let's play "Price This Job" - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

02/06/2007 10:55:18 AM · #1

I'll give you the specs, you give me your best price (and please, no BS responses...this is a learning exercise).

The Job:

A national chain is opening a new store in your town. They are having a pre-grand opening ceremony that will be attended by invited guest, including the mayor. The event will last 1 hour. They need 25 candid photos that include the ribbon cutting, as well as their guests enjoying being at the event (ie, browsing through the store, their sales people interacting with the guests, etc). At least 10 of the 25 photos need to be fully captioned--first and last names, identified left-to-right.

Photos need to be 150dpi or larger, sized to 12 inches on the longest side. Slight sharpening is okay, but no other adjustments.

Images will be used on the corporate website; if they are good enough (both in terms of content, composition, technical quality, and are high-res), they will be considered for use in an internal magazine, and possibly included in future training and marketing videos; prints will be hung in the store.

The client will take sole ownership of the images and their copyright, and you will not be allowed to display the images in your portfolio.

-----------------------
Ok, those are the specs. If you have any questions, post them here. What would you charge?

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

02/06/2007 10:57:43 AM · #2

First question.. this "national chain store" is it like a Wal-Mart or more like a Nordstrom department store?

scarbrd

Leica M10

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

02/06/2007 10:58:50 AM · #3

I would do this job on an hourly or daily rate. Figure at least a full day for prep, shooting, and processing.

Rates vary depending on the photographer, location, and client.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

02/06/2007 11:00:04 AM · #4

First gut reaction to this is no less than $1,200US

nards656

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Tamron SP AF 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AD Aspherical IF for Canon

02/06/2007 11:01:17 AM · #5

$1000.

edit - that's not a bid in response to Brad - he posted while I was typing :)

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 11:01:50.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/06/2007 11:03:41 AM · #6

I'm not a professional, but I would say much higher than those guys. You are a professional! At $2500 that's only $100 per photo which you are giving up all rights to, not to mention the multiple uses they plan for them. Then again, will you at least be given recognition for them? Will your name be out there for all to see since you can't put them in your portfolio?

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

02/06/2007 11:06:16 AM · #7

What are the photographer's deliverables?

1. CD with the images and txt files with corresponding captions noting the photos they belong to.

2. ???

muckpond

Nikon D200

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

02/06/2007 11:09:27 AM · #8

i'd agree to just charge your day rate. that sounds more than reasonable to me.

02/06/2007 11:09:54 AM · #9

Originally posted by idnic:

First question.. this "national chain store" is it like a Wal-Mart or more like a Nordstrom department store?

something that is just about everywhere, but not that large physically. also, it's not in a mall, but may be near one.

Originally posted by scarbrd:

I would do this job on an hourly or daily rate. Figure at least a full day for prep, shooting, and processing.

there is no prep. the location is what it is, and this is candid work. there are no models, no lighting except whatever can be attached to your camera. remember, the shoot is only 1 hour.

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Rates vary depending on the photographer, location, and client.

so, what would your rate be?

02/06/2007 11:11:23 AM · #10

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

What are the photographer's deliverables?

1. CD with the images and txt files with corresponding captions noting the photos they belong to.

you'll be preparing a cd to be fedexed on the client's account. has to be in hand within 5 business days.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

02/06/2007 11:11:44 AM · #11

Originally posted by muckpond:

i'd agree to just charge your day rate. that sounds more than reasonable to me.

so you would do this for... ;-)

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

02/06/2007 11:15:08 AM · #12

Ok, I'm thinking the major stores around malls are typically fairly expensive to buy franchises so the opening would be a big deal. The client expects you to get it perfect the first time, no chance for reshoot and will own the images once they're done. I'm guessing the client's budget will be in the $4000 area - though in a different market (NYC or LA) it would be double that amount.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

02/06/2007 11:19:06 AM · #13

Not to derail this in any way, but on my automotive network, which I've been a member of for going on 8 years,
has a very strict policy about, and I quote:

No Group Discussion of Fees, Charges, etc

Many countries -- including the United States of America, where XXXX is based -- have strict legal guidelines regarding group discussion of charges for items or services. For this reason, absolutely no group discussion of fees, charges, prices, pricing policy or labor rates is allowed on XXXX. It does not matter what currency you use (dollars, clams, coconuts, bananas), this discussion is absolutely FORBIDDEN, for your safety as well as ours.

