My Portrait Price List.

[Photolistic]

I have been thinking about it for a while and I think these would be good to start with. What do you think? Too High? Too Low? Just right for my skill level? Check out my web page.

Sit Fee
$25


Package one
$125
8 2X3 wallets
5 4X6 prints
2 8X12 prints



Package two
$175
16 2X3 wallets
10 4X6 prints
4 8X12 prints



Package 3
$275
72 2X3 wallets
40 4X6 prints
7 8X12 prints

CD $350

[Just Be]

Prices seem OK.

Most wallets are printed 8 to a sheet.

You have to ask yourself what the customer will need. Not everyone is going to need so many wallets or 5x7's.

Some would rather have 10- 8x10's or larger than 40- 5x7's.

Sometimes people will say no or not buy much because the package didn't fit them and won't know to ask if you accept substitutions. Always ask what they need and tell them you can be flexible, "within reason". Customers always appreciate photographers who work with them.

Don't make your price sheet look anything like Walmart or Sears. Add a B&W/Sepia tone fee of maybe $5-$10 per photo. When showing the photos make a few B&W/Sepia tone as an example.

I sell portraits of babies, children and families for a company that has been around for over 50 years. We are very successful. A photographer goes into the home and does a sitting for free. The customer knows before we start that they get a free 8x10 of their choice with no obligation to buy anything. Then a salesperson comes at a later date with their photos on a laptop. Photographers don't discuss price too much. People are much more receptive about price at the time of viewing their photos.

We average nearly $250 per sale. Packages range from $169 - $475. We sell alot of 16x20 canvas portraits. Our highest packages $359 and $459 come with a CD and a frame for a large portrait.

PM me if you want.
Good luck!

[Vegas Poboy]

Why 8x12 instead of 8x10?
Most people can't find a 8x12 frame they're more sold at frame shops instead of local stores

Not trying to tell you what to do but when I started I ran into that problem with customers coming back to me asking where to purchase frames.

I would also offer 5x7 instead of 4x6 more professional pricing level and if you want include 4x5 proofs. Just about everyone has a scanner today so I don't offer 4x5's or 4x6's in a package only as a proof.

Portland is a city with size I would raise the sitting fee to $50.00 but better yet include it into the packages. Hate to see a family with kids take up two hours of your time and then say they don't like the photos. This forces the sale of images and make people realize this is a professional business.

Just my thoughts
Good Luck

[WhatEyeSee]

I charge a non refundable session fee. The fee depends on the location/s and time spent. This fee covers the cost of my time to shoot.

I get enough shots in a session that there is always poses that pleases the clinets - so far the only complaint i have had is that there are too many good ones to choose from which makes it hard for them to choose. LOL I have considered offering less to choose from, but haven't done so yet.

I think your settion fee should come up. I offer 3 session fees and also note the amount of time "up to 1.5 hrs" or what ever it is for that fee.

I also offer A-la-Carte prints - they pay for the session fee, and then they can pick and choose their prints how they please instead of one of my 3 packages. They can also add prints to their package.

[WhatEyeSee]

oh - a suggestion w/ your wallets - note how many poses they can choose for the wallets offered. eg - one package I offer 48 wallets w/ up to 4 poses.

[MikeMcL]

72 wallets seems like a ton to me.

maybe offer packages without a million wallets, and say "ala carte wallets are $25.00 for 8" or something like that.

as said, 25.00 is low in the industry.

otherwise, i like the price structure.

[karensimmons]

Sit Fee
$25Way too low, IMO. A sitting is going to take 3 hours of your time, minimum (prep, shooting, processing).

Package one
$125
8 2X3 wallets
5 4X6 prints
2 8X12 prints
What are your individual print prices. Start there and then build your packages based on those. Right now it looks like you're charging practically nothing for your prints. You're giving away the farm here.

Think about what a session costs you in time and materials. Also think about how many sessions you're going to have to do at these prices in order to actually make a profit. At these rates you're going to have to cycle people in and out at the rate of 1 every 1/2 hour, 6 days a week, in order to make any kind of decent wage.

What are your operating costs. What's your overhead. What are you paying yourself.

All of that has to be taken into consideration before you set your prices.

