How are these prices...

[timmyquest]

For parents looking to buy some prints. This is a clip of an email i sent to a women who had her daughter give me her buisness card.

Here are some sizes and prices:
4x5 $3
4x6 $3 (this size will print all of the picture with minimal to no cropping)
5x7 $5
8x10 $10
8x12 $12 (this size will print all of the picture with minimal to no cropping)
11x14 $20
16x20 $30
20x30 $45 (this size will print all of the picture with minimal to no cropping)

[IndyJeff]

If you feel comfortable giving away your images at rock bottom prices, I guess it's ok.

[timmyquest]

If you feel comfortable giving away your images at rock bottom prices, I guess it's ok.


Care to share a list of your own.

Keeping in mind the subjects are not making money off of what they do, like some of your racing subjects.

[Harry Settle]

4X6 $4.50 (.38)
5X7 $6.50 (2.50)
8X12 $17.95 (5.95)
11X14 $30.75 (10.25)
12X18 $40.50 (13.50)

I use a local processor, my cost per print is in parenthesis.

90% of my sales are 4X6 followed by 5X7 and 8X12.

[Vegas Poboy]

Too Low, Might not get much in new clients due to low prices. Think about it.
$ Equipment
Travel Time
Pre Shoot setup
Shoot time
Post process
Delivery
Look @ other photographers in your area & go from there.

[Skinner]

Too Low, Might not get much in new clients due to low prices. Think about it.
$ Equipment
Travel Time
Pre Shoot setup
Shoot time
Post process
Delivery
Look @ other photographers in your area & go from there.

Yes, but I have seen few industries as secretative about their pricing as professional photographers are. It's worse than Screen Printers are! :) I have visited countless web sites and found next to NO pricing information. Doesn't this inhibit customer inquiries? I know when I am looking for products and services and I cannot find firm pricing I get very suspiscious.

[timmyquest]

4X6 $4.50 (.38)
5X7 $6.50 (2.50)
8X12 $17.95 (5.95)
11X14 $30.75 (10.25)
12X18 $40.50 (13.50)

I use a local processor, my cost per print is in parenthesis.

90% of my sales are 4X6 followed by 5X7 and 8X12.

Considering your costs are much higher then mine...i'm not os sure my prices are all that off.

http://www.mpix.com/productsinfo.aspx

Shipping is usually $5

[Digital Prophet]

Here is my price general list:
4"x6": $12
5"x7": $15
8"x10": $30
8"x12": $35
10"x12": $40
24"x36": $155
40"x60": $300

Those are the prices that I set as a rule. And in my area (Houston) they are really well below the "average" for single print prices. I made quite a few calls to local shops and researched the matter. But in the end I came up with a system. And I know this is going to make some people laugh.

But being that I work for a engineering firm for a living I have a detail oriented nature. So I arrived at the price that I felt comfortable with for the 4x5 (someone was wanting one specifically that size). That was $10. Then I figured that there are 20 square inches in a print that size so I was charging 50 cents per square inch. Then I used that per square inch price as a starting point to pricing my other sized prints. With the smallest sized prints having the highest per square inch price it was easy to decide on a decreasing scale. For instance the 40x60 print (which I am SO close to selling) has a per square inch price of 13 cents.

Now having said all that you have to bear in mind that I do alot of event photography at horse shows. And that type of work is generally "spec". Since if no one is buying I'm not making cash. But with low overhead I still make a profit. But those prices combined with a sitting fee for the few portrait jobs or location/travel fees for the couple of horse portraits I have done make a nice little profit.

Still it is below market. And it is bad to lower the bar. But, I am comfortable with my prices for two reasons. One: I am starting out. And since I am I need to ease into people knowing me and getting my work sold. And two: I am still a beginner when it comes to business and also to human portraits. So it takes me a bit longer to have a sitting than a veteran and I really look to my client to give me a feel of who they are and what they want. Plus I am still refining my business workflow (billing, processing quirks etc.). So in exchange for the understanding and patience I get, they get a better price.

But one day I will be on par price wise. You bet your sweet potatoes I will.

- Digital Prophet -

[IndyJeff]

Care to share a list of your own.

Keeping in mind the subjects are not making money off of what they do, like some of your racing subjects.

