Photography and Video Editing Level 3

Who it is for. People who have finished Photography and Video Editing Level 2, or working photographers and videographers who can show the same skills and want to lead a team or run a studio. In Ghana's TVET framework, National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I, where people perform complex and varied activities under minimum supervision; at National Certificate II there is considerable responsibility and autonomy, and some people guide others. This module is an advanced level comparable in parts to National Certificate I and II. It does not give a CTVET qualification.

Law and tax. Every legal and tax point is a teaching summary with its source. Where a rule was not found, the book says not verified. Ask the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the GCAA or a lawyer before you act.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 3 builds on each of these. If any feels weak, ask your trainer for a refresher before Unit 1.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs; your assessor judges your evidence against the performance criteria. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 65% of the time is practical; the business units have more classroom time.

• Steps are numbered. A line ending with a source name comes from the sources list. A step with no source is standard safe practice or the author's teaching advice.
• Any number marked example is made up for practice. Replace it with your own prices.
• Every unit ends with a Check yourself of three questions. Answers are in the Teacher Copy.
• Money Skills for Small Business Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 in this series teach general bookkeeping and venture basics. Units 5 to 7 here go deeper for a photo and video studio.

Competency standard

Range. Studio portraits, a mixed-light interior, a multi-clip video. Evidence. Lighting plans with ratios; matched photo set; Resolve project before and after.

Lighting ratios in stops

The ratio compares the key side of a face with the fill side. Each stop is double the light (Level 1).

Method.

1. Set the key light; meter (or test) for the exposure you want, for example f/8.
2. Set the fill alone and test: for 2:1 the fill alone gives f/5.6 (one stop less); for 4:1, f/4.
3. Use the inverse square law to move the fill instead of changing power: double the distance for a quarter of the light.
4. Record the ratio and positions in the lighting plan so the set can be repeated.

Lighting dark, medium and light skin together

Groups in Ghana often include very different skin tones, with white or bright fabrics and gold jewellery. Common faults: dark faces underexposed, light faces and white lace blown out.

1. Use soft, big light (large softbox or bounced flash) placed fairly frontal; it lowers contrast.
2. Expose for the faces, then protect the highlights: check the histogram and highlight warning on white fabric.
3. Shoot RAW so you can lift shadows and recover highlights later.
4. Use a reflector or fill to open shadows on darker faces; check the eyes have catchlights.
5. Keep white balance fixed for the whole set; correct with a grey card, not by eye.
6. In editing, adjust each face's brightness with a local tool (Snapseed Selective, or a mask in your editor); never change a person's skin colour or lighten it unless they ask (author's ethics rule; see Unit 4).

Mixing flash and ambient light

1. Set the ambient first in M: choose shutter and aperture so the room or sky looks the way you want (often 1 to 2 stops darker than "correct").
2. Add flash to light the people. Aperture and ISO change both flash and ambient; shutter speed changes mostly the ambient, within the sync speed (Level 2).
3. If room bulbs are orange and the flash is daylight, either gel the flash orange and set tungsten white balance, or switch the room lights off (author's method).
4. Test, check the histogram, adjust one thing at a time.

Colour consistency across a job

1. Shoot a grey card (or colour checker) at the start of every lighting change: each room, each light set-up.
2. Set a custom white balance from the grey card, or click it with the eyedropper in editing (Snapseed and most editors have one).
3. Edit one "master" picture per lighting set-up; copy the settings to all pictures from that set-up.
4. View the whole set as a grid; fix any picture that stands out.
5. Edit on a screen set to medium brightness; if you sell prints, compare a test print with the screen (Level 2).
6. Keep a job colour sheet: camera, white balance, edit preset name, print profile.

Correct, then grade, in DaVinci Resolve

The Color page in DaVinci Resolve offers primary and secondary correction tools, power windows and HDR grading.

1. Correct each clip: white balance, exposure, contrast, so a white shirt is white and skin looks natural.
2. Match clips from different cameras to one hero clip; use the scopes your trainer shows you rather than your eyes alone.
3. Grade last: a gentle look applied to all clips together.
4. Protect skin: if the look shifts skin colour, isolate the skin with a qualifier or window and bring it back.
5. Export a still of each scene before and after for your logbook.

