Another question from Eyesup - DPChallenge Forums

04/28/2008 03:40:46 PM · #1

Yes another question and this time in the vein of "What should I charge"

Ii was asked to give a quote to a contrete cutting company who wants to do a 48hour (1 photo/hour) timlapse of a job for use to show clients (not for ads as far as I understand) it would be from a friday to sunday.

couple of things I'm wondering.

a) should I be charging them hourly for all 48 hours. I wouldn't be keen on the concept of leaving a camera setup and unattended over night
b) what is the 'going rate' for something like this
c) should I also be charging them or PP work (not that I can imagine there would be that much...

I have a fairly good Idea of what I might charge, but I'm hoping to some perspective to see if I'm way off..

as always thanks

Mike

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

04/28/2008 03:50:37 PM · #2

clueless guess ... $300.00

if you don't really want to do it ... $500.00

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Nikon

04/28/2008 03:58:53 PM · #3

Originally posted by hopper:

clueless guess ... $300.00

if you don't really want to do it ... $500.00

so $6.25/hour?
or $10.41/hour if I don't really want to do it? sounds sort of low ball doesn't it?

cryan

Nikon D700

04/28/2008 04:07:29 PM · #4

Charge what you feel you are worth. Start in the 30.00 to 50.00$ range. I also have no clue what to charge for this but that sounds good. LOL:)

Ceefore

Nikon D200

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Nikon

04/28/2008 04:24:18 PM · #5

It's always a tricky one to answer but presumably by now you have a cost analysis set up as you've started your business. So you chould have an idea of how much you'd be charging clients per hour based on this (ie your outgoings including paying yourself and all your overheads etc). Next you should factor in the useage of the image - your client will be using these photos to generate more business for themselves, so don't be afraid to bump up your charges based on this - they're not a family looking for some snapshots!

Lastly look at external factors - is there much post processing involved and have you factored this time into your cost analysis? If not, add it now. You've said you'd be unhappy to leave your equipment unattended, so this means charging by the hour as you presumably won't be able to take another booking in the other 59 minutes when your not taking the photo ;) Will you be putting the video/slideshow together? Charge for this too.

The real trouble here is not that you don't know your own costing but you don't know what the competition would charge for a similar job. Based on this, you have to just make an educated guess and run with it. Who knows, maybe they'll try to haggle you down?

Hope this is some help!

Carl

alanfreed

Nikon D6

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

04/28/2008 04:37:52 PM · #6

I would think that the pricing would HUGELY depend on what you have to do to pull this off. I mean, if you have a camera that will automate the process and you can set it up in a secure window somewhere and let it do its thing for the weekend, then there's not a whole ton of work involved.

But if it would involve you physically snapping a shutter once an hour for 48 hours, then it would fall into the realm of HPITA (Huge Pain in the Ass) to shoot, and I'd revise it way upward.

Figure out how much effort is involved, and charge accordingly. Voila.

see

Canon PowerShot S95

04/28/2008 04:40:47 PM · #7

Concrete cutting costs a lot, with a job that takes that much time they are making bank. If you have a better idea of �what� they are cutting, I might be able to feel out how much money is involved with their current job.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

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

04/28/2008 04:41:24 PM · #8

Originally posted by alanfreed:

Also, how many chances will there be for a re-do if you leave the camera alone & automated and something screws up and nobody is handy to chimp the shot?

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

04/28/2008 05:27:12 PM · #9

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Figure out how much effort is involved, and charge accordingly. Voila.

Also, how many chances will there be for a re-do if you leave the camera alone & automated and something screws up and nobody is handy to chimp the shot? [/quote]

Speaking of which... while they're looking for 1 shot an hour... I would figure in the long run it would be safer to do one ever 30 or 10 mins... a) because the more shots the better the time lapse, b) if one shot does screw up it's not as bit a deal to sub another....

Monique64

Canon EOS-30D

04/28/2008 05:30:47 PM · #10

Originally posted by Eyesup:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Figure out how much effort is involved, and charge accordingly. Voila.

Also, how many chances will there be for a re-do if you leave the camera alone & automated and something screws up and nobody is handy to chimp the shot?

Speaking of which... while they're looking for 1 shot an hour... I would figure in the long run it would be safer to do one ever 30 or 10 mins... a) because the more shots the better the time lapse, b) if one shot does screw up it's not as bit a deal to sub another.... [/quote]

This is what I was also thinking. If you took a shot every half hour you have more photos in case on or tow dont work out. They may even be willing to pay more for a series of half hour shots. Who knows.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

04/28/2008 05:34:14 PM · #11

Originally posted by Monique64:

Originally posted by Eyesup:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Figure out how much effort is involved, and charge accordingly. Voila.

