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 03/14/2006 11:38:58 AM · #1
Hi all

I was asked to take some maternity shots and I was wondering what I should charge for something like that.

I have taken maternity shots before but of friends, not comercially, so I didn't charge them. This time around, I don't want to do it for free since I don't know the people.

I'm thinking it'll be a couple of hours session plus then I'll work on the computer for a while to get them nice and shinny..

I'm thinking at the end of the day I'll give them about 15 or so shots printed and on CD

Thanks for the help

Javier
 03/14/2006 11:54:16 AM · #2
Hm, honestly, I think you're selling yourself short by giving them 15 prints and images on cd. Are you thinking full res for the cd? I wouldn't go that route if I were you.

I would charge a session fee (mine's set at about $150 right now for two hours), set your print prices, and offer them a la carte. Maybe make the cd or dvd available with full res images if they place a print order with a minimum of x dollars. Or, put lower res images on the cd, and offer it at a separate price from the prints.

That's how I work anyway, and my clients seem to like it. Most of the time, if I offer around 30-40 proofs, they can't decide which they like best, and order a bunch. I have my dvd with full res images set at a high price, because I'd basically be giving away copyright, and any future print orders. And, I have a dvd with slideshow (lower res images) set to rf music available as well, at a much lower price than the full res dvd.

Hope that helps some.
 03/14/2006 12:20:23 PM · #3
Originally posted by Photogma:
Hm, honestly, I think you're selling yourself short by giving them 15 prints and images on cd. Are you thinking full res for the cd? I wouldn't go that route if I were you.

I would charge a session fee (mine's set at about $150 right now for two hours), set your print prices, and offer them a la carte. Maybe make the cd or dvd available with full res images if they place a print order with a minimum of x dollars. Or, put lower res images on the cd, and offer it at a separate price from the prints.

That's how I work anyway, and my clients seem to like it. Most of the time, if I offer around 30-40 proofs, they can't decide which they like best, and order a bunch. I have my dvd with full res images set at a high price, because I'd basically be giving away copyright, and any future print orders. And, I have a dvd with slideshow (lower res images) set to rf music available as well, at a much lower price than the full res dvd.

Hope that helps some.


I agree. Check out the photography businesses in your area and set your session fee based on your skills and the going rate in your area. I'm just starting out so I am charging $75 per session and prints are a la carte. (It typically takes about an hour for a session and I take up to 300 exposures and offer around 50 proofs, although I only guarantee 30 proofs per session) I'm offering a proof book (all printed directly on the page, not loose, easy to scan proofs) with print orders of $150 and over. I also intend to offer a cd/dvd music thing in the near future, but want to add things after I've had experience making them, etc.

My latest client asked me if she could have some images on CD. (she was one of my "portfolio building" customers before that got a cd, but when I told her I'm not offering CD's she was totally good with that. I think you're short changing yourself too if you give or sell a CD. (I do think that if I ever start doing wedding photography I might offer a cd with large packages because I figure once they've shelled out that much money they deserve it. I've heard of people giving them to them after 6 months or so, but not letting them know you intend to)

Good luck with the shoot and have fun!

edited to say, my husband pointed out that as far as my session fee goes, I can always increase it later, but I wouldn't want to have to lower it! But don't interpret that to mean that you should undervalue your services/skills. Just a consideration :)

Message edited by author 2006-03-14 12:31:34.
 03/14/2006 12:23:55 PM · #4
Tara has the right idea.
I don't like the CD bit because in reality, your only product is the print. If you give them a CD and they can print, you hace no control over the quality of the print,and when someone asks "Who toook the photo?" your name will come up, and if the print is off color or too dark or they print a photo from a low res image YOU will get the blame.

I figure my costs to be $27 an hour, plus materials. So if I am shooting for 2 hours and PP for 4 more, then I must get 6x$27 (or more of course), plus materials (prints, proofs, etc).

I don't do print pacakge deals where you have to buy 1 'set' of a pose before you can order some other pose. I usually include some print credit with my sitting so in the above example i might charge $175 and they get $30 in print credit and 15% off anything they order from the initial sitting.

This is my first full year attempting to make money, and it is the year i work out the kinks in the system, find vendors, etc.