I wonder if there are issues on here about doing the same. I know pricing comes up often, and can be construed as price fixing.

pawdrix

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

02/06/2007 11:20:15 AM · #14

How many hours do you think the job will take, start to finish? How much expense will you incur...bullshit, included?

fotomann_forever

02/06/2007 11:20:36 AM · #15

What's their budget? :-)

TCGuru

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/06/2007 11:21:08 AM · #16

I'm just gonna throw this out there... seems like a pretty simple job with huge market potential and, even though I can't use the photos in my port, it would be nice to get some word of mouth references out of it... besides, if it is just candids, that is only about 120 shots ~ 2 shots a minute for an hour.

I would do it for $300. because you said this: Slight sharpening is okay, but no other adjustments

but, that's just me :)

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 11:32:02.

muckpond

Nikon D200

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

02/06/2007 11:22:25 AM · #17

Originally posted by skiprow:

Originally posted by muckpond:
i'd agree to just charge your day rate. that sounds more than reasonable to me.

so you would do this for... ;-)

my full day rate is $1000, and that's 8 hours of work (whether it's 4 shooting and 4 processing or 7 hours of shooting at 1 processing...whatever). it's always worked for me. *shrug*

but i also live in a cheaper area. :) i don't know what a going "day rate" would be out there.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/06/2007 11:30:01 AM · #18

Originally posted by BradP:

construing this type of discussion as price fixing would be a real stretch. you know how much research went into developing the uniform pricing that is used by the automotive industry.

in photography, the only apparent standard is "whatever the market will bear". it's also quite a bit different, because there are so many different levels of competence and usages of the end result. this doesn't even take into consideration the "beauty in the eye of the beholder" factor. you might be able to develop "standard" pricing for a mall studio shoot, but how could you begin to put a standard pricing on one of your landscapes or one of my candids or one of aznym's abstracts?

that's the point of this discussion. as there are no "standards", i've presented a case (a real one, at that), just so others could take a crack at pricing it.

also, in the automotive industry, because everything is priced pretty much the same, the better mechanics make more money because they are more efficient and are able to develop a relationship with their customers that keep them coming back--even though they are charging pretty much the same price as the next guy.

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

02/06/2007 11:30:14 AM · #19

I'd say $300,200. (Just thought I'd give the same sort of ridiculous answer that people always give me when I ask pricing questions). :P

fotomann_forever

02/06/2007 11:33:14 AM · #20

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

What's their budget? :-)

I want to know the budget. If the price doesn't fit my needs (especially since I lose rights to the photos) I would simply turn it down.

IF the budget is high enough, I'm a hired gun.

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS for Nikon

02/06/2007 11:33:54 AM · #21

Originally posted by pawdrix:

How many hours do you think the job will take, start to finish? How much expense will you incur...bullshit, included?

about an hour roundtrip travel, no more than 2 hours on site, and probably an hour, maybe two, in processing (mainly just keying in the captions). not too much bs, as you'll be the only photographer there, and you'll have complete access to the store. also, the guest are told up front that they will be photographed for marketing purposes--you don't have to bother with getting releases, just names.

Originally posted by fotoman:

what is their budget

it varies from opening to opening, depending on the bids they get...

Greetmir

Nikon D60

02/06/2007 11:33:58 AM · #22

I think about a thousand sounds about right. Did they not tell you what the budget is?

ralph

Nikon Z9

02/06/2007 11:34:13 AM · #23

~2000$
more along the lines of one day on site & one processing ..

fotomann_forever

02/06/2007 11:39:32 AM · #24

Originally posted by skiprow:

it varies from opening to opening, depending on the bids they get...

Ahhh, ok... one hour, no rights, no processing...

$600 ... that's at the cost of living here (which is fairly low). I see it as, they may get lower bids... but mine is high enough to show them I take pride in my work.

And, if they pass, I've really lost nothing.