Timmy I sell very few racing pictures to anyone but news organizations. The images I do offer for sale are to parents and is of the kids. My pricing is going up Jan 1. This year they were priced as follows, 4x6..$5, 5x7...$7, 8x10...$13,
11x14...$22, 16x20...$33 and 20x30...$45
90% of my sales were of 4x6's also. I sold a few 20x30 posters, a few 11x14's not as many 8x10's as I thought I would and quite a few 5x7's.
Next year I will be offering 4x6, and 5x7's only of the action shots. I will also be offering a custom made graphic which will start at an 8x10 for $39 and offer 11x14 and 16x20 sizes in that. ($59, and $79 respectivly)

Now racing images I don't even offer 4x6 or 5x7's. They start at 8x10's and are $20 and go up to 20x30 posters at $125 but I sell very few, as I said I don't actively pursue sales to the general public of those shots.

[IndyJeff]

DP funny how much difference there is in pricing from area to area. I did some research, talked to some parents that I knew had purchased from others and priced my first year right in the middle. Next year I will be a little more on the higher end. What I found tho was the guys who were charging the most were the ones who did printing on site.

This year I will shoot on day one, then the next day will be mainly in the booth. I will have each team in a binder type book so when they ask to see images from the XXX Tigers game, they will only have that teams images to look thru. I will take orders on site, go online, order and pay for them that night and have each one shipped to their home. Of course when it comes to the championship game I will be out there shooting. They will have to go online to order those themselves.

For leagues that I will be shooting during the regular season, I plan on shooting one Saturday, coming back the next with the binders and contact sheets and taking orders. Once the orders are in, I will leave them at the concession stand and the coaches can pick them up and hand them out to the parents. I plan on giving the coach one or two 5x7's for his distibution effort.

[GenEOS]

I am also in the Houston area. I shoot mainly HS sports. Parents have been really receptive of these prices. I do give multy print discounts on single images.

4x6: $6
5x7: $10
8x10: $20

These prices are for machine prints.

[RichardtheSane]

OK< I'm in the UK but still my prices seem to fit with these

5x7 - £5
10x8 - £9
10x12 - £12
12x18 - £22

The cost per print, well it is a lot less than that. But my time spent on each shot is rather valuable, which is why my prices reflect this. Once I have a more widespread reputation I will be increasing my prices.

[timmyquest]

Thanks for the insight guys.

I really dont know what sells the most, i'd figure parents would want larger ones more often then the 4x6/5x7. We'll see what this parent does, and i'll go from there.

[timmyquest]

Just got a reply from her.

She ordered 8 10x12s

about $70 profit.

I also made $45 from the paper that night and about 30 from the photo studio so thats 150 for 5 hours of work. I'll take that.

[vwpilot]

Here is my pricing:

4x6 - $3 - must purchase 5 or be with order over $15
5x7 - $10 - must purchase 2 or be with order over $15
I dont get very many requests for just small photos.

8x10 - $25
8x12 - $30
10x13 - $35
10x15 - $40
16x20 - $80
20x30 - $100
24x36 - $125

Prices include the shipping via regular USPS first class.

I sell mostly 8x12 and 20x30s with the ocassional 10x15 and small photos thrown in.

[IndyJeff]

LOL Swatcop, I thought that was actually kind of funny.



My prices were lower than they should have been last season but, I kind of jumped into it and the first gig came along faster than I expected it too. Also I didn't do much in the way of cropping this year, mainly it was edit for the best and get them uploaded. Next year I will crop more, and take a little more time. I did find that looking back, images I did crop seemed to sell a lot more thna straight out of the camera shots.
I think if you offer a shot of a lot of face and emotion your sales will jump. I will see what happens next year.

[timmyquest]

LOL Swatcop, I thought that was actually kind of funny.



My prices were lower than they should have been last season but, I kind of jumped into it and the first gig came along faster than I expected it too. Also I didn't do much in the way of cropping this year, mainly it was edit for the best and get them uploaded. Next year I will crop more, and take a little more time. I did find that looking back, images I did crop seemed to sell a lot more thna straight out of the camera shots.
I think if you offer a shot of a lot of face and emotion your sales will jump. I will see what happens next year.

This is the first time i'll be selling prints to a stranger and she said "i'm sure other parents would like to see these as well".

So i'm sure i'll be getting some more emails in the future. In fact she already asked me to photograph her daughter tonight. I cant because i have to go to my main job, based on the amount of prints she bought of her kid when he wasnt the only person i was paying attention to...this may be the first time when i'm missing out on making more money by going to my main job.