Simple questions - are you mounting the 8x10s? how are you delivering hte images (in a walmart bag, a plain envelope, a bag with your name custom imprinted on it, a presentation box)? Each method suggests a different quality, a different price point, even if the print is exactly the same in each instance.
 03/14/2006 02:56:01 PM · #5
wow great.. this is excellent feedback.. thanks everybody

Ok.. it does make total sense..

So, if I charge for the session ($150 was what I originaly though) and then for each individual print, how much do each 8x10 go for? (I pressume it's not just what it would cost me to print them at the local photography store, but I would be making a cut some from that right?)

I've done a few sessions for friends (not just maternity, but portraits and things) and it's been great, but I thought it would be fun to start doing it a bit more seriously and getting a few extra dollars for it.
 03/14/2006 03:03:38 PM · #6
wow great.. this is excellent feedback.. thanks everybody

Ok.. it does make total sense..

So, if I charge for the session ($150 was what I originaly though) and then for each individual print, how much do each 8x10 go for? (I pressume it's not just what it would cost me to print them at the local photography store, but I would be making a cut some from that right?)

I've done a few sessions for friends (not just maternity, but portraits and things) and it's been great, but I thought it would be fun to start doing it a bit more seriously and getting a few extra dollars for it.
 03/14/2006 03:09:46 PM · #7
Your cost...the print is $1.99 lets say, and it takes you 40 minutes round trip to pick it up. If you upload and it gets mailed to you, then you have a shipping cost, but no time factor to speak of (well, uploading time and opening the mail, but to me that is just overhead time)

You now have that bare print laying on the desk. Hmm.. see //www.documounts.com/ for some peel and stick 8x10 mount board - cool stuff and even though you gotta buy a pack of 100, it works out to .56 a photo.

so $2.55 is your cost, and perhaps an envelope, sticker, postage if you're mailing it to them...a nice plastic bag with your logo on it or a presentation box or or or...figure 30c an order for bags, 70c for a box. $1 per order for this stuff, and you might want to throw in a business card, perhaps a flyer or coupon or pricelist...some advertising something.

I charge $5 for a 5x7, $14 for an 8x10 (plus mounting of $3). I have no minumum order, and I don't do 4x6s. I do wallets, they're pretty darned popular!

Costs for 8x10s are pretty standard. 5x7s can range from 29c (winkflash.com) to $1.59. Mpix is 99c. I use winkflash for most of my orders, walmart for quickies, but am considering switching to whcc.com, a pro lab. slightly higher prices (winkflash has flat 99c shipping - i like that alot!) so i may have to figure 1 order a week at most so i can control my shipping costs.

Sear/jcpenney etc charge $9-10 for an 8x10. i figure i should charge more - custom work you know. The school photog that did my son's class charges $12 for an 8x10. I have had NO resistance to my prices, and hopefull they are low enough to make scanning and copying not worth the effort. I include free minor retouching - i can do it, my photos look better with it, and it's easier that trying to explain what i did for the $5 i charged.
 03/14/2006 03:54:12 PM · #8
Well, first off, I strongly encourage you to set your prices higher at first. It's easier to knock 'em down than it is to raise them. Think about what type of client you want. Do you want to be the middle of the road photographer (price-wise), or do you want to be a higher end photographer, whose clientele are willing to drop a good chunk of change on portraits? Personally, I'm in the latter...I'd rather do a few sessions a month, with clients that are willing to pay the big bucks, than a few sessions a week with clients that will maybe only place a few hundred dollar order at most.

So, in short...my print prices are fairly high. I also have a minimum print order price set in my price list, that my clients are aware of. This ensures that I don't do a crapload of work for a $50 print order.

In my print prices, I have to cover the cost of shipping and handling, if I'm mailing them, presentation materials, the prints themselves, and the little extras, such as the 20 business cards with a photo from the client's session that they can hand out to friends.

I'll send you my price list if you want, so you can get an idea.

Also, I've seen your work, and it's lovely. Don't set your prices too low just because you want a customer.

There's also the issue of "perceived value". If your prices are too low, people may think you're not that great. Even if your work is. They may be turned off by such a low price. Set them higher, and it'll have them wondering how in demand you are ;) If you're uncomfortable with it at first, offer half price prints for a period of time (that the client is made aware of). Show your full prices on your price sheet with a strikethrough, and the half price next to it. People love to see that they're getting a deal ;)

I hope some of that made sense lol.

Again, feel free to pm me if you want more specifics on what I charge.

Tara
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