11 Comments

Comment by Rod Mueller on May 15, 2008 at 7:12pm

It depends on their expectations.Wedding photographers get good money and they earn it because its hard work.Pesonally I dont do them because of the high stress.Standing in front of 300 people in a church waiting for an on camera flash to recycle while a bride holds a frozen grin for 6 seconds is an eternity.I could use the money but I would rather eat baked beans than go through the stress of a wedding.

Comment by Daniel Cossack on May 15, 2008 at 7:22pm

Are you asking what to charge for a wedding or just a photo session? Wedding photographers do charge a lot because it is a lot of work. But just an engagement photo session, that's easy. Just figure out how many hours you need to invest, including the photo session and post-processing, and multiply by the hourly rate you want to work at. For example, if your time is worth $50/hour and the job will take 6 hours of your time, you would charge $300.

Comment by Tasha on May 15, 2008 at 7:24pm

oh i totally agree with you on that one. i don't think i could ever stand in front of that many people and "all eyes on me!" the others that are wanting a session are with a newborn baby and mother, and the rest of the people are wanting the brother/sister to take them together. i just have no clue what i should even think about charging. i'm afraid of over charging and under charging (i'd be more likely to under charge) i was just kind of caught off guard i guess?????

Comment by Tasha on May 15, 2008 at 7:31pm

just a photo session.. the session i took last weekend took probably about 2 hrs. but, it was just a favor to a friend. but that helps me out alot... i had not even the slightest clue where to even start the pricing from... like i said, i was caught off guard and i had not a clue. but i thank you for reading the blog and helping me out. i appreciate it!! ;)

Comment by Daniel Cossack on May 15, 2008 at 7:32pm

Don't be too worried about overcharging. You should only worry about undercharging because you will find its a lot of work and it will be very difficult to raise your prices later. Once you start, people will establish your brand value based on what you are charging and it will be hard to change.

Comment by Tasha on May 15, 2008 at 7:37pm

oh really? see that's what i was going to do.. haha.. i was going to start off lower and then once my work and name was out i was going to raise the prices... not a good idea huh? wow.. you just helped me out a whole bunch.. well i really thank you for helping me because i was stressing over here.. i will be sure to not undercharge. it makes total sense. thanks again!! :)

Comment by Rod Mueller on May 15, 2008 at 7:37pm

Yeh sorry if I come across blunt,but weddings are a one off chance.The sessions you are talking about are a lot easier.With the instant of digital.You can pick a day and reshoot etc.I find it hard to charge friends also.Get some inspiration from photographers like Daniel Cossack.Cheers.

Comment by Tasha on May 15, 2008 at 7:41pm

oh no!! that's fine. i don't think i would ever do a wedding. that is not my style. and it is def not worth the stress like you said.. i appreciate ya'lls help!! ya'll are some wonderful people.. again, thanks ;)

Comment by Daniel Cossack on May 16, 2008 at 5:40am

I know it is difficult to charge friends because you don't want to have any awkward feelings in the future. But I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for whatever hourly rate you decided you are comfortable with. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that your time is only the time you spend shooting. You have to consider the post-processing time and your friends and customers need to understand that as well. I wouldn't mention your hourly rate though, just give them a flat fee that you've calculated for the project.

Comment by Francois Cleroux on May 17, 2008 at 6:50pm

One thing you can do is to tell a few friends that you wnat to try this out on that you will only charge them half your "Regular Price" and that they should NOT tell anyone they got a deal. Tell them what your full rate is. That way you can charge a little less as you do a few more and learn. Then later you can adjust your prices.

When young artisans (Photographers and other artists and even computer people) start out and get their first few jobs, they always tend to undercharge because they are eager and want to do a few "first" jobs. Its very understandable but as Daniel says, it can end up being a problem if you under value your services.

Try this, give someone a "deal" but let them know and tell them not to tell anyone what they paid.

Calculate all the work you do:

Prep Time
Driving to
Driving From
Cost of Gasoline
Time of Shoot
Wear and tear on Equipment (Say all your equipment costs devided by 2000)
Time editing photos
Time Printing Photos
Any other Material Costs (Frames, CDs and Such)
Time to deliver Photos if you deliver (And more gas)

Take your PAY and subtract all your costs.

Take what is left over and then devide by all the hours you put into the shoot.

You should at least have a wage that is a good "make a living" wage. So the first time, lets say it took 4 hours. Perhaps you ended up with $80.00 after all the expenses and wera and tear and such. So that would be $20.00 an hour. Most people can barely live on that. Decide what is acceptable to you and then base your rate on that.

Then you can determine a "Flat Rate for a basic shoot).

Let them know they get 30 minutes of drive time plus 1.5 hours of photography plus x number of prints and a CD of Small Viewable images (Not good for printing). You may want to watermark all the images also.

If they want more sitting time it is x dollars per hour.

Extra prints are x dollars per.

Enlargements are x dollars.

A CD with RAW Images is $500.00 or more!! NEVER EVER GIVE AWAY YOUR RAW IMAGES unless you make a lot of good money!!

OK, so there is a lot.... but as Daniel says, don't sell yourself short.

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