Another "How much should I charge" thread. Sorry!!!

[nicksan]

Hello Folks,

Firstly, let me apologize in advance for starting up yet another one of these threads. I never thought I would need to since I've been shooting strictly for the pleasure of it. I have a day job that pays me very well so I never felt the need to make money off of photography. (Not saying it wouldn't be nice...it would!:D But I don't go out of my way to try!)

Well, late last year, I shot a charity type concert for a music school operator. His wife used to be a co-worker of my wife so she invited us to the show. I offered to take a few pictures for fun. It was indeed fun. Loved it!

Well, they liked it so much, they hired me for a student recital which was this past Sunday. They offered $100 for the 45 minute concert, and since I still feel like this is all fun and games for me, I did it. Easy. Fun. Got paid. And they loved the pictures again. Simple!

So today, my wife was chatting it up with his wife and she mentioned something about coming down to one of his 2 schools to take some pics of classrooms, students in the classrooms, some of the instruments, and maybe even some of his "treasured" instruments, etc. He especially like my instrument shots for whatever reason. I am assuming these would be used to refresh some of the outdated images on his website in addition to some of the promotional material he may have for his school and charity work, plus personal use. (Hang it up on his wall, or whatever...)

My wife, who's my "agent" now :lol: told her she will talk to me but since this involves taking off from work on a Monday, driving 45 minutes each way, tolls, etc, that the pay would have to be accordingly. (Boy...tough agent...thank god I don't have to deal with her!;))

Sooooo....of course my question is how much should I be paying. I don't have any delusions about all this. I am not a seasoned pro by any stretch. But I am confident I'll do the job well. I just want to charge them what's fair for both sides.

So the logistics are:
2 hours travel time by car.
About $20 of tolls.
Have to take Monday off from work so I am burning a vacation day.
I would assume the actual shoot will be between 1-2 hours at the most.
Add maybe 1-2 hours of PP time.
Post online, burn CD, mail.

I am thinking for starters, AT LEAST $150. My wife was more like $300, but I think that's waaaaay too high. BTW, at my real job I make much more than $300 a day just to give you an idea.

Any suggestions?

[tim]

I suggest you either approach it as a hobby/holiday and recover costs, or treat it as a paying gig that has to make as much as your day job. I don't see why you'd take a day off to do this unless you really enjoyed it. $150 is stupid. $300 it starting to be reasonable. In USD my minimum charge for a day is about US$750, otherwise it's just not worth my time.

[nicksan]

Tim,

Thanks for being blunt about this.

I know things are getting really hazy for me and I totally understand where you are coming from.

I actually do enjoy it. I've shot many things for free. Most of them take up the entire day, plus the many hours in Post Processing. But again, it's all fun for me, at least right now that is. That may change any moment. I hope it doesn't. But I know what the reality is once you go knee deep into this.

So $150 is "stupid". Yeah...I kinda figured that and I guess my wife has more sense than me. I think I am too much of the charitable type.

I am assuming you are a seasoned pro. $750 would indeed be lovely, but obviously I am nowhere in your league. I'm just filling out that niche...I think.

So let's see. I think I might still be comfortable at $250. I just don't feel comfortable going into the $300 range, especially since this guy does a lot of charity work for music awareness for kids. We need more people like that in fact.

I figure it's a half day's work. I definitely don't make $300 x 2 at my real job. Close, but not quite that much. (I wish!)

So I guess that's starting to sound right...somewhere in the $250-$300 range.

I suggest you either approach it as a hobby/holiday and recover costs, or treat it as a paying gig that has to make as much as your day job. I don't see why you'd take a day off to do this unless you really enjoyed it. $150 is stupid. $300 it starting to be reasonable. In USD my minimum charge for a day is about US$750, otherwise it's just not worth my time.

[tim]

Yep i'm a professional, wedding photography mainly. Sounds like it's a hobby/charity thing for you. Since the difference between $150 and $250 isn't important to you, and he does a lot of good work for the community, $150 might not be unreasonable. Then again he runs a business, and he'll get a lot of use of your images i'm sure.

[GregMik]

Charity work is charity work...Don't charge for it but take the deduction off your taxes, you are going to need all the help you can get in NY. You may come out on top this way.

If you are going to charge, then charge the going rate. I try to charge in the $100/hr range when on site, because you have so much pre and post expenses.

Greg

P.S. I have just started charging to go out with my cam, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[nicksan]

Yeah...I'm not saying just because he does charity type work that he's a poor man. He's not. Far from it living in a Penthouse in NYC and owning 4 cars, one of which apparently is some kind of Vintage Ferrari.