Check yourself: Unit 1

1. What ratio is a 2-stop difference between key and fill?
2. Why shoot a grey card at each lighting change?
3. In video, why correct before you grade?

Competency standard

Range. One multi-camera event (church programme, graduation or wedding) and one short documentary about a business or community project. Evidence. Production plan; crew briefing notes; sound log; Resolve multi-camera project; finished films; releases.

The production plan

Directing the crew

1. Briefing 45 minutes before: programme, positions, the three must-have moments, safety (cables, crowds, exits), consent rules.
2. Sync: all cameras start recording before the event; one clap or flash in view of all cameras.
3. Keep A rolling the whole time; it covers every gap.
4. B and C change shot only while A is safe; use agreed hand signals or a messaging group with short codes (A safe, B change, C go).
5. No one crosses in front of the main camera during key moments.
6. Battery and card changes happen in turns, never two cameras at once.
7. After the event: every card is handed to the person doing the backup; it is logged before anyone leaves.

Sound for productions

1. Lapel mics on main speakers; a recorder or sound-desk feed if the venue allows (ask the sound engineer; never unplug their cables).
2. Record every camera's own sound too: it helps sync and is a backup.
3. Keep a sound log: source, track, notes ("feedback at 11:20").
4. Record room tone at each location.
5. Monitor with headphones throughout; a separate sound person is best.

Editing multi-camera in Resolve

1. Import all cameras and audio into bins by camera.
2. Sync clips by sound or by the clap.
3. Create a multicam clip if your version offers it (the Cut page includes multicam tools); otherwise stack cameras on tracks and cut between them.
4. Cut the main story first on camera A; switch to B or C for faces and reactions.
5. Mix sound in Fairlight: speech clear, music and room under it.
6. Correct and match colour across cameras (Unit 1).
7. Deliver the formats agreed: full programme, highlights, and social cut-downs.

A short documentary

1. Research: meet the people; agree the story and what they are comfortable sharing.
2. Consent: written releases from each person; parents for children; permission for each location.
3. Interviews: three-point light (Level 2), lapel mic, open questions.
4. B-roll: at least three times as much as you think you need: hands, tools, places, people working.
5. Structure: beginning (the person and the problem), middle (what they do), end (what changed and what is next).
6. Fact-check every claim in the film with the people in it; do not exaggerate.
7. Show the film to the main people before it is published, and fix factual errors.

Aerial shots: lawful only

The GCAA does not allow drone flights within 30 m of buildings, vehicles or people not under the operator's control without explicit permission, or within 10 km (5 km without instrument procedures) of an airport or helipad unless approved; night flights need special authorisation; commercial use goes through the GCAA Safety Regulation Department. Using an uncertificated drone company and invading privacy with a drone are both on GCAA's sanctions list.

1. Ask the client what aerial shots they really need and why.
2. Book a GCAA-certified operator; get a copy of their certificate and insurance.
3. Agree the flight plan: place, time, distance from people, privacy of neighbours.
4. The operator flies; you direct the shot from the ground.
5. Keep the paperwork in the job folder.

The Hub's Precision Agriculture Level 2 manual explains drone classes and permissions in more detail.

Check yourself: Unit 2

1. Why must camera A keep rolling the whole time?
2. Why record camera sound even when you have lapel mics?
3. A client wants drone shots of a beach wedding. What do you do?

Competency standard

Range. A studio with an owner, one or two assistants and an apprentice. Evidence. Job cards; production board; QC checklist and results; training plan; staff feedback notes.

The job card

One card (paper or a shared sheet) for every job:

The production board

A wall board or shared sheet with columns: Booked → Shot → Backed up → Culled → Edited → QC → Delivered → Archived. Move each job card along. Anything stuck more than three days gets attention at the morning meeting (author's rule).

Quality-control checklist (before anything leaves the studio)

Supervising: a plain method

1. Plan: every morning, 10 minutes: jobs today, who does what, safety and consent points.
2. Show: demonstrate any new task once, then watch the person do it.
3. Check: at agreed points (after backup, after cull, before delivery), not only at the end.
4. Feedback: say what was good, one thing to improve, and how; in private.
5. Record: note training given and mistakes found; look for patterns, not people to blame.
6. Safety and consent: you are responsible for your team's conduct on a shoot; brief them on venue rules and on who must not be photographed.

