What should I charge?

Rick_West · #1 01-20-2005, 11:56 AM

I have been asked to shoot a on location Portrait of a person in a work environment for a yearly publication, and I have never done this before. It will consist of drive time (60 miles one way) and about 12-24 photos.

David_Willoughby · #2 01-20-2005, 07:59 PM

That probably depends on wether they are for profit or not.....if it is a corporation I would say .50 a mile driving $100-$150 for the shoot, if they want it lit with studio lighting and backdrop I would add $50-100. These are minimums and would be considered a buyout - they keep the images...and I personally might shoot for an hour....and probably go over 24 photo's. also, it might depend on who they portrait is...if it is the receptionist....or the president, or celebrity. If they don't like the charges, next. The fact that you are going to spend 3-4hrs, this includes the drive time keeps you at $50 an hour, and that is pretty good for a photographer.

This would be minimum, you could always go higher and negotiate, say "I would usually charge x dollars for this, and spend an hour or so getting nice studio lit photos, and would give you all the images to use for that price, how does that sound?" "oh my that is way to much for our budget!!" "well, If that is a problem, what is your budget? I might be able to Scale back some things (IE lights, or only giving 1 or 2 final images) to bring the costs down for you, would that work better?" You then might have to explain the difference between the full price gig and the scaled down....IE Scaled down is either environmental/availble light, no back drops, basic head and sholders pose, 3/4pose ect. with the full portrait you will start with the basic poses and than add some more engageing poses...ect.

These are just some things that I have done and in the past people have accepted and declined and often they think they are happy with doing it themselves for free...until the photo happens...than they either don't care or will call you for the next time realizing what you charge is worth it.

BTW I am probably on the low side in comparison to other photogs in larger markets.

Jeff_Tiemann · #3 01-20-2005, 09:12 PM

rick,

I did not see that you had a website, so it is hard to judge your skill level. Assuming you are pretty darn good, I agree that david is on the lower side of the price scale. If you are trying to break into this as a career, you may want to consider all that david is saying. If you are well seasoned - lighting, backdrops, posing etc... then, I would be looking at something like a dayrate or half day rate, equipment rental fees, travel etc... what ever you do, make sure that you have all of the details squared away in some type of a contract. Also, tons of corporations like to pay their bills on a quarterly basis or whatever. Make sure to understand how and when you are to be paid.

Most of all, keep it simple. The more complex you try to make things, the more complex they will become. Additionally, do not be shy to ask how the images are to be used.

-tiemann

Rick_West · #4 01-20-2005, 09:26 PM

Thanks! That is about what I had in mind. I am by no means a seasoned vetran, but I think I can hold my own.

stevenmartin · #5 01-20-2005, 09:53 PM

Time is time whether it's driving or shooting. Unless there is a compelling reason it's not a one hour shoot it's a half day plus per mile from my look at it. What the market will carry. If you get it, you get a decent payoff, if they don't want to source from that relatively short distance I'm sure you have other things to fill the time with, I no I always have busy work at the obttem of the pile to do.

Good luck Steve

David_Willoughby · #6 01-21-2005, 01:21 AM

I based my drivetime on what I charge for Wedding clients outside of a 50mile radius....they are already paying me a nice fee to shoot the wedding I just make them pay travel expenses on top...including lodging ect. I guess I look at it this way, if you work in city doing whatever and make whatever, even if it is 100g, and you live far enough away that the communte is more than an hour your employer does not pay you for your gas, or for your time driving, you got to get to work. So I look at it as a flat fee and if I have to travel I don't mind getting paid a measly $35 an hour to drive as it is not my profession. I am sure that this is different for established studios, and full time photographers...each person is different. What about this Scenario, you are asked to shoot a weekend wedding on the otherside of the country, do you charge your standard shooting hourly rate from the time you leave your house on Friday, to the time you return on monday?As it stands for me, this is not much of an Issue as I don't do a ton of travel work. But I do think it is ok to charge a different rate for different activities. Businesses do it all the time. As a matter of fact I know a studio around here that uses D60's and 1ds's and charges a different rate for each. Printers do it all the time, they have a one color press and a four colorpress, each has a different hourly charge. Food for though.

#7 01-21-2005, 10:28 AM

Generally there is a rate for one time usage of your images and another if they want to own the images. Going rate for owning is an additional 3X the rate you charge them. For example I charge $1200-2500 per day depending on the type of shoot for a full day with a minimum $800 $1600 for the less than full days. If I determine a rate of $1600 for their work and then they want to own the images it would be 3X or an additional $4800 for exclusive rights. Of course trying to get in you could lower the numbers but remember people in the know are aware of what things should cost and if you are too out of line that can also raise red flags as you are not the only expense for doing the shoot. It's an invesment for them just preparing and gathering the props or people.

best of luck and let us know how it goes.

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