[leony]

I do baby and children portraiture in customer's home. i don't have any packages - people buy prints a la carte. prices in parenthesis is what i pay the lab.

wallets (set of 10): $13.99 (5.00)
5x7 $13.99 (1.35)
8x10 $23.99 (2.75)
10x13 $33.99 (4.00)
11x14 $53.99 (5.50)
16x20 $133.55 (15.00)

prints are bought on-line and mailed directly to cusomter. s&h is included.

i average $120 per order.

prices are odd at first, but there is a lot you can learn by sitting in on a business class in your local college.... there is a reason for my prices being as odd as they are.

[timmyquest]

I do baby and children portraiture in customer's home. i don't have any packages - people buy prints a la carte. prices in parenthesis is what i pay the lab.

wallets (set of 10): $13.99 (5.00)
5x7 $13.99 (1.35)
8x10 $23.99 (2.75)
10x13 $33.99 (4.00)
11x14 $53.99 (5.50)
16x20 $133.55 (15.00)

prints are bought on-line and mailed directly to cusomter. s&h is included.

i average $120 per order.

prices are odd at first, but there is a lot you can learn by sitting in on a business class in your local college.... there is a reason for my prices being as odd as they are.

I wonder if what the subjects are doing matters too. I initially looked at your prices and said "Jesus..." then i read what it is you do, and really they dont seem so bad after that.

[IndyJeff]

Timmy she sounds like the mom and grandma's of the kid who was QB on the football team I shot this fall. The mom and her mom bought everything that had him in the shot, whether he was the main focus or not. Probably 80% of them were 4x6's but, I make like $3.74 off each one. They did pop for a few 5x7's and I think one 8x10.
All told I think between the 3 of them I sold about $8-900.00. At the banquet, I made a graphic print of the QB and her daughter playing soccer (that was good for about another $2-300) and gave them each a 5x7 print. The mom loved it. I got an email from both the grandmas and they were very appreciative. Both asked if I would be back next year to do the football and soccer again.

Just remember, you want to make money off them but don't forget to throw in that freebie after a bunch of sales.

Also check your PM's

[timmyquest]

Just remember, you want to make money off them but don't forget to throw in that freebie after a bunch of sales.

Also check your PM's


For sure!

Especially if this lady spreads the word, which i think she will.

The nice thing is that her son is the star of the team. Typically those parents are quiet involved so i'm expecting to get a few emails once she gets these prints.

If this picks up at all i may just have to quit my job, boy woudl that kick butt!

[dlhedg]

Great conversation in this post and very informative to me. I am shooting High school basketball currently.

my prices are
4x6 $4.00
5x7 7.00
8x10 12.00
if i crop or add color the price doubles I have not had any problem with the prices. I am shooting in central KY.
Thanks
Dan h

[GenEOS]

I had one client this year that bought 25 shots of her son running a 80 yard return for TD and all others I shot of him. 25 total - 8x10's. That is a proud Mom. Tell me again why you don't need 8 frames per second and I will call you a liar!!!

She saw my 8x10 price as being the most bang for her buck.

[leony]

first figure out how much you need to pay yourself to pay your bills, etc. then add on your overhead. after that it's obvious what you need to charge to stay competetive. don't get in to habit of thinking: lab charged $1, if i sell it for $3 then i make $2 in my pocket.... if you think like that you'll be broke and out of business in less than a year.

best advice i got from a working pro photographer: take a college level business class, or two.

[GenEOS]

Diferent subject matter drives pricing in different directions.
Portrait vs. Sports for example.
Portrait sitting = 1 client.
A Football game could equate to 44 clients by season end, for each game covered. 11 ofensive player parents, 11 defensive player parents x 2 teams.

Pricing prints is not a simple equation and will vary greatly by photographer and subject.

[Vegas Poboy]

Diferent subject matter drives pricing in different directions.
Portrait vs. Sports for example.
Portrait sitting = 1 client.
A Football game could equate to 44 clients by season end, for each game covered. 11 ofensive player parents, 11 defensive player parents x 2 teams.

Pricing prints is not a simple equation and will vary greatly by photographer and subject.

Well Said, I've been trying to explain that to a partner of mine. Our children sports photos is cheaper than the adults & semi-Pro work that I do. We're designing a website and he wants to post prices and I said no and explained to him skill level & market value to get the job done changes the prices of your photos & files. It is good to have a overall starting point but also keep it flexable so you don't cheat yourself.