Karen

[tim1960]

I charge $60 for a sitting fee. I will go to a location, within a reasonable distance, to shoot. Usually, it's an hour of shooting but it is not limited to this. As for your packages, I think that I would go more with individual prices per print. You can always throw in a few wallets or an 8X10 if your client buys a lot of pictures. Are you doing this as your job or just a hobby for now?

Tim

[E3_Photo_Studio]

I think it all sounds fine to start off with, but your CD price seems a little high. WOW! What exactly are you putting on the CD? Gold? HA! :) Just kidding. But that's the only thing.

I would suggest like someone else said....do A La Carte pricing as well. And list prices for image enhancements like B&W and Sepia, borders, textures, etc.

Good Luck!!

[Photolistic]

Actually that is a low price for a CD

[Advocate]

I get enough shots in a session that there is always poses that pleases the clinets - so far the only complaint i have had is that there are too many good ones to choose from which makes it hard for them to choose. LOL I have considered offering less to choose from, but haven't done so yet.


Exactly the problem I have lol. I don't however charge a sitting fee and have only been stung once. I'm currently in the "weekend warrior" camp at the minute, I'm ashamed to say. My business (Shoot Photography) doesn't have to pay my bills as I have a full-time job as a nurse to do that and as such have managed to get away without charging a sitting fee.

I have to be honest here and say that if I could get the number of customers up to 20 a month without a sitting fee but retaining my "sitting to purchase" ratio, coupled with the amount each customer seems to spend I think I could quite easily quit work.

Am I wrong? Should I be charging a sitting fee? Convince me please :)

[Statement]

So I see the term sit fee a lot, and I'm assuming that it means a flat fee that you charge just for doing the session, then prints and all the variable stuff is added on. Is this right?

[Photolistic]

Yes this is right. I think I am going to up my sit fee to $50 or $100 and lower my print prices a little.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

Actually that is a low price for a CD

Not from my neck of the woods,but what exactly are you putting on the CD to give to the customer???? All proofs and the rights to them???

[NickSimcheck]

I've never done it, but if somebody really wanted Hi-Res JPEG's or TIFF's on a CD I'd ask for at least $5 a photo.

So a $350 CD would have 70 images on it.

[dbvirago]

Agree with above that CD price needs to be high. Once they have the CD, you will lose future reprint options.

Another question though per the sitting fee. Does anyone ask for or get a model release at the sitting? Perhaps in lieu of or for a lower fee? That would give you the option of making money on the shots as stock if they decide not to buy prints.

just a thought

[Photolistic]

Not from my neck of the woods,but what exactly are you putting on the CD to give to the customer???? All proofs and the rights to them???

No, just all full size proofs.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

Agree with above that CD price needs to be high. Once they have the CD, you will lose future reprint options.


Not if you put a watermark on all the images and your company logo on them as well. You can also make the CD so that NONE of the images can be copyed or printed from the CD, and the CD can have an expiration date set on it so that it will expire after a certain amount of time and no longer be viewable.

I can see offering High Res proofs, but $5.00 for each image?? Just seems a little high for just proof images. However, if you want to offer them a release to use the images however they want....then Charge them a separate release fee of BooKoo Big Bucks ontop of the fee for the CD. KWIM? ;) Just my opinion. It's your biz and you can do whatever you want. I was in your shoes just 6 months ago before finalizing on all of our prices. It's not fun and everyone has opinions on what you should or should not do. Ultimately the decision is yours, and you have to do some trial and error at first. Good luck!

[liza]

I don't like to sell CD's, but I will if asked. My 15 pose CD is $200 and the 30 pose CD is $300. The sitting fee is $50 for a 1 1/2 hour session. I really prefer prints, though. My average order this season has been approximately $250, and I was absolutely covered up every weekend from mid-September until the last weekend in November. And I don't really advertise. God help me if I did! :)

[Halliday]

One thing I thought of for photo CD's, give the client a low-rez copy on CD of any shots they order prints of :|

[Claire]

Do clients often want full res CDs from you all? Curious as many in Sweden do.

[Photolistic]

Yes, most of them.


Do clients often want full res CDs from you all? Curious as many in Sweden do.