Employment basics

• A worker employed for six months or more must have a written contract (s.12), and a written statement of terms within two months (s.13).
• Workers are entitled to 15 working days' paid leave a year (s.20) and 12 weeks' maternity leave (s.57).
• Casual workers (for example a second shooter for one day) must be paid at least the full daily minimum for each day worked (s.74). The 2026 national minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day.
• Register employees with SSNIT when you hire.

Apprentices

The 2026 Budget allocated GH¢170 million to the National Apprenticeship Programme; ask your district office or the GEA whether your studio can host apprentices under it (not verified).

A staged training plan (example):

Agree the apprentice's terms in writing (length, allowance, hours, what they will learn, who owns the pictures they take for the studio). Children below working age are not apprentices; for young people, follow the Labour Act and your district's rules (not verified for this trade).

Check yourself: Unit 3

1. Name four columns on a production board.
2. What must a casual second shooter be paid at least?
3. When should a supervisor check work, apart from at the end?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's studio documents. Evidence. Contract set; DPC registration checklist; privacy and retention policy; complaint role-play.

Copyright under Act 690 (teaching summary)

Note that s.22 is about copyright; it does not remove your duties to the person under the Data Protection Act. The cedi value of a penalty unit is set by other law and was not checked for this manual.

Contracts your studio needs

Data protection under Act 843 (teaching summary)

• Consent before processing personal data unless a listed reason applies; a person may object and processing must stop (s.20).
• Collect data directly from the person in most cases (s.21) and for a specific, lawful purpose (s.22); make sure they know the purpose (s.23).
• Do not keep data longer than necessary for the purpose, unless the law, a contract or consent allows (s.24).
• Register with the Commission (s.27); an unregistered data controller shall not process personal data (s.53).
• Security: appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures against loss, damage and unlawful access (s.28).
• Children: data about a child under parental control is special personal data (s.37).
• Direct marketing needs prior written consent, and people may stop it in writing at any time (s.40).
• Journalism, literature and art: s.64 gives a limited exemption for publishing literary or artistic material in the public interest, but you must still follow the principles of lawful processing, minimality, further processing, information quality and security safeguards. Do not rely on it for commercial studio work without legal advice.

Registration. The DPC says all data controllers and processors must register. Under L.I. 2512 (2025) the registration fee is GH¢156 for small data controllers (turnover GH¢90,000 and below, maximum 50 staff or customers) and GH¢1,170 for medium ones (above GH¢90,000 to GH¢5 million, or up to 50 staff or customers not above 249). Renewal period and the exact category for a studio with many customers were not verified: ask the DPC.

Handling requests and complaints

A person asks you to remove their photo.

1. Thank them; confirm which picture(s).
2. Remove it from your website, social pages and portfolio within an agreed short time (for example 48 hours, studio rule).
3. If the picture is in a client's private album, explain the client's rights and ask the client; for direct marketing use, stop at once (s.40).
4. Log the request and what you did.

Someone says you used their photo or music.

1. Take the item down while you check.
2. Check your licence or contract record.
3. If you were wrong, apologise, remove it, and agree a fair settlement; if you hold a licence, send a copy.
4. Learn from it: update your music and image logs.

Studio ethics rules

Check yourself: Unit 4

1. What two moral rights does Act 690 s.6 give an author?
2. What must an unregistered data controller not do under Act 843?
3. Does s.22 of Act 690 remove the need for consent under Act 843? Explain.

Competency standard

Range. A photo and video studio of one owner, partners or a company, in Sekondi-Takoradi or nearby. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; finance plan; one-page plan.

Choose a legal form

Annual returns for companies cost GH¢175 a year, with late fees of GH¢1,000 (1 to 4 years late) or GH¢2,000 (5 years or more). The fees are from the ORC 2026 fee list. Two photographers sharing a studio can start as a partnership; a studio that wants corporate contracts often chooses a company.

