sarah k
14th of September 2006 (Thu), 19:28
What should I charge?!
I approached an old friend of mine who is a musician in our hometown about shooting at a few of his gigs. We decided on two shows, one locally, the other about a four-hour drive and overnight stay. I ended up contacting him because, when I saw his website and the photos he has there, it sorta made my skin crawl (one of those "oh! I can so do better with this" moments...) but he's a really talented musician and performer.
We're meeting next week to hammer out some details. Of course the details involve money-speak, and I really have no idea what to charge him, what really to charge for, or if I shouldn't charge him because we're both promoting each other. We both want live action shots from shows, candid portraits and fan shots. Me, for my portfolio and he for his site, cd covers and other promo materials.
Me: fairly new to pro photography, but pretty good at it. I worked as an editor/photographer/you-name-it-er for two weekly community newspapers for 3 years and that's how i got my photo start. I'm all digital b/c darkrooms scare me... always have. Right now, I consider myself in a portfolio-building stage, but man, I have my eye on this lens... this computer display... all this stuff. :lol: I've got the basics, all Canon.
Our market: smallish, population 60,000 or so. He plays local, statewide and regional gigs and I shoot the same. We live in west-central Wisconsin (1.5 hrs due east of Minneapolis/St. Paul) in the flyover zone called Eau Claire.
My current clients are on a volunteer basis with contract potential. I shoot horse shows, sailing regattas, swimming and diving, candid people and stuff specifically for our local animal shelter and a therapeutic equestrian facility. I also work with a bank and a couple of civic groups on my former news-ed beat. I've helped revamp websites as a conceptual consultant and I've designed fundraising and marketing campaigns.
It's time to start asking for money. I'm assuming that my musician friend will want photo cds more than prints, and I'll be doing all the photo editing and digi-art manipulations. He'll likely want to proof and choose some of his favorites and let me run wild with the ones I like best. I'll likely use some images for stock agencies, so I've got the model/property releases taken care of. One of the events is a fall festival that he plays every year, and we plan to do some shots at the marina there (he's a Jimmy Buffett-ish boat person like me). Those could benefit the city.
So that's the situation. Sorry this is so long, but for me, it helps to think out loud. You made it to the end—give yourself a pat on the back! ;)
Please advise!!
Thanks,
Sarah K. VisibleSpectrum Media Eau Claire, WI USA
I approached an old friend of mine who is a musician in our hometown about shooting at a few of his gigs. We decided on two shows, one locally, the other about a four-hour drive and overnight stay. I ended up contacting him because, when I saw his website and the photos he has there, it sorta made my skin crawl (one of those "oh! I can so do better with this" moments...) but he's a really talented musician and performer.
We're meeting next week to hammer out some details. Of course the details involve money-speak, and I really have no idea what to charge him, what really to charge for, or if I shouldn't charge him because we're both promoting each other. We both want live action shots from shows, candid portraits and fan shots. Me, for my portfolio and he for his site, cd covers and other promo materials.
Me: fairly new to pro photography, but pretty good at it. I worked as an editor/photographer/you-name-it-er for two weekly community newspapers for 3 years and that's how i got my photo start. I'm all digital b/c darkrooms scare me... always have. Right now, I consider myself in a portfolio-building stage, but man, I have my eye on this lens... this computer display... all this stuff. :lol: I've got the basics, all Canon.
Our market: smallish, population 60,000 or so. He plays local, statewide and regional gigs and I shoot the same. We live in west-central Wisconsin (1.5 hrs due east of Minneapolis/St. Paul) in the flyover zone called Eau Claire.
My current clients are on a volunteer basis with contract potential. I shoot horse shows, sailing regattas, swimming and diving, candid people and stuff specifically for our local animal shelter and a therapeutic equestrian facility. I also work with a bank and a couple of civic groups on my former news-ed beat. I've helped revamp websites as a conceptual consultant and I've designed fundraising and marketing campaigns.
It's time to start asking for money. I'm assuming that my musician friend will want photo cds more than prints, and I'll be doing all the photo editing and digi-art manipulations. He'll likely want to proof and choose some of his favorites and let me run wild with the ones I like best. I'll likely use some images for stock agencies, so I've got the model/property releases taken care of. One of the events is a fall festival that he plays every year, and we plan to do some shots at the marina there (he's a Jimmy Buffett-ish boat person like me). Those could benefit the city.
So that's the situation. Sorry this is so long, but for me, it helps to think out loud. You made it to the end—give yourself a pat on the back! ;)
Please advise!!
Thanks,
Sarah K. VisibleSpectrum Media Eau Claire, WI USA