How much do you charge for a birthday party?

[my2dramaqueens]

Lots of my friends have kids and alot of them want me to hire me to take pics at there kids birthday parties. Does anyone do this and how much should I charge?

[IndyJeff]

I would think your talking about maybe 2 hours work, max. I would charge $125 and put it on a cd and give it to them. Of course I would also ask for model releases in case there were any shots which might make good stock.


Now when they say, "$125? You got to be kidding me?" Just say well if you call someone from the yellow pages and you pay at least that much and you won't get a cd of the images. You'll buy some prints in addition to the shooting fee and end up spending $250.
With the cd I give you you can print your own or get them done at a lab. Put your favorites in a folder on the computer and use them as a screen saver. You think the guy from the phone book would do you a deal like that? Well I guess he would for about $500.

[defordphoto]

Good advice Jeff. Be sure and tell your customer that you will retain all rights to the photos per the model releases their parents sign.

[12345Michael54321]

Just wanted to say that a child's birthday party is one of those events that's often far more challenging to photograph than most people think - like weddings.

Here's a link to a picture of mine, taken 2 weeks ago, at my nephew's 4th birthday party. (My nephew is the dude doing the little dance in this picture.)

http://www.time4email.com/051937.jpg

[my2dramaqueens]

While I do agree with what your saying. $125.00 .. thats as much as it costs for the party its self. I think they'll opt just to not have it done at all. and you might say well fine no skin off your back.... but like i said their friends so im gonna have to be there anyway. i dont want to do it for nothing... but i would mind making a buck for being there. i will definetly just give them a cd. so my material cost is just the cd.

[S230]

I was in a situation similar to yours. What I've done is use photos taken at the party to advertise myself. I've done it for free and gave them the CD nicely laid out with graphics and best photos in it. Word spreads quickly. There is a difference and depends how well you know these people. Many times you just have to do favors for free and not expect any return. Personally in my opinion, material cost for the CD is too little to ask money for. I would Bank the credit and you never know when you will need a favor from them. I think of it as a gift for them. :)

[defordphoto]

While I do agree with what your saying. $125.00 .. thats as much as it costs for the party its self. I think they'll opt just to not have it done at all. and you might say well fine no skin off your back.... but like i said their friends so im gonna have to be there anyway. i dont want to do it for nothing... but i would mind making a buck for being there. i will definetly just give them a cd. so my material cost is just the cd.

Well then, charge them 10 cents. That's about the price of a decent CD thse days. But seriously, if you come here asking us what we'd charge, we're going to tell you a pro price. To get a CD full of professional, digital photographs for $125 with free rights to print as many as you want is a steal.

Do it for $50. But, remember that the parents will talk when they see the quality of the photos and the birthday kid's Mom will be thrilled to share the price she got for all those awesome photos and then you'll be stuck doing (or turning down) $50 birthday parties.

[my2dramaqueens]

I already did a freebie for her i took pics for a contest she wanted to submit her sons pic to. so i think i should charge her something.. right? heres the pic if you want to see.

http://psphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/426890

[elkootcho]

I already did a freebie for her i took pics for a contest she wanted to submit her sons pic to. so i think i should charge her something.. right?

If you do another freebie for her then you'll always be expected to do freebies for her. Friend or not, is that what you want?

[defordphoto]

I already did a freebie for her i took pics for a contest she wanted to submit her sons pic to. so i think i should charge her something.. right? heres the pic if you want to see.

http://psphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/426890

I know what I would do. You have to decide how long you want to do this all for free. Not sure how many different ways it can be said. The advice you're going to get here, in this particular forum, is to charge. Charge a fair price for sure, but you should not be doing this for free. What you're doing is more than a casual snapshot. Or at least I'd hope to think so.

Call around to a few locals and see what they would charge. Maybe that will turn on that lightbulb.

[Jon]

I'm looking at a similar situation. Our Pekingese rescue group's having a picnic and they'd like me to take posed pictures of the dogs (I already photograph many of the rescues up for adoption, and do candids at events for the website and newsletter). I'm suggesting that I do low-res photos for the club website, but that if people want prints they make a contribution to the club at fair market value. This way I'll have photos I can use for a portfolio, the club will have additional funds for rescue operations and, if anyone later wants me to photograph their dog, they'll have a precedent that it will cost them since I'm seriously considering this as a sanity measure and second income (in that order) for when I retire in a few years.

[my2dramaqueens]

ok ok i got CHARGE ! CHARGE! CHARGE !

THANKS !

[Avalonthas]

If your gonna be there anyways, charge like 70 bucks for session without CD, and 80 with CD. Dont be too extravagant with pricing. You dont want to come off as a snob. Under any other circumstances, you should charge a higher normal rate.

