During the peak season, a seemingly logical request for the development of 1−2 winter night perspectives came from a Moscow developer, with the remark that the renders were "test" ones.
After discussing the Commercial Proposal, it turned out that "test" meant free of charge. I declined. Below are the reasons, use whichever suits you:
Cost per client. The cost of attracting a project is lower for me than a full-scale winter project.
Portfolio. Content duplicated on professional 3D platforms cannot be faked. A portfolio is a confirmation of the studio’s qualifications.
Colleagues. The Moscow development market is niche, but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You can always learn about a studio from colleagues who have previously worked with them.
Analogies. My favorite example with rebar: you would agree that a factory is unlikely to provide you with 1−2 tons of test rebar for a non-test foundation.
Principle. When working with our subcontractors, we also test them on small volumes, but we never do it for free.