Registration, step by step

1. Register the name at the Office of the Registrar of Companies, online or by USSD *222#.
2. Tax identity. Your Ghana Card PIN is your TIN; a company gets a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
3. Data Protection Commission: register before you process clients' personal data; GH¢156 for a small data controller under L.I. 2512.
4. Business operating permit from your Assembly; in Sekondi-Takoradi the portal is tcc.stma.gov.gh. Ask the category and fee for a photo studio; the permit is renewed yearly.
5. Fire safety: ask the Ghana National Fire Service whether a small studio with lights needs a fire certificate (not verified).
6. Drones: only if your company will fly, apply to the GCAA (commercial use through the Safety Regulation Department). Otherwise subcontract (Unit 2).
7. SSNIT: register workers when you hire.
8. Business bank or MoMo account, separate from your own.

Tax: services are different

A photo and video studio sells services. From 1 January 2026, under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), VAT is 15% plus NHIL 2.5% plus GETFund levy 2.5%, a 20% effective rate, and the registration threshold for goods is GH¢750,000. For services there is no turnover threshold: a person making taxable supplies of services must register within 30 days of starting. A VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme.

The Modified Taxation Scheme applies to residents with business income only who are not VAT-registered: fixed amounts up to GH¢20,000 turnover, and 3% of turnover from GH¢20,001 to GH¢750,000 (raised from GH¢500,000 by Act 1178 in 2026; GRA's page still showed the old figure on 8 October 2026). Professionals, owners of several businesses or outlets, and partners are excluded. Companies pay corporate income tax at 25% standard.

What to do: before you start trading, visit GRA with your plan and ask in writing: (1) whether your photo and video services are taxable supplies that must be VAT-registered from day one, (2) whether any exemption applies, and (3) which income tax route applies. Keep the answer. The worked examples in Unit 6 show both routes.

Corporate clients may withhold tax from your fee: services 7.5% where the supplier is paid over GH¢2,000 a year; ask for a withholding tax certificate each time.

Premises and location

Choose: a ground-floor room of at least about 4 m × 5 m for a backdrop and lights (author's estimate); steady power or solar and battery back-up; secure doors and burglar bars for kit; a waiting corner; near churches, schools, offices, markets or event venues; visible signage; parking or a taxi stop nearby. Get a written tenancy with rent, term, advance and who repairs. In Takoradi, many landlords ask for rent in advance (not verified for studios; check).

Equipment and start-up budget

Example start-up budget (all numbers are examples unless a source is shown; get three quotes):

Financing

Own savings; susu or VSLA; microfinance; banks. The Ghana Enterprises Agency offers SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth and Kaizen, with Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West. The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme and GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. The Assemblies' disability fund can help persons with disabilities; ask your Assembly for the current rules (not verified). Show a lender your cash book (Unit 6), signed bookings and your forecast (Unit 7); borrow only for kit your bookings prove you need.

Hire and protect

Pay at least GH¢21.77 a day. SSNIT: employee 5.5% and employer 13% of basic salary; the employer pays within 14 days after month-end. PAYE is due by the 15th of the next month. Use the Labour Act points in Unit 3. Insurance: use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; check at nic.gov.gh. Ask about equipment cover (theft and damage, at the studio and on location), fire and public liability; which covers are compulsory for a small studio was not verified.

Market yourself

• WhatsApp Business profile and catalogue with packages.
• Google Business Profile with your studio location and hours.
• A clear sign; a printed price card; a portfolio book in the waiting area.
• Partnerships with event planners, decorators, caterers, churches, schools, guesthouses and print shops.
• Corporate packages for companies' staff photos, events and annual reports.
• Only use pictures with releases in adverts (Unit 4).

Accessibility

Act 715 is Ghana's disability law, but many public buildings remain inaccessible because it is not enforced; a ten-year moratorium in the law has long passed. Make your studio a place where persons with disabilities can be clients and staff:

• Ground floor, a ramp, a wide door, a seat in the studio for clients who cannot stand long, and a stool posing set.
• Captions on every film; a written price card for deaf clients; patience and clear speech.
• Workable roles: editing, colour correction, culling, printing and framing, ID and product photography, studio portraits, bookings and bookkeeping, at table height.
• Adjustments: height-adjustable desks, large monitors and screen readers, a monopod, visual alarms and messaging instead of calls.
• Ask each worker and client what helps. (Author's advice; no Ghana source found.)

