How much would you charge for a car shoot

[DonJuanMair]

Im looking at approaching some people at various car meets to see if they would like any pictures of their car. My only thing is i have no idea on how much to charge. Can anyone give me an idea. Maybe for 3 final shots. Im not expecting to charge a load for shots of someones car but i woulds like to make some money from it

[Animalhouse702]

I've been looking to do the same thing. I've thought about either starting out by charging a fee for the shooting itself (paid in full upfront in case they don't end up ordering many photo's), and then charge them per photo that they order. My other thought was to come up with some various "package" pricing (for instance 1 11x14, 2 8x10's, 4 5x7's & a dozen wallets) and have them pay 50% upfront, and the remainder as they select which photo's to order. But then my question becomes what is the best way to allow them to view the proofs in a way that they won't copy the photo's themselves and never follow through with an order. I'm obviously a newbie at this and my only car shoots so far have been chalked up as "practice", but these are the thoughts that I've been tossing around.

I saw the photo's of your Mazda last week and LOVED them...Great Job!!

[DonJuanMair]

Thank you animalhouse :) that sounds good about the package. I'm getting a portfolio together and will go to some meets with a business card and handing it to them. I got the idea the other night when i was filling up my rx8 with gas. And saw a mustang meet. I'm just having a hard time with the price.

[PhotosGuy]

I've raised my prices since this thread: Question on automobile shoots (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1117717)

[SeanDinner]

I too was pretty un sure of what to charge until I found someone's portfolio, there packages started at $100. Can't find link again :S


I've set my 1st package up at $125 for an hour long shoot and you get:
- A CD of all pictures taken (no limit, except the CF card :P) (desktop and small web sizes w/basic editing)
- One 8x12" print (extras will be more)

2nd package, $250 for 1.5 hour shoot and you get the above + one extra print, and rig shots are taken.


For now I'm doing some free shoots for the local auto club to build my portfolio, then comes advertising and marketing to actually make some money.

[DonJuanMair]

photosguy do you make much of a living from it? or just extra pocket change?

[PhotosGuy]

photosguy do you make much of a living from it? I used to back when one shot was billed at $1,000+. Now I'm semi-retired & don't really care if anyone wants to pay $200 for a shoot, but the price keeps the riff-raff away. :D

[DonJuanMair]

wow, so what would be a good bit of advice for someone is just starting out?

My plan was to get a portfolio book together and some business cards and go to various car meets here in las vegas, show people what i can do then give them my business card. Give them a price and then hope that they call.

What do you think?

[breal101]

If you do a few shots with models to include in the portfolio it could be a draw for some owners. Even in Vegas you should be able to find a bikini model for $100 an hour or so. Just to throw out a figure, $250 for just the car and $350 for the car with model. Included would be a few prints and limited web usage. You might br surprised how many are interested in poster size prints. :):)

[PhotosGuy]

What do you think? Research: Talk to them. See what they've got in their book & ask what they paid for them, but don't feel that the price they got them for should be your price. Offer something they haven't got & can't take themselves.
Good luck!

[DonJuanMair]

well im just in the process of getting a website designed and seeing how much it costs etc for what i want. I asked my friend if any of his friends have any nice cars that i could shoot to use as my main picture for the front page and he said his friend just bought a brand new Ferrari! so i am setting up for shoot with that in a couple of weeks. Im excited!

[PhotosGuy]

new Ferrari! so i am setting up for shoot with that in a couple of weeks. Seen this?
A few Car Lighting Tips - Updated (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

[Mark1]

Im looking at approaching some people at various car meets to see if they would like any pictures of their car.

Keep in mind you will most likely not be able to charge as much if you go asking them. You can charge more if they ask you. Sure some will grab at the chance. But $300 for pictures does not fall in the impulse buy category. Im not trying to discourage you by any means. Just keep this in the back of your mind. And don't get discouraged by it. If you charge like PhotosGuy you only need a small number to make it work.

[DonJuanMair]

Seen this?
A few Car Lighting Tips - Updated (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

yeah i love that thread taight me a lot :)

Keep in mind you will most likely not be able to charge as much if you go asking them. You can charge more if they ask you. Sure some will grab at the chance. But $300 for pictures does not fall in the impulse buy category. Im not trying to discourage you by any means. Just keep this in the back of your mind. And don't get discouraged by it. If you charge like PhotosGuy you only need a small number to make it work.

yeah thats true, i wasnt going to ask ppl for 300 when i approach them im still debating on a price

[Mark1]

... im still debating on a price

There is basically 2 schools of thought here... Lower price with higher volume. Or higher price with a more "exclusive" feel. Personally I would start with a lower price. You will get more customers to hone your skill. Once you have it down then raise the price as your images get better. I think its better to have to say " Yes, but that was last years price" to 500 people, Than try to talk a few into spending the money to begin with.

[v35skyline]

$40 for 4 hours usually

i can get the job done in an hour or two at max, but i stick around longer just because i like to get more practice in. :)

customers get a cd of all the un-processed shots. at least 20 of them are post processed.

[Mark1]

Mmmmm, id never let go of any unprocessed shots.

[asianstutter]

i charge $30 for an hour (usually takes me only an hour)
i usually shoot around 40-60 photos and give them my BEST 10 low res and 10 hi res photo on a CD
This is just my starting rate for now as i'm just a beginner and building up my porfolio. If i have enough people who are interested in the photoshoot then i would charge $60 an hour

[SeanDinner]

i charge $30 for an hour (usually takes me only an hour)
i usually shoot around 40-60 photos and give them my BEST 10 low res and 10 hi res photo on a CD
This is just my starting rate for now as i'm just a beginner and building up my porfolio. If i have enough people who are interested in the photoshoot then i would charge $60 an hour



$30/hour is pretty low. Plumbers get to charge $60-$80/hour around here, so why can't we? If you start low....people will always expect you to stay low. You'll raise your price... and potential customers will say, "Well, you did if for Joe for $30..."

Unless of course you can provide solid proof of WHY you raised your prices.


Also be sure to include gas costs, PP costs (estimate how long you figure it'll take to go through all of the photos), printing costs (if you offer that), and of course be sure to add to those costs so make a profit on any and everything. No on ever gives anything away fro free, it'll be in the total cost somewhere.

[PhotosGuy]

$30/hour is pretty low. And I don't care much for being paid by the hour. See post #5 in:
Photography Rates (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=324925)

[stathunter]

$40 for 4 hours usually

i can get the job done in an hour or two at max, but i stick around longer just because i like to get more practice in. :)

customers get a cd of all the un-processed shots. at least 20 of them are post processed.

Holy Crap! You guys are working for peanuts! That is $10 per hour--- minus gas, equipment etc--- you are working for less than min wage.
No way in heck am I going to drag out my equipment and photograph anything for that price.

[DonJuanMair]

yeah i was thinking that was pretty cheap, not too mention the pp after te pics are taken

[unlimited6986]

Im getting into it, i just shot my friends car for 25$. Hes got a bunch of friends that im gonna charge them around 50-75$ for a shoot. Give them most of the pics on a cd then ask them if they want prints of certain pics. Eventually when my name gets out there ill raise the price little by little. Shotting cars shouldnt take you more then 2 hours in time. Im gonna do the same thing as the OP im gonna make cards and go to car shows. Talk w/ the owners of the cars so i become a friendly guy instead of some random person. Then ask them if they would like any shots of there car and give them my card. I dont wanna just throw 200 cards on ppl's cars and see what happens. If you go to car shows you know all the cards ppl leave on your windshield end up on the floor. So why waste 20$ on cards, talk with the owners and become friendly then ask them.