The other thing is that there wasn't any branding on the email, and the linked questionaire and pdf contract where just on Google docs.. looked a bit hinky.
I always get nervous if I receive an e-mail without branding and is g-mail and Google docs. I am also careful when the information is scarce. We usually get creative briefs that are many pages and a lot of discussion and when I get what amounts to a paragraph, something seems wrong.
Is the sky is falling, or just a cycle?
I think it’s a cycle, mostly dependent on the economy or the perceived budget for a project, especially e-commerce.
At first glance there has been vast changes in our industry.
In the last few years rental studios/stages have now become marketing firms/defacto ad agencies, that offer art direction, photographers, retouchers, etc. etc.
Now they’ve moved to e-commerce and the numbers are very low, until you read the fine print.
With this 500 company, they are reaching out to people that are “photographers", but just a quick glance at the work it seems close to a stock look.
I’ve seen large client’s try and do the same, but it rarely positions their brand well, with just filling up white space on their site, look books and marketing and there has always been people that charge less, but what you don’t do on the set you’re going to have to correct in post.
Most of the time when I receive these type of "bids" it works out that our studio is taking the risk and the return is never written in stone.
In the last few years, some of these e-commerce studios have a system where they shoot the garments on a green screen and/or clear mannequin then pick the model in the computer and boom he/she is wearing the clothes.
There is a savings on the front end with crew, talent fees, though the final image shows the product well, but the humanity is somewhat washed away and of course there is no spontaneity. If your an accountant I guess it looks like a good deal, but to really gain attention you shoot for aspiration, not just fill up the space and a company or brands website is the way to introduce yourself.
The only advise I have for anyone in our industry is hold to your best professional standards, make a profit, probably get faster and keep going forward, adapt but once again, turn a profit for you and especially your client.
IMO
BC