BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Selling Your Photos

Lisa Carpenter		Help! What to Charge??? I need some serious advice. I have been taking pictures for friends and family and my pictures are getting me a lot of good referrals. I have taken pictures for a school event and head shots for actors. I am not even truly a business yet and am unsure what to charge ... I am scared to charge too much, but don't want to charge too little ... help!!!! To love this question, log in above January 01, 2005

BetterPhoto Member		Lisa- There are no hard-and-fast answers here. What you should charge is what the client is willing to pay. That probably doesn't help, but the point is that you learn the art of negotiating and, as you get good at it, you will be able to read the client and have a feel of where they are coming from and what they are willing to pay. Looking at your questions: School event: Who's paying for it? Schools as I know rarely have any money to hire photographers. Are you shooting an event where parents want to buy prints? If you could sell enough prints at $20 that might equal some good money. Head shots for actors: I get calls for this, and they want to trade usually for stock photos, meaning they don't have a lot of money. I would try to get $150 and up for this, with your time involved dictated by how much they spend. $150 would be for two-three hours, and they get a CD with maybe a half-dozen different setups. Let them make their own prints to keep your costs down. If you are new to entering the market, try to get a minimum of $50 an hour up to $100. Just make sure your work backs up your price. Family portraits, school events, model shots, etc., are the low paying market. Businesses are where the money is. Meet other photographers and see what they charge. Professional photography is one of the easiest businesses to get into and lose money. Many do not believe that their work is worth much as they seem to have no mouths to feed other than their ego. But when you reach the point where what you charge pays for your mortgage you will see much more greater value in those images. I always give people options with different prices - a low price and a high price. That way I usually get what I wanted per hour, they feel like they got a good rate, and many seem willing to do some of the work to save money. To love this comment, log in above January 02, 2005

Robert N. Valine		Lisa,Go to my site and click on "High school sports".Unfortunately Charlie is right.This is a low paying market.I shoot High School Sports because I am a Part time bus driver and I know the coaches and kids.It's fun and I only do it when I have extra time available.But,I don't expect to make tons of money in this field. To love this comment, log in above January 05, 2005

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