Questions about pricing...

[jaa1180]

In middle TN, there is a photographer that does on the side, like me, and only charges $65 for 2 hours of shooting. Then, the photographer will give you the CD back with the images for printing. The customer will have the images printed.

I am thinking this is a bad think but I am still unsure about handing the customer the CD with all the images on them. Seems like one will lose a lot of money in re-prints.

What are your thoughts on handing a CD to the customers?

[tarpleyg]

I don't (nor would I). I essentially charge $50 for up to 2 hours and I expect to make the bulk of my money from the client ordering prints from me. $50 (or even $65) for two hours is just not enough money to cover my expenses in most cases.

Greg

[jaa1180]

I don't (nor would I). I essentially charge $50 for up to 2 hours and I expect to make the bulk of my money from the client ordering prints from me. $50 (or even $65) for two hours is just not enough money to cover my expenses in most cases.

Greg

That is exactly what I thought. You are not making your money back.
I usually charge $40 for approx. 10 shots and they get proofs back. I guess that is ok.
But to had over a CD with, the guy I know who went to the photographer said, over 100 shots on the CD... just seems wrong. Well.. not wrong but you know what I mean.

[sapearl]

I wouldn't do it that way either - he's pretty much giving his business away, IMHO. I don't furnish CD's as I make additional income on reprint orders. For a simple, informal portrait shoot I charge $100. The client peruses my online proof gallery, picks the shot they like the best, and then I furnish them with one 8x10 color enlargement in a presentation folder.

If they want additional prints they can purchase those a-la-carte, per the rate schedule I point them to on my website. Your Tn photog sounds like he just wants to shoot and not have anything to do with the printing portion.

Also, is he doing an PP on these images, or just burning to disk the JPG's right out of the camera? I'll shoot everything RAW, make global adjustments to those files prior to generating JPG proofs, and then additional PP for individually ordered shots.

[sapearl]

He sounds like a cut and run sort of person..... or maybe I am way off base here and he is charging only what his clients can afford.

My pricing is set for a large urban area in a big city. Perhaps he's in a depressed area where folks can't afford much at all and he's being kind, giving everybody a break. If that's the case then I am being unfair in my criticism.:rolleyes: Still, I couldn't afford to operate that way - my time is worth more.

That is exactly what I thought. You are not making your money back.
I usually charge $40 for approx. 10 shots and they get proofs back. I guess that is ok.
But to had over a CD with, the guy I know who went to the photographer said, over 100 shots on the CD... just seems wrong. Well.. not wrong but you know what I mean.

[stathunter]

I personally would never charge less that $100 or $150 to begin with. Remeber your equipment is expensive.......and your take a risk that you will damage something. You have many other costs like gas etc---and more importantly your time. What is your time worth.
For $100 I would never give them the disk with proofs. Don't be afraid to ask for more money--your time and talent is worth much more.

[sapearl]

Ditto - Scott gives excellent advice here ;). He brought up a number of other obvious issues that I should have been sharped to remember. See Scott, this is what happens when I miss my afternoon cup of coffee.

I personally would never charge less that $100 or $150 to begin with. Remeber your equipment is expensive.......and your take a risk that you will damage something. You have many other costs like gas etc---and more importantly your time. What is your time worth.
For $100 I would never give them the disk with proofs. Don't be afraid to ask for more money--your time and talent is worth much more.

[jaa1180]

Ditto - Scott gives excellent advice here ;). He brought up a number of other obvious issues that I should have been sharped to remember. See Scott, this is what happens when I miss my afternoon cup of coffee.

I agree. I don't charge that much because of my location. Just outside of Nashville, TN.

From my understanding, she had to do some things to the images then hand the CD to the customer. So I would presume she is shooting in RAW and then converts to jpg. That would just be dumb to shoot in JPG for this type of work.

So, your thinking I should charge more? I am no pro.. by no means. Well, I guess you can look at my site and tell. I have some shots I like but I am no pro. I thought $40 would be fine for 10 shots. So perhaps change it to $65 for an hour? ... then hand over the CD right? LOL :lol:

[sapearl]

Well, I would definately bump your price up - things always end up taking longer than you originally plan for. How much to increase? Hard to say, only you know what's right for the area..... maybe split the difference.

Nashville is a beautiful area. My daughter currently goes to school there and we will visit a couple of times a year.

[splitfyre]

IMHO you are underselling yourself at that rate. It's good to know your market though, and in some of the hot spots in North America, photographer can charge more. The problem is when photographers charge so little that people get the feeling that there's not much worth in a photographers work, and therefore expects photos for free, or dirt cheap.

Never be afraid to charge more for your work. That's my .02 cents.

[funpix]

I too am just starting out in business. And the hardest thing is shifting from a mind set am I a pro, or an amateur. I resolved that if I am selling myself to earn money that makes me a pro. So set your pricing like you are one. True you can't be the most expensive, but neither should you be the lowest.
My studio operates with 2 session fees: $75 for individuals, couples and pets (this includes 2 print sheets); the next is $150 this is for location shoots and large groups (this includes 4 print sheets). I offer additional print sheets and also a CD of low resolution files for a price that is Good Value, but I clearly state to them that it is suitable for pc screens only and show them what the prints will look like if they try to print it. I also offer individual "Share my Pic" for $1.50 a file. These are great for promoting your skills. There is no copywrite infridgement. These files are also low resolution and have embedded in them my details.

I have clients who still think I undercharge. Sessions are about 1 hour long and I offer all my clients the ability to clothing changes. Which they realy appreciate. Selling prints on top of my sessions average $50 per client.
So when you begin to think about charging, pay your self first, think your self pro before you charge anyone.

If you are interested you can visit my website at http://www.lauramcleanphotography.com

[liza]

That's ridiculously low, Jeff. I charge a session fee and $250 for a CD of about 30 images, and that price is going up as of the first of the year. In keeping with current trends in higher end markets, I may discontinue the sale of CD's for portrait sessions. There's quite a bit of money to be made with reprints, and if I introduce custom framing as an additional service, I can realize quite a bit more.