties”, “Fully-stocked beverage fridges. Complimentary breakfast, lunch, and snacks”, and “Subsidized gym memberships and fitness plans.”
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