 BetterPhoto Member |
What Amateurs Should Charge? I am new to amateur photography and I have started to receive requests for my services. I don't know what I should charge, any suggestions, or rule of thumb.
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John A. Lind |
Jamie, It's done by building a "business case" that captures *all* of the costs: tangible, intangible and "hidden" ones . . . the latter two often being costs that are not related to a single photograph or client, but must be amortized across all the photos/clients. After you've captured all the costs, what you think you and your time spent are worth is added to arrive at a price. -- John
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I agree with John. Just add all your costs, i.e., your film, processing, proofs, etc. Due to your level of expertise, think about how much over that you think you are worth. When I first started charging people, I would just charge my cost plus about 20%. I figured this kept my costs low enough where if I screwed up, they wouldn't get mad at me. And, I did alot of gigs at cost because I wanted the experience. the truth is that I would have done it for free. Now, I figure out how much I charge based on many factors. If someone wants me to shoot on a Saturday, so they are taking me away from my family for the day, then I figure out what that's worth to me. I adjust my prices such that I'm not overly busy, but I also get a decent amount of business. When I first started my business, I booked everyone who picked up their phone to call, or who walked into my door. I was talking to a General Contractor one day, and he told me, "If you bid on 10 jobs, and you get 10 jobs, you're priced too low. If you bid on 10 jobs and you get none, you are too high. You want to be somewhere in the middle of that range, and only you can decide where that is." That was the day I realized that I can control all of my business through my price. When things are slow, lower it, when things are too much, raise it. Simple economics. Great luck,
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Nick Milton |
G,DAY, I add up the coast of printing,laminating/framing?order stationary,etc.approx $1.50 for an A4. Then I work out how long the shoot was,based on at least $50.00 per hour.I then add that and break it down to prints.eg:i hour shoot for 3 prints would be in my case arround $18.00 hope this helps nic.
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