What to charge for portfolio pics?

[jleins]

Hi,

I posted an ad with a link to my gallery on a local classifieds section under "services offered" and have gotten a response. The person is a grad student at my school and wants "a couple portfolio shots" done according to their email. The problem is, although I have good equipment, I don't have a studio setup per se.

I'm confident I could get some great shots, especially after correcting any minor exposure/WB problems in PP. This would be my first paid shoot. How much would you guys recommend charging for this kind of thing? Extra for prints of course...

Thanks, I'm just a noob trying to get my feet wet...

[sspellman]

Jon-

Ummm, how can you quote a price when you are not sure about any of the details of the job?

Making a big assumption that your subject is interested in model portfolio pictures and you have limited equipment and experience for this type of photography, I wouldn't charge at all. Non-photographers often assume that all photographers are good at all things, but I could never ethically charge a client until I know that I am fully prepared for the specific assignment.

-Scott

[ssim]

A couple of things concern me about your post. You placed an ad without any thought to what you would charge. You must have had some thoughts about this. Have you not checked your local rates of other photographers. I don't know what your local economy is like but coming in at the median of the local rates is usually a safe bet.

The other thing is that you are already relying too heavily on the fact that you can fix any errors in the shoot itself with post processing. This can be dangerous and urge anyone not to fall into this trap of "I'll fix it later".

You do need more details about the job. It is easy to assume that if they want some more portfolio shots that they are into modeling but in reality it could be a number of different things.

[MJPhotos24]

read the above two posts very closely, good advice there.

day fee for portfolio usage only, I would be around $150-250 depending on who it is and what they want. Definately look around at what others charge and go from that a bit. You're going to need some kind of set up, studio for her/him as most portfolios I've seen have different atmospheres including outside or "natural" shots and studio with backdrops, usually white or black.

[jleins]

hey thanks for the replys, the problem is they didn't specify exactly what job they want shot. There is another family who wants shots. Since this will be on of my first jobs, I'm thinking of charging only $50 to come out, plus prints if desired.

[liza]

I charge high school seniors $50 for a 90 minute session plus my print charge. An 8x10, for example, is $20, which is in keeping with other area photographers.