OK Your Hired, now what.

[watermarkphotography]

Ok to sum it up I was at the doc going down to my boat on a Sunday when the guy behind me unloading his van got excited when he saw my 20D, thinking I was hired to cover the funeral. My response was" no but I could be" Turns out no one was coming to shoot so he hired me.

Not having done this before I shot everything I could including the bag pipe guy, with my canon of course. There was no pre-agreement on price as I was not certian of pricing. I also learned never go anywhere without bussiness cards or model release forms.

It was a search and rescue guy that passed and there were trucks all over out front and a bagpipe player. I got permission from the familey first but not in writing also the guy that hired me checked around to make sure it was ok. I shot in raw so I have to edit them and burn them on DVD. I will contact him to see if he wants prints.

Seeing that it is a funeral and not a wedding I don't expect there to be any huge orders.

Question now is how much to charge, 2 hours of my day and maybe 80 shots burned on DVD.

[Barb42]

You might give offer free prints for the guy's family and maybe one for the team's office. But include a handful of cards to pass around and post. The is a great chance for PR you could never pay for and people will remember you for other more traditional events. Deliver everything in person with your condolences. Make friends. Ask to photograph the rescue team as a fine art project. And after you show them the final images remind them you have to shoot paying jobs to pay for it all. Its all about networking not a one-time windfall.

[watermarkphotography]

Good acvise, thanks. I think of it as kicking a dog when its down, just doesn't seem right. I did get some good shots of the bagpipe guy if I can get a model reliese.

[pradeep1]

I agree with Barb42. The goodwill, community recognition, and contacts you make would be more valuable than the $200-400 you could charge them for your efforts.

[watermarkphotography]

Yes I did get a job shooting some products while there, I knew the guy and some others there. It was for a fallen Search and Rescue trainer. Natural causes.