what to charge for employee portraits?

[statenine]

Ok, so I have been asked to take some portraits of all the employees of a real estate company....but have no idea what I should be charging for this service. Can someone please give me an idea of what the going rate is for something like this? I am not sure exactly how many employees it will be, as I will be discussing the details on Monday and would like to be able to give him a quote on how much it will cost. thanks

[Ray Marrero]

What do they want? Digital files? 8x10's, 10x15's? ... etc....

Find out what they want and it would be easier to decide. Remember ALWAYS to charge for you time and talent.

Create a simple sign in sheet for all the subjects to sign, (name, email, phone....) and then you can market to them later when you have promotions.

[chtgrubbs]

I don't think you can give them quote until you have the specifics. Some photographers bill as if it were portrait sessions, eg. so much per head plus so much per print. I charge a day rate plus prints. I have a pretty good idea how many people per hour I can shoot, and if everything goes smoothly I can shoot a fairly large number/hour, which saves the client money. If they aren't organized then I'm not sitting around not making money waiting for my next subject to show up.

[statenine]

I think they want digital files, but I will find out all the specifics before I give them a quote. Is it normally ok to meet, discuss the details, then get back to them the next day with a quote?

[chtgrubbs]

Absolutely.

[statenine]

ok then that is what i will do. thanks for the tips!

[LBaldwin]

Ok, so I have been asked to take some portraits of all the employees of a real estate company....but have no idea what I should be charging for this service. Can someone please give me an idea of what the going rate is for something like this? I am not sure exactly how many employees it will be, as I will be discussing the details on Monday and would like to be able to give him a quote on how much it will cost. thanks


What to charge is only half the question. What you really need to know is USAGE. If it is for real estate sales portraits, they use them from everything from biz cards to billboards.

You could get royally screwed out of some cash. What you need to know is:

How many employees are there
Are there group shots as well as single portraits
Do they want digital files or prints (here is the dead giveaway that they want it for advertisiing)
Are they looking for studio lighting / backgrounds etc, another yellow caution sign
Do they want all rights to the images ( just say no!!) Sell them one time usage over and above the creative fee.

They may want you to take the pics because they recognize that you may not be fully "aware" of their usage needs (ie they are trying to get off cheaply).

Real estate folks are often very stingy and yes I know from experiece so watch out. Remember there is a HUGE difference between portraits on the walls and portraits used for Advertising.

Les Baldwin

[statenine]

Thanks for the advice Les, those are some great points. It is a friend of a friends company so I should be able to find out exactly what they will be using them for.

[chtgrubbs]

I would always assume that portraits for business people were for commercial usage, and charge appropriately.

[statenine]

well that is the problem, I have no idea what to charge if they are to be used for commercial purposes, or any purpose for that matter.

[LBaldwin]

well that is the problem, I have no idea what to charge if they are to be used for commercial purposes, or any purpose for that matter.

Ok it starts with your CODB. You need to clearly understand what it costs you to do business on a daily basis. The best way to figure this out is to use
editorialphotographers.com calculator. They also have a pricing guide too.

You need to then get an exact usage from the client. Like I said if it is for wall portraits then it will be creative fee + expenses = print price. If they plan to use them for any publication or advertising then you need to find out the publication, number of uses, number of copies and sizes. Then licnense them for one year to use the images as agreed in writing. Explain clearly in your invoice that the usage is limited for speciifc pubs and time frame. Any other uses will require further payment.

They know you are a rookie. They are trying to get pro level work on beer budget. Your friends and family will beat you low just as quick as a new client will ( sorry but it is often true).

My Mantra is never give up a dollar to be earned against future work it;s BS 99% of the time.

Pay yourself first, not your expenses.

Know how much it costs to do business and then mark up your rate at least 30%.

Les

[MHP]

i think they are probably after some portraits to go on cards, website, and little print sizes in their advertising for properties. it is a little different here in NZ, but it is usually done at around $75.00 per head, if all done at same time. what I mean by this is you go there and set up lights b/drop etc, and shoot 10-15 agents.

you''re right Les My Mantra is never give up a dollar to be earned against future work it;s BS 99% of the time.

just learnt this the hard way... again!! my mantra now is 'business is business' as this is their attitude and they'll squeeze you as quick as you can say, hoodeledoo !! thats just business.