One-page plan and pitch

Customers and services; packages and prices; costs and break-even; location; kit and start-up cost; finance; registrations and dates; people; 12-month cash forecast (Unit 7); risks and actions (theft, kit failure, data loss, consent complaint, late payment).

Check yourself: Unit 5

1. What is the 2026 fee to register a sole-proprietor business name?
2. Why must a photo studio ask GRA about VAT before it starts?
3. Name two insurances to ask about for a studio.

Competency standard

Range. A studio with one employee, casual second shooters, deposits for future events and credit customers. Evidence. Cash book; deposits register; costing sheets; payroll; month-end pack.

The core rule

Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, capital and income; a trial balance checks that debits equal credits but cannot catch every error. Pay yourself a fixed drawing and write it down. See the hub's Money Skills for Small Business Level 2 for the basics.

Records a studio keeps

• Cash book: every receipt and payment, cash and MoMo, with a running balance.
• Receipts and invoices: numbered; copies kept. Invoices show job number, date, client, package, price, deposit paid, balance and due date.
• Deposits register: each deposit for a future event, the event date and the amount. A deposit for work not yet done is a liability (you owe the work, or a refund), not income.
• Debtors list: balances owed after delivery, with due dates; corporate clients' withholding tax certificates.
• Creditors list: labs, album makers, freelancers you owe.
• Petty cash: a float with a voucher for each spend.
• Consumables stock: photo paper, ink, albums, frames, USB drives.
• Asset register: each camera, lens, light, drive and computer: date, cost, serial number, expected life, salvage value. This also helps with insurance and theft.
• Job cards (Unit 3) link income and costs to each job.

Cost a job

Direct (variable) costs of a job: second shooters and editors paid per job, transport, prints and albums, data, food on location. Contribution = price − direct costs. Fixed costs (rent, wages, power, data plans, software, depreciation) are paid by the total contribution of all jobs.

Depreciation (straight line) = (cost − salvage) ÷ useful life. Cameras and computers wear out and go out of date: depreciation spreads their cost over the months you use them, so you can save to replace them.

Wages, SSNIT and PAYE (example)

Studio assistant on GH¢1,500 gross (example): employee SSNIT 5.5% = 82.50; taxable pay 1,417.50; PAYE: first 588 at 0%; next 80 at 5% = 4; next 100 at 10% = 10; remaining 649.50 at 17.5% = 113.66; total 127.66; net pay 1,289.84; employer SSNIT 13% = 195; cost to the studio 1,695; owed to SSNIT 277.50 and GRA 127.66, total 405.16, due by the 14th and 15th of the next month. Casual second shooters are paid at least the full daily minimum for each day; record each payment with a receipt.

Month-end routine

1. Total the cash book; agree cash in hand and the MoMo and bank balances.
2. Reconcile statements to the book; list differences and fix them.
3. Update the deposits register (move deposits for events done this month into sales).
4. Count consumables; update the debtors and creditors lists.
5. Post depreciation from the asset register.
6. Trial-style check: debits equal credits.
7. Income statement and balance sheet.
8. Forecast next month; pay SSNIT by the 14th and PAYE by the 15th; file everything.

Example month: the full pack (all figures are examples)

Opening position: cash GH¢20,000; equipment at cost GH¢40,000 (two cameras 24,000; lenses 8,000; lights 4,000; computer 4,000); owner's capital GH¢60,000.

This month's work (prices before any VAT):

• Wedding A, GH¢5,000: shot and delivered; paid in full this month.
• Wedding B, GH¢5,000: shot and delivered; GH¢2,500 paid, GH¢2,500 still owed.
• Studio portraits and ID photos: GH¢3,000 cash.
• Product photos for a company: GH¢4,000 invoiced, due in 30 days.
• A deposit of GH¢2,250 received for a wedding next month (a liability).

Direct costs (cash): second shooters 2 × 600 = 1,200; albums and prints 1,400; transport 600; paper and ink 300. Total 3,500.