Also, how many chances will there be for a re-do if you leave the camera alone & automated and something screws up and nobody is handy to chimp the shot?

Speaking of which... while they're looking for 1 shot an hour... I would figure in the long run it would be safer to do one ever 30 or 10 mins... a) because the more shots the better the time lapse, b) if one shot does screw up it's not as bit a deal to sub another....

This is what I was also thinking. If you took a shot every half hour you have more photos in case on or tow dont work out. They may even be willing to pay more for a series of half hour shots. Who knows. [/quote]

good to know I'm not the only one who thinks the way I do :)

drewbixcube

Canon EOS-7D

04/28/2008 05:44:08 PM · #12

Are you planning on setting this up to shoot automatically or will you have to sit there for 2 days?

04/28/2008 05:50:35 PM · #13

well... if its an outdoor thing I'm not leaving my equipement alone especally over night automatic or not... but then that does leave me hanging around alot over 2 days.

Prof_Fate

04/28/2008 06:55:04 PM · #14

How do you plan to power the gear? I doubt the camera batter will run for 48 hours. Are they working at night? How lit will it be?

I've seen people build boxes with windows, and weatherproofing, that are then mounted on a pole or building and house the camera in there, and then they stop by ever so many hours to change batts, cards if needed, and to check that it's working like it should be.

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

04/29/2008 10:25:24 AM · #15

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Hadn't really thought about powering the whole thing... but Nikon does have a power cord for the d200 so I'm sure I could purchase that.

but for the moment it looks that they're just looking for a $ they realy don't care what's involved in that $... which sort of worries me, cause I would think that aanyone looking for a quote would want to know what and why where charging just as much as what the total $ amount will be.

JulietNN

Canon EOS-7D

04/29/2008 10:37:28 AM · #16

CHarge a 1000 a day and see what they say

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/29/2008 10:40:42 AM · #17

48 hrs = 6x day rate, based on 8 hrs/day. Add something extra for being on duty without a break for 2 full days. Hire an assistant to cover some of the hours so you can sleep and eat. Set up tripod/camera, bring cooler, umbrella, food, and a couple books. Have some cones to make a circle around the tripod for safety's sake. have a big sheet to drape over the camera between exposures. Have fun :-)

R.

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

04/29/2008 11:35:20 AM · #18

I ended up quoting them $2500 for the whole thing... they didn't want to hear just then what was involved in the number so we'll see... really I'm not sure what place would charge less, even if for just having a camera out of use for 48 hours, plus the risk to the equipment, etc.

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/29/2008 12:01:46 PM · #19

Originally posted by Eyesup:

$2,500 is very reasonable. If they don't go for that they aren't worth dealing with. That's about $400/day plus a smidge for expenses.

R.

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

04/29/2008 01:26:06 PM · #20

shows you what I know :)

my brain was following a path more like ... 48 seconds of total work: turn on camera, click button, turn off camera, wait 59 minutes and 59 seconds, repeat.

if the camera was set up inside a car (steadied, of course) ... you could roll up the window, lock the car and leave for 50 minutes.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/29/2008 01:37:16 PM · #21

Originally posted by hopper:

I personally would still be afraid of someone deciding that getting the very visible camera inside the car is worth the risk is I was gone too long (and regularly)

klkitchens

Pentax K-1

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

04/29/2008 01:44:08 PM · #22

Originally posted by Monique64:

This is what I was also thinking. If you took a shot every half hour you have more photos in case on or tow dont work out. They may even be willing to pay more for a series of half hour shots. Who knows. [/quote]

You might also want to take a series of bracketed shots each shutter press. Just to make sure you get the right exposure.

ralph

Nikon Z9

04/29/2008 02:10:12 PM · #23

Originally posted by HawkeyeLonewolf:

You might also want to take a series of bracketed shots each shutter press. Just to make sure you get the right exposure.

this is a very good idea / hard to imagine how to do it without special equip.
be easy to build a new intervalometer
(shoot 5 frames & wait for ten min. repeat till the card is full )
pretty sure the built in one (D200) can not do this

I'm also curious .. Indoors or out ? what is your exposure latitude ?

concrete cutting at night ?

strew

Canon EOS-7D

04/29/2008 02:14:26 PM · #24

I charge a $150.00 setup fee plus $50.00 per hour for any corp. work. I have done lots of stuff for frito lay here in dallas and shot for Ti and Air liquide and have been told by my clients that, that is a very good rate.