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DPChallenge Forums >> Business of Photography >> charge for headshots?
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03/12/2009 04:53:41 PM · #1
Hello all,

I have been asked to do corporate headshots and I'm not quite sure what to charge. She's going to need from 2-3 looks and I'm going to offer her a retouched file of each of the ones she needs. I don't expect the retouching to take long at all. She also mentioned she will need a cd with the files (which I assumed anyway).

These will be taken on the same day I'm doing her engagement shoot, so I'm thinking of devoting maybe 45 minutes to an hour to the headshots. I was thinking a rough price of $100 for cd with all edits and 3 retouched files. Thoughts?

Michele
03/12/2009 05:10:27 PM · #2
Sounds too cheap to me, and I'm a chronic under-pricer ... you'll likely be putting in at least three hours of work/materials, and giving her multiple printable files to boot.
03/12/2009 05:18:01 PM · #3
15 minutes of shooting, 5 'poses' and she picks the one she wants for $100 to $250 (depending on your status/clientele).

I'd probably give her all 5 files, retouched, for $150 or so. I've had no probs selling them for $35-40 ea to faculty members when I do yearbook shoots or to folks that are class reunions that need/want them for work/orgs they belong to.

A studio here has the contract for my wife's employer and they'll post the 5 on their website for a week for the client to choose 1, and I think they charged $150 (a few years ago even).
03/13/2009 10:57:53 AM · #4
Big question here is: What will the headshot be used for? An ad? Annual report? Web site? All of the above?

For commercial photographers, charges are usually a combination of:

* creative fee (for actual time spent on scouting, planning, shooting and post-processing)
* usage fee (licence fee for use) and
* shoot-related expenses.


03/13/2009 11:57:01 AM · #5
For a corporate headshot, with 3 looks and 3 images, I'd say $100 is enough. Since you're doing them the same time as the engagement shots. Now if this was all you were doing, then I'd say charge her $200.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Message edited by author 2009-03-13 11:57:27.
03/13/2009 12:05:35 PM · #6
Pricing is the toughest thing for me to figure out, so I'm still going up a learning curve.

I've been doing some product shots for a catalogue at $25 per shot, which is nice because I can bang off 50 in several hours. But that was the price offered to me, and I didn't haggle.

I'm doing some corporate shots next weekend and will waive the $100 sitting fee if they buy four or more shots, and it's a given they will buy many more than that. I'm charging $50 per shot. I'm going to have them each do several different poses in front of a green screen, and will send them contact sheets with the green background, but will edit one as an example and insert many different backgrounds, including a few specifically to match the colour scheme of their website. This way they can buy extra shots of the same pose with different backgrounds depending on the use: business card, billboard, bus, website, or even at home. Easy edits for me, and a good value-added for them.

I'm selling files as opposed to prints, however. Just because I find it much easier, and faster, to simply deliver a CD. I'll do prints at an extra charge for materials. I'm neither a lawyer nor a multinational mobile phone carrier, so I don't care to get into complex packages and/or fees. My eyes glaze over when salespeople go on about packages.

I'll probably evolve with time. But this is where I am now. :-)
03/13/2009 01:52:57 PM · #7
Originally posted by Strikeslip:

I'm going to have them each do several different poses in front of a green screen, and will send them contact sheets with the green background, but will edit one as an example and insert many different backgrounds, including a few specifically to match the colour scheme of their website. This way they can buy extra shots of the same pose with different backgrounds depending on the use: business card, billboard, bus, website, or even at home. Easy edits for me, and a good value-added for them.

This is an excellent idea! Don't forget to make one where you knock the BG back to pure white -- often a "cutout" photo like that works best on a business card, or if they later want to position some lettering or another picture close by.
03/13/2009 03:09:19 PM · #8
I usually try to avoid selling digital copies of my work unless I know it's for publication or to be used in a designed being pulled together by a graphic artist. When I do sell the image my minimum price has been the same as an 8x10 ($30). This seems consistent with your thought of $100 for 3 retouched images or Prof_Fate's price of $150 for 5 retouched images.

I'm not sure what you meant by "all edits"?
03/13/2009 04:06:54 PM · #9
hi everyone,

thanks for your answers. my "all edits" i meant all the pics i took, not necessarily all retouched. i'm not too sure how much good this would do for her though. it wouldn't really be worth anything to her. maybe i'll do something like 3 looks, 2 poses each.

she said she needs these for her publicist, i'm not too sure where they'd go. she's a clinical nutritionist and i checked out her website, she has a headshot there. it could possibly end up in some sort of articles though.

thanks again for all the help!
michele
03/13/2009 05:12:46 PM · #10
I think that if you are giving them digital files you are giving them a license to reproduce the photos in certain ways, not granting them ownership or copyright. For example, they might be licensed to use the images on their website, brochures, forms and newsletters, but they couldn't let someone else use it.

Think of it more as they are buying a stock image with exclusive rights, where the purchaser happens to be the model, rather than a standard portrait session, and consider pricing accordingly.
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