Overheads: rent 800; power and data 400; assistant GH¢1,500 gross (employer SSNIT 195); DPC registration 156; cloud storage 100; depreciation 800. Owner's drawing GH¢2,500.

Cash book summary.

Income statement.

The deposit for next month's wedding is not in sales: the work is not done yet.

Depreciation (examples): cameras (24,000 − 2,400) ÷ 4 years = 5,400 a year = 450 a month; lenses (8,000 − 800) ÷ 4 = 1,800 a year = 150 a month; lights (4,000 − 400) ÷ 3 = 1,200 a year = 100 a month; computer (4,000 − 400) ÷ 3 = 1,200 a year = 100 a month.

Balance sheet at month end.

Trial-style check. Debits: cash 24,004.16 + debtors 6,500 + equipment 40,000 + drawing 2,500 + direct costs 3,500 + rent 800 + power and data 400 + salary 1,500 + employer SSNIT 195 + depreciation 800 + DPC 156 + cloud 100 = 80,455.16. Credits: capital 60,000 + sales 17,000 + accumulated depreciation 800 + owed to GRA and SSNIT 405.16 + deposits in advance 2,250 = 80,455.16. They agree.

Profit is not cash. Profit was GH¢9,549 and cash rose from 20,000 to 24,004.16 (+4,004.16): 9,549 + 800 depreciation + 405.16 owed + 2,250 deposit − 6,500 not yet collected − 2,500 drawing = 4,004.16. Notice that GH¢2,250 of the cash is the next client's deposit: it is not yours to spend.

Break-even. Fixed costs = 800 + 400 + 1,695 + 800 + 156 + 100 = 3,951. Contribution ratio = 13,500 ÷ 17,000 = 79.4%. Break-even sales = 3,951 ÷ 0.794 = about GH¢4,975 a month. Per wedding: price 5,000, direct costs 1,750 (example), contribution 3,250, so fixed costs need about 1.2 weddings a month. Net margin = 9,549 ÷ 17,000 = 56.2% (before the owner's own wage and tax). Mark-up = profit ÷ cost; margin = profit ÷ price: a package costing 2,000 sold at 2,500 has a mark-up of 25% and a margin of 20%.

Tax in the example

Route A, if GRA confirms you are not VAT-registered and may use the Modified Taxation Scheme: a year at this level is 17,000 × 12 = GH¢204,000, inside the GH¢20,001 to 750,000 band, so tax is 3% of turnover: GH¢510 on this month's sales.

Route B, if you must register for VAT (services have no threshold): your prices above are before VAT. You charge 20% on top of taxable supplies: 17,000 × 20% = GH¢3,400 output VAT, less any input VAT on purchases with valid VAT invoices, paid to GRA by the last working day of the next month. NHIL and GETFund are now claimable as input tax. Income tax is then not on the Modified Taxation Scheme; ask GRA or an accountant how to file (not worked here).

Withholding tax: when the company pays its GH¢4,000 invoice, it may withhold 7.5% = GH¢300 and pay you GH¢3,700. Record the full 4,000 as sales, the 300 as tax paid in advance, and keep the certificate.

Records: keep them in Ghana for at least six years from the end of the year of assessment or VAT period. Free tools: Excel or Google Sheets; Zoho Books free plan (one user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year, revenue under US$50,000); Wave.

Check yourself

1. Why is a deposit for next month's wedding a liability?
2. What does straight-line depreciation spread out?
3. How long must tax records be kept?

Competency standard

Range. A photo and video studio business plan. Evidence. One-page plan; 12-month forecast; panel score sheet.

Quality systems and customer care

• QC before delivery (Unit 3), with monthly reject and late rates.
• Complaint log: date, client, job, problem, action, reply within two working days (studio rule).
• Client feedback: a three-question message a week after delivery; ask for a review.
• Customer care: reply to enquiries the same day; send a progress message during editing; deliver on the promised date; fix genuine faults without argument.

