Professional Photography and Business

Hi there,

I have been approached by a number of clubs, mainly car and model clubs to be their photographer. As I do mainly portraits, the odd wedding and not this type of work and I am not sure what would be a reasonable price. Should I include proofs and images sep. or as part of the deal.

All my photo processing it undertaking by a company in Scotland. (Turnabout of me sending and receiving goods is 3 days).


Any advice would help me very much

Amy

If you have complete confidence in your work then between 70 and 100 quid an hour. Images are extra. Make sure your contract is solid and loophole free. Of course there is room to explore the costs. If it is a small job and you know money is an issue then drop to 50 quid an hour and include a limited amount of images and then charge for the excess. Ultimatley it is up to you. There is no black and white when it comes to pricing. With the economy the way it is prices are more tailored toward clients than shoots.
This is work. Do not sell yourself short.
In addition there are price guides on the net and for me they mean nothing. I will charge as much as a punter is willing to give. Weddings can be the weak link. 'joe bloggs' will occasionally go with a cheaper shooter, but there are way more expensive than me. For commercial though its hard nosed get the money and impress the hell out of them as much as you can. This means following up on jobs and keping them informed. Customer relations will often get you another shoot when price alone fails.

i second that dude...

keep it simple
price for entire job to include images, time to process

or...

time for job,
price per image OR
job lot of images on dvd

i used to charge for 120 1st hour, 80 thereafter until halfday which was £300 i think (been a while), then full day £450-600
£100 for cd all images inc copyright which includes all processing be it print or digital & web resize..

Go for it Amy

__________________
The summer is here and the time is right,
We're going racing in the street....Bruce Springsteen

Canon Forever

Eos1nrs on Flickr

1Dmk2,10D, Eos5, Bronica SQB, D2x & D3x

Guys unless I'm reading it wrong, the type of shoot that Amy is talking about, is not paid for by the clubs, but solely funded by the images sold to members, if this is the case then the market is so saturated with weekend warriors at the meets that the chances of making any real money from the shoots is really minimal. Most of the motorsport events that I commentate on have between 3 & 5 pro togs working them & they send out dozens of low res discs to get a sale, its only the odd time when a "right place right time" image comes up, that make them better money.
Pete

If this is the case then I cannot help you Amy. The only shows I do now are commisioned, so I get paid either way. If it is low key/smaller show or club events then you would be better off with talking to the guys and offering print only fee's. As Pete has said shows of this nature are saturated with enthusiasts armed with dye sub printers and can give very affordable/cheap images almost within minutes. The pro guys tend to hang out at the bigger events usually requiring a pass to shoot and in a more official capacity, though of course some still attend smaller shows.

However if it is a commisioned shoot with specific images required then charge them accordingly. In this kind of scenario you are a chosen photographer and not penny scratching, nor up against any other shooters, so should charge them accordingly. My apologies I should have read your post more thoroughly, cheers Pete for the heads up.

the way i read it,

"been asked by some clubs to be their photographer"...ie chosen

if the clubs have paying members, why shouldnt Ms Wilsher be paid from their kitty?

i guess you need to clarify what your position would be and what they are looking to end up with...

__________________
The summer is here and the time is right,
We're going racing in the street....Bruce Springsteen

Canon Forever

Eos1nrs on Flickr

1Dmk2,10D, Eos5, Bronica SQB, D2x & D3x

Thanks guys on all the advice on both small or large clubs. It has given me a better insight on what to charge.