How much would you charge?

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padderico

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Patrick
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Hello everyone, here goes my first serious post on the forum :)

I have been approached by several families over the past few weeks to do family portraits for them.
I said yes i would do it for them and there today i got word back from a family that would like it done next week.

He has asked me how much would i charge for a session and 3, 12 x 8 prints.
I have no idea how to price this as i am unsure what an amateur like me can charge.

I would like to know what idea any of you guys (or girls) would charge for my pricing range :)

Thanks a lot :thumbs:
 
Find out how much it would cost to have them printed. Find out if they are expecting them framed etc. Also have a look on photographic websites at price lists and head over to the 'Talk Business' forum where there are several threads about pricing that are useful.
 
WP-UK said:
Find out how much it would cost to have them printed. Find out if they are expecting them framed etc. Also have a look on photographic websites at price lists and head over to the 'Talk Business' forum where there are several threads about pricing that are useful.
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Well i was thinking of getting them done at jessops which is £2.00 per print.

Cheers for that i will look into the pricing on different websites :)
 
saviour100 said:
Well i was thinking of getting them done at jessops which is £2.00 per print.

Cheers for that i will look into the pricing on different websites :)
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When i've had to shoot images for friends i normally charge around £10.00 for a 12x8 because i always get the cost of print and multiply it by 5.

some pro's will say this is stupid however i have no costs involved in my photography apart from using my time and when i walk away with £50.00 for an hours work i know how happy gigolo's feel:lol:
 
mastertrinity said:
When i've had to shoot images for friends i normally charge around £10.00 for a 12x8 because i always get the cost of print and multiply it by 5.

some pro's will say this is stupid however i have no costs involved in my photography apart from using my time and when i walk away with £50.00 for an hours work i know how happy gigolo's feel:lol:
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So far ive visited a few sites, i have seen that one of them charged 125 for up to an hour with 1 print, would you say £60 including 3 prints would be fine?, i dont mind charging this low as i have quite a few people interested at the moment and i need to see what i am capable of :)
 
saviour100 said:
So far ive visited a few sites, i have seen that one of them charged 125 for up to an hour with 1 print, would you say £60 including 3 prints would be fine?, i dont mind charging this low as i have quite a few people interested at the moment and i need to see what i am capable of :)
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£60 sounds pretty good. Have you thought about asking them yourself and see what they are willing to pay and maybe you could negotiate?
 
Hi Patrick......it does not matter that you are an amateur other than if the people are asking you because of that then they are going to get a shock when you ask for money so get it all clear in the first instance

stew
 
Create and print a price list, because they 'may' decide to order extras, and make sure they have a copy BEFORE you take the booking.

If you do a shoot and 3 prints for £60, they may well decide it is worth getting you to frame them, anticipating £10-£15 extra for the frame, and get a nasty shock when (if) you charge a lot more, creating bad feeling all round.

It must never appear you are making up prices as you go along!

Very risky (probably foolish!) undertaking paid work without adequate insurance though.
 
mastertrinity said:
however i have no costs involved in my photography apart from using my time
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You do have costs, you just choose not to recognise them. Your cameras are subject to wear and tear, you have transport costs, you need a PC and software and those need updating, you have the cost of phone calls and your time processing and delivering your product.
 
WP-UK said:
Find out how much it would cost to have them printed. Find out if they are expecting them framed etc. Also have a look on photographic websites at price lists and head over to the 'Talk Business' forum where there are several threads about pricing that are useful.
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I am sorry but what has the cost of printing got to do with it?
What they will be paying for is the taking of the photos and the knowledge of how to do it and get good results.
Pulse all the kit it takes.
To find a price, it is what the market will stand, and nothing to do with your cost....

Sell the "sizzel" not the sausage.
 
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If you are good and know you can pull it off, I would start at £100 and work from there. Explain to them the time involved after the shoot, the attention to detail, the care and attention....£100 is sod all.

If you are unsure whether or not you can pull it off, I have to say charging anything up front is wrong. I did my first 20 or so sittings BEFORE I had a studio, free of charge. I then charged if they wanted copies of photos, and bizarrely - at £20 a print (£60 for three :D). I soon changed that!

G.
 
When you've never done it before, things like the cost of printing have everything to do with it. You add up your printing costs, your frame costs, etc, then add something for your own time... what the market will stand doesn't even come into it at the point he's at right now. I don't think he's looking to turn pro overnight, and therefore isn't looking to charge pro rates... but I'm not saying he sells himself short either.

Insurance? A couple of people have asked him to do a few portraits for them; what does he need to insure against, exactly?
 
AliB said:
You do have costs, you just choose not to recognise them. Your cameras are subject to wear and tear, you have transport costs, you need a PC and software and those need updating, you have the cost of phone calls and your time processing and delivering your product.
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actually i have free bus travel, i live with my parents, i can get free software.

so really the only costs i properly have are;

camera wear and tear
PC upgrades
time
I use my mobile for phoning so I can also make that a cost.
 
artona said:
Hi Patrick......it does not matter that you are an amateur other than if the people are asking you because of that then they are going to get a shock when you ask for money so get it all clear in the first instance

stew
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They have said before that they will want to pay me for my work and time, and from that i am sure they know what costs are involved in photography, if not i am sure i will let them know. I was just unaware what to charge...
 
DekHog said:
When you've never done it before, things like the cost of printing have everything to do with it. You add up your printing costs, your frame costs, etc, then add something for your own time... what the market will stand doesn't even come into it at the point he's at right now. I don't think he's looking to turn pro overnight, and therefore isn't looking to charge pro rates... but I'm not saying he sells himself short either.

Insurance? A couple of people have asked him to do a few portraits for them; what does he need to insure against, exactly?
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Thank you very much, was getting worried some people on here didnt understand what the position i am in.
 
swag72 said:
Do you not already know this? :eek: Is there a chance that this is the first portrait shooting you have done and you may not get it as good as you or your paying customers may expect?
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It will be my first paid portrait shoot, not my first overall.
 
you can get instant insurance for about £15p.m via calumet - covers you for £5m liability and personal injury as well as equipment insurance - all comes in handy
getting myself some in a few months time if i manage to get some photo's out there
 
dseered said:
They do, I would be much happier to be insured against them though, I may stand corrected but I think you may actually have a legal obligation to be insured if you are being payed for a job. Not to mention the declaration to HMRC.
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you don't have a legal obligation to be insured unless you're employing staff, but you're a fool (who can afford to lose his house) if you don't have it.

HMRC have some very 'interesting' things they can do if you don't declare income
 
saviour100 said:
They have said before that they will want to pay me for my work and time, and from that i am sure they know what costs are involved in photography, if not i am sure i will let them know. I was just unaware what to charge...
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Most of Joe Public's awareness of the 'costs involved in photography' is that a 6x4 from Photobox costs about 7p so I would recommend you let them know BEFORE you accept the booking! (as I said previously, but appears you have not done so yet which is asking for trouble and possible bad feeling, later).

As has been pointed out, insurance is vital and your flippant attitude could prove VERY costly should anyone suffer even the slightest injury during your shoot. :bang:
 
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