Pricing strategy

Three views: cost-plus (direct costs plus a share of fixed costs plus profit), competitor (what others in your area charge; ask, do not guess), and value (what a well-made, on-time, consent-safe film or album is worth to a family or a company). Raise prices when you are fully booked; do not cut prices below contribution to fill a quiet month: offer portrait days or mini-sessions instead.

Scaling: what to do next

1. Fix the bottleneck first: usually editing time. Train an editor, use presets, deliver previews quickly.
2. Retainers: monthly product and social content for shops, hotels and NGOs (steady income).
3. A second team for weekends with two events.
4. New lines: corporate headshots, school portrait days (each parent's consent), photo restoration, event printing.
5. Equipment only when bookings prove the need; insure it.
6. A second branch only when the first runs without you.

Partnerships, contracts and tenders

• Partners: event planners, decorators, caterers, churches, guesthouses and print shops; agree referral fees in writing.
• Retainers and corporate contracts: scope, number of shoots, deliverables, deadlines, payment terms, copyright and licence (Act 690 s.7), data protection duties, how to end.
• Tenders: public bodies and NGOs buy photography and video through procurement rules; the exact rules were not verified, so ask the Public Procurement Authority and the buyer. Prepare a company profile, TIN, ORC certificate, Assembly permit, DPC registration, a portfolio with releases, and three references.

Records for a loan

Registration documents, TIN, DPC certificate, six to twelve months of cash book and MoMo statements, the deposits register, the asset register, signed bookings for the next months, and the 12-month forecast.

Succession and ethics

Write procedures down (backup, culling, editing presets, QC, delivery) so the studio runs when you are away; name a deputy; keep passwords and key documents where two trusted people can reach them; plan what happens to client archives if the studio closes (tell clients and delete or hand over as agreed). Ethics: consent first, honest editing, no uncleared music, pay people on time, keep deposits safe for the work they pay for.

Capstone: the 12-month cash-flow forecast

Worked example (example numbers). Opening cash GH¢15,000. Receipts: 70% of a month's sales collected that month (including deposits), 30% the next month. A loan of GH¢10,000 received in month 4. Payments: direct costs 25% of sales (rounded to the cedi); fixed cash costs GH¢3,151 a month (the example month's overheads without depreciation); owner's drawing GH¢2,500; a third camera and lens for GH¢12,000 in month 4; loan repayments GH¢1,000 a month from month 5. Months 11 and 12 are a busy season of weddings and end-of-year events (assumed for this example, not verified).

Month 1 receipts are only the 70% part, so cash dips slightly. Month 4 shows the loan in and the camera out. Cash builds up later: decide in advance how much is held for deposits owed, for kit replacement (your depreciation), and for tax, before you spend any of it. This is an example, not a promise.

Panel scoring (20 marks each): customer and services; legal route and compliance (registration, VAT question answered, DPC, consent and copyright, drone rule); money (start-up, job costing, break-even, forecast, deposits handled as liabilities); safety, data and ethics; clarity and answers. Competent: at least 60 of 100 with no zero in safety, data and ethics (author's rule).

Check yourself

1. Give one reason a profitable studio can run short of cash.
2. Name three things a corporate retainer contract should say.
3. Why should a studio hold back cash equal to deposits received?

1. What lighting ratio is a 1-stop difference between key and fill?
2. Why shoot a grey card at every lighting change?
3. In a multi-camera production, what is camera A's job?
4. Name two drone rules from the GCAA FAQ that affect event work.
5. Name four things a QC checklist should check.
6. What must a written employment contract cover, and for whom is it required?
7. Under Act 690 s.7, who holds the economic rights in commissioned work without a contract saying otherwise?
8. How long does copyright last for an individual author's photo?
9. What does Act 843 s.53 say?
10. Why must a photo studio ask GRA about VAT before trading?
11. In the example month, why is the GH¢2,250 deposit not in sales?
12. Write the accounting equation.

Best next reads: the hub's Money Skills for Small Business Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2; Precision Agriculture Level 2 for drone rules; the DPC and GCAA websites; the full text of Acts 690 and 843; a meeting with your GEA Business Advisory Centre.

What this module does not cover: flying drones; full statutory accounts for companies and income tax filing outside the Modified Taxation Scheme (ask an accountant); live broadcast engineering.

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.