[leony]

Bloo Dog:

i don't have a sitting fee. as i come to cust's home, average sitting is 30-40 min tops. i work 5 days/week (sunday & monday's are off) and i make a schedule of 4-7 sitting per day depending on people's availability, season, time of year, etc.


on average 30 sitting/week * 80% are a sale * $120 average sale = $2800 income. with a 2 week's vacation there's 50 weeks left in a year. that's 140K income. minus expenses, etc. you end up with a very good salary. there's minimal overhead since you don't actually need to have a functioning studio - just some working space, anywhere with electricity and a phone line.

if you can get reliable people to do shootings for you and just pass over the images for you to do all the rest you can grow to a sizable company.

most general consumers would never go for a $300 package upfront. to the general public your service is making photo portraits. sears studio does the same thing for 6.95 + tax for an 8x10, (2) 5x7's and (8) wallets. that's the way people think.

the way i implemented my system allows me to have different prices for different customers. that is the prices are only seen once you log-in with a password to view your sitting. this way i can play with prices to get the best profitability. after some trial and error, i concluded that for my current client base my pricing schema works best in making me money. my biggest effort is for people to let me in - after that, if customer doesn't buy themselves, their relatives might, or the grandma will pay with her credit card.

[blackviolet]

we are increasing our 4x6 prices this upcoming season to $5 each, 3 for $10. 2 'wallet' pics printed on 4x6 count as a single picture (and a great way for mum n dad to 'show off their little superstar. we arent out to make a load off the parents (it just happens...). A4 size is extremely popular at $30. we also do 12x18 at $50, but we don't do too many of those. we do, however, sell quite a few 'trading cards' at the end of the year- a 12x18 collection of trading card style shots featuring each of the kids on a team carrying the ball, with their name and number and the team logo. these are $100 framed. we do quite a few of the 'team' shots at the end of the year, too.

as geneos said, if you look at the parents as potential customers, who will buy from you again and again, it's worth way more than selling them a single over-priced picture. the 6 and 7 year old's parents tend to buy almost everything you show them, and this tapers off at around the 13 or 14 year old mark.

[preacher]

Thank you for this thread, I have been searching and looking for some type of pricing guidlines for a beginner and this is the most interactive thread I have found. Thank you guys a lot, you have helped me tremendously.

[pyterps]

Just have to ask the question because some of the post are very interesting to me. With taking pictures of sporting events, who must you contact to get the permission to take the photos in the first place? Do some work for the parents to take shots of the kids throughout the year and the they can pick the best shots from the year?

I took some photos at my county fair of the motocross and some turned out great and have though of trying to contact some of these folks and see if they would like copies.

Any information on how to set this up would help me a lot.

[timmyquest]

Talk with the A.D at the school.

I'm usually there because the paper asked me to go cover the event.

[IndyJeff]

pyterps make contact with someone from the league board. There should almost always be a representative of the board on site. Approach them and ask if they would like to provide a service to their players and parents of action photos, and you will do it for no charge to the league. Try to avoid giving them a kickback if possible.

In your case of the motocross, contact the sanctioning body. The smaller they are the more anxious they are to have someone do something like that.

[tofuboy]

I don't try to sell photos, but figured I would put together a simple site with my photography with buying information if anyone was interested in buying... no-one has yet... but that doesn't bother me as I'm not actively pursuing it. However, my google adsense has gotten me $113 so far :D

Anyways, I came up with my pricing scheme by looking at what the general price for a 5x7 was... calculated the per square inch price and applied that to the other sizes. However, I found the larger prints were rather pricy that way, so I added a function to the price so the larger the print, the less it costs per square inch. But then that left prices a bit odd, so I rounded up or down a bit.. and came up with the following price list.

http://www.tofuboy.net/buy-prints.php

At those prices, the profit margin is less for the larger prints... but making $60 profit for a 20x30 vs $6 for a 5x7 seems ok to me.

[timmyquest]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their help.

His dad came up to me at the game the other day and handed me a buisness card and we had a little chat.

His son goes to a private highschool with a $4,500 a year price tag. His dad works with High Def. TV/Video equipment and they live in an upper class town.

They'll be ordering 4 more prints from me tonight, one of them "poster size" (not sure which size he wants yet).