[Jon]

If they want you to photograph it for them, you won't have time or attention for anything else including watching over your (or anyone else's) kids or chatting with the other parents. Make sure they understand that that's part of the equation. You're giving up participating to do this; you're not just snapping a few pics in between everything else going on.

[12345Michael54321]

What does your friend (or friend's spouse) do for a living? Any possibility of a barter arrangement?

"You want me to photograph your child's birthday party for free? Sure, I guess that's okay. Oh, by the way, I understand your husband is a dentist; I need some work done on my teeth. We're friends, so it'll be a freebie, right? I mean, it'll probably only take up, like, an hour or so of his time."

[oddball]

I'm not a pro photographer, but I work in a related industry, and $125 for the above circumstances sounds like a killer deal for the client. Think about it; 2 hours of labor strictly devoted to taking photos, the rental of a pro-quality camera set-up, along with a late-model laptop and associated software to burn a CD of high quality JPEGS. This is not counting travel time, freight and drayage, etc.

[IndyJeff]

M2DQ's, while this is directed to you, it is not meant as an insult to you and should be considered by anyone and everyone who may have a pricing question in the future.

If you come into this forum with a question, "how much should I charge for XXX job?" Expect to hear a reasonable price based upon knowledge and experience of guys who have been at this a while. You asked and I answered. I took into consideration that it is a friend your shooting for, based upon what I would do this assignment for and taking all things into consideration I gave you a price.
I have done stuff for friends and yes they expect a discount. I do give them a break but, I consider how much I will have to work to get the job done for them. I value my time and my equipment so, I charge for it.
What you are providing is a service, one they want and should be willing to pay for.


You wrote:
While I do agree with what your saying. $125.00 .. thats as much as it costs for the party its self. I think they'll opt just to not have it done at all. and you might say well fine no skin off your back.... but like i said their friends so im gonna have to be there anyway. i dont want to do it for nothing... but i would mind making a buck for being there. i will definetly just give them a cd. so my material cost is just the cd.

Did they ask for a discount on the price of the cake? How about the decorations? Did they get a discount on that as well? Are they hiring someone like a clown to come in and entertain the kids? Did he give them a price and they asked for a discount?
Well you are willing to give them a price break. Now if you want to do it for $5 that is fine too but, don't expect members of this forum to keep helping you out on pricing issues if you ignore the advice your given and say that it is too much and charge a mere pittance of what you are told would be a fair price.

Get out your local yellow pages and call a few photographers listed in there. Ask them how much they would charge to shoot a kids birthday party and then hand the images over on a cd. My guess is your going to find not many are willing to do that and if they are, it will be under certain conditions and I imagine it will cost considerably more than $125.

[PhotosGuy]

"You want me to photograph your child's birthday party for free? Sure, I guess that's okay. Oh, by the way, I understand your husband is a dentist; I need some work done on my teeth. We're friends, so it'll be a freebie, right? I mean, it'll probably only take up, like, an hour or so of his time." LOVE IT!
Personally, I'd be willing to pay to not have to shoot it! ;-)

[FlipsidE]

12345Michael54321,

EXCELLENT way of looking at it!

FlipsidE

[DSMITH131]

Well you can do like i did with my neice i took pictures of her daughters let her look at them and she just had to have them ok now we can talk price

[my2dramaqueens]

IndyJeff. I didnt take your comment as an insult , but I just thought I'd say. Obviously you knew I would be a little thrown or you wouldnt have wrote "now you might say 125, you gotta be kidding me" and explained yourself. I guess I should have asked how do i deal with friends. Thanks for advice though and I understand what you mean.... I guess I find it it silly to "hire" a photographer for a birthday party for a kids, but then again I know how to take pics.... but hey of these people want to give me their money who am I to argue !

Micheal- awesome idea! he owns a lawnscape business and we just closed on a new house with a big yard! yee haw --- im going for free landscape !! LOL

[FlipsidE]

Micheal- awesome idea! he owns a lawnscape business and we just closed on a new house with a big yard! yee haw --- im going for free landscape !!
- That's actually a great idea!

FlipsidE

[pdrow]

The barter system works great as has been stated. Another option might be, since you will be there anyway, to take photos and post on a website. Parents can order idividual prints from you. I would make a minimum order requirement to avoid someone wanting one print. Do up a couple of collage prints as well and post those, too.

[Maureen Souza]

I did a photo shoot for my best friend. I did not charge for the shoot but I gave her a price list for photos by size and told her I would give her the CD for $25 after she ordered pictures. She bought $190 worth of pictures and the $25 CD and we were both satisfied. Most people realize your time and supplies are worth something.