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01/10/2007 02:25:36 AM · #1 |
I have been asked to take some family portraits for a family and since I don't have studio equipment, just a good flash with the Lightsphere plus any natural lighting I can get I was wondering what to charge for a session.
Maybe I could offer a couple of packages? What would be a good starting price for a newbie. (They have seen some examples of photos I have taken of my kids and wanted me to do theirs). I think I would have to get some online place to print out the photos? Have you tried MPix?
Thanks for any ideas! |
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01/10/2007 06:39:46 AM · #2 |
when i was where you are, i either 1) charged $5 for 4x6s, $10 for 5x7s, $15 for 8x10s, and $25 for 11x14s, and nothing for the shoot, or 2) nothing at all. i was at a point where i had excellent photos of my kids, but was looking to add new subjects to my portfolio. at that point, i didn't want to be over-thinking things, confusing myself, and confusing my clients--i wanted to be focused on my shooting. as you push yourself forward, both in terms of experience (in dealing with customers), equipment, and business, you can evaluate and tweak your business model. ultimately, in terms of pricing, it will be a matter of what YOUR market will bear in relation to your reputation (ie, if there's not a lot money where you live, it won't matter how good you are, you probably won't be able to charge as much as in places where there is more money. you'll have to gauge things locally.).
good luck!
Message edited by author 2007-01-10 06:43:49. |
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01/10/2007 07:06:15 AM · #3 |
If this is nothing serious then just give them a price for the images on a CD and let them take the strain of doing the prints.. If it takes you an hour, then how much do you want to earn in that hour? $100? $150? $200?
However if this is something you are thinking of doing professionally, then you need to set your pricing model in place now. Over here in the UK, one of the biggest chains of photography studios called "Venture" charge an astronomical amount for their prints, but at the end of the day they have a business to run, rent & rates to pay, staff, both photographers and back-end staff. Look at how much you need to earn to make it `worth your while` and go from there.
If its your first session then dont charge too much, looking at your portfolio on DPC you dont have much in the way of portraits so I can assume you havent done them before, there will be a lot of pressure on the day, even in a non-studio environment and they will expect you to deliver the goods. So maybe charging low and looking at it as a paid experiment/practice.
I am sure you will be fine, make sure you look at a lot of family portraits between now and the shoot to get ideas, poses, locations etc. Remember that they will expect you to be in control on the day, so make sure you are confident, obviously if they have ideas of their own then take them on board.
Above all, enjoy yourself, gel with the `clients` and have lots of fun.
GOOD LUCK!! |
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01/12/2007 04:59:39 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by marksimms:
Over here in the UK, one of the biggest chains of photography studios called "Venture" charge an astronomical amount for their prints, |
I know a lot of people who have used venture and am shocked at how much people are prepared to pay for a print! (£1700 for a session and one large framed print!). I think a lot of it is down to reputation, as some of their images are not that great - anyone with a strobe and some props could probably achieve the same. They do insist on supplying the print in a frame though, so you are paying for the frame, the mount and the time to put these together.
I have a work colleague who got a quote for around £1500 and asked me if I thought I could do it. "Damn, yes" I said and bagged my first paying customer. She was over the moon with the shots I took and has had about 6 large (20 x 30) prints and numerous small one from me.
She has even come back to me to shoot some more images for use on her wedding ivitations this year... :-) |
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01/12/2007 05:58:12 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by heatherd:
I don't have studio equipment, just a good flash with the Lightsphere plus any natural lighting I can get I was wondering what to charge for a session.
Thanks for any ideas! |
I don't think it matters what studio equipment you have access too, what matters is the quality of your work. All of my portrait work is done using natural light and flashguns, mainly because I don't have studio lighting and I like to shoot outdoors in local beauty spots and parks etc. Everyone I shoot for seems to like the fact that the images look more natural and have a reportage style to them instead of the posed studio look.
When I started earning I was sure I could do a decent job and so I just looked at the competition and found I could undercut them by 70% - 80% and still make a nice bit of cash as a lot of pro's seem to think they can charge obscene amounts.
For friends etc I do it at a cheap rate of about £50. This buys an hour or so shooting and 4 8x10 prints. Extra prints then cost extra money (but only a little more than what I am paying to get the prints done). I don't make much from these as when you factor in the editing I do I am on quite a low hourly rate, but it adds experience and images to my portfolio.
Work I do for companies I can charge either a daily rate or per image, whatever the client prefer's. My last couple of jobs were done at £240 for a 7 hour day, but that was just for images on a disk, I did no printing.
Message edited by author 2007-01-12 05:59:54. |
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01/13/2007 02:56:59 AM · #6 |
Thanks for the useful tips/advice. I do have samples of portraits of my kids but they are elsewhere for privacy reasons. When this job is over I may post a couple in my Portfolio so you have an idea of what I can do, especially with natural lighting. At this time of the year it's a bit hard to take photos outdoors in the cold here in Seattle!!
It seems I will go for a certain price for an hours work, along with the CD of photos or give them an option of getting the prints done themself, for a cheaper price. However, they have small kids and I think they'd rather have me do all the work.
Next thing I need is some muslin backdrops which I can probably make as I've been reading up some of the threads on here relating to that.
This is going to be fun!
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01/13/2007 08:10:13 AM · #7 |
Sorry, couldn´t resist :)
www.whattheduck.net
Oh and sorry, can´t give any advice as I don´t know the going prices over there, good luck! |
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01/13/2007 10:08:54 AM · #8 |
don't forget to charge some for post-processing time! even if you shoot for an hour, you're going to have a little bit of photoshop work ahead of you.
good luck! |
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01/13/2007 10:22:03 AM · #9 |
maybe I can also ask here?
what would you charge for making a portrait like this one?:
for reference: in Norway an "artistic" photo usually costs around $500.
(or I'd better say from $500), but I started taking photos in september 2006:) and have never tried to sell any before. (well, they don't have to know this:) but it shows of course)
thank you! |
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01/13/2007 06:33:06 PM · #10 |
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