So lately I've been wanting to earn my own money to buy some things I would like, like a new phone. Well, it's the perfect time for senior portraits! People at school have told me they like my work and they would like me to take my senior pictures. I know that for this, I would HAVE to charge, because my schedule is already really busy as it is, and I do high quality editing. So I decided I would do a few senior photo shoots.
I looked at prices for local photographers, and decided to charge half. I'm just really scared about screwing their pictures up. I've decided to charge $50 for 10 different poses, and $5 for every extra pose. Unlimited wardrobe changes. I'm giving the pictures on a CD so that they can print as they please, that way I don't have to go print them myself. My friend thinks I'm "robbing" myself, and that I should charge at least $100. But if I do this, I'm scared that I won't be getting any clients. What to do? I can't raise the price to $100 for the people I've already told, but I could possibly raise it to $75, as some people were willing to pay that too.
Any tips? What should I charge? I have a list of 8 possible clients, 3 who seriously want me to take their pictures. These people know I'm not a professional, but they like my work.
Living in the small city that I live in, there are only a few photographers, and they have pretty steep prices. Not many people like to spend that kind of money on only a few poses. I haven't even advertised yet, but this could be a good way for me to make money. Before I advertise, I need to get my price straight and do a few more photo shoots.
Personally, I think $50 for 10 photos is WAY too low especially if you're doing a lot of editing. Charge more. If they don't want to pay it, let them go to another photographer who will charge them way more.
$50 for ten poses is $5 per image. How much time are you putting in? Think of the time to take the photos, the time you're waiting for them to change, the time you edit, the time you drive back and forth, talking to clients, emailing, etc. Remember, that CD costs money. As does upkeep for your computer, cameras, lenses, etc. It all adds up.
If you don't want to raise your prices, lower how many images you include off the bat and charge more for extra images.
You need to decide what your time is worth. You mentioned that your schedule is already busy and offering unlimited wardrobe changes will eat up even more time. You might want to think about limiting the number of changes. You need to remember if you don’t think your work is worth much, your client won’t think it is worth much. I know that you would like to earn some extra money, but you need to think about your time and what you will make for that time. Pricing depends on the market but don’t ignore some of the things following. You said you thought you might charge half of what local photographers are charging, you might want to start at ¾ and see how that goes.
If you charge $50 for 10 poses and it take you three hours, you are only making a little over $16 an hour before expenses. Professional photographers charge what they do because of the time and material invested. And for some of them it’s because they also take great pictures. Calling oneself a professional because you get paid does not mean that you can take great pictures.
It’s nice that people like your work because you have the great picture part. Just don’t sell yourself short and price yourself out of business before you start.
I charge $75 per hour on location, which some argue is too cheap.
I would base the cost for 10 poses on how long it would take to get 10 poses. (I have no idea though so it's up to you to work that out!) So if it took an hour, I would charge $75 for 10; if it took 3 hours, I'd charge somewhere around $200.
Izayaa, have these people seen your portrait work? I notice you haven't posted any of that here. They may like your photos, but people can be incredibly judgmental when it comes to portrait work.
$50 isn't the worst price, BUT maybe you could consider being allowed to use the photos taken at those lower prices as advertising. It's normal for most start-up businesses to offer a discount to build their client base, but there should be some payback for that.
Because I'm a tax accountant, I'm also going to offer you this: If you start to do a lot of business, get some reliable business advice. There are tax implications if you generate a fair amount of income, and because you're mostly doing it as a hobby, different rules apply concerning what would be allowed as expenses.
Maybe your clients would allow you to post your work here!
I was in the same boat as you last year. I had a friend I worked with and she wanted me to do her senior pictures. So I went out and took tons of pictures and went home and edited some of the better ones. Well I ended up giving her about 15 to 20 different pictures(poses) on a CD and( edited) for $75. I thought it was a pretty good price and I might be doing a few more sessions this year and do about the same price or maybe raise it just a bit. Hope this answered your question and good luck.
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$50 for ten poses is $5 per image. How much time are you putting in? Think of the time to take the photos, the time you're waiting for them to change, the time you edit, the time you drive back and forth, talking to clients, emailing, etc. Remember, that CD costs money. As does upkeep for your computer, cameras, lenses, etc. It all adds up.
If you don't want to raise your prices, lower how many images you include off the bat and charge more for extra images.
If you charge $50 for 10 poses and it take you three hours, you are only making a little over $16 an hour before expenses. Professional photographers charge what they do because of the time and material invested. And for some of them it’s because they also take great pictures. Calling oneself a professional because you get paid does not mean that you can take great pictures.
It’s nice that people like your work because you have the great picture part. Just don’t sell yourself short and price yourself out of business before you start.
I would base the cost for 10 poses on how long it would take to get 10 poses. (I have no idea though so it's up to you to work that out!) So if it took an hour, I would charge $75 for 10; if it took 3 hours, I'd charge somewhere around $200.
$50 isn't the worst price, BUT maybe you could consider being allowed to use the photos taken at those lower prices as advertising. It's normal for most start-up businesses to offer a discount to build their client base, but there should be some payback for that.
Because I'm a tax accountant, I'm also going to offer you this: If you start to do a lot of business, get some reliable business advice. There are tax implications if you generate a fair amount of income, and because you're mostly doing it as a hobby, different rules apply concerning what would be allowed as expenses.
Maybe your clients would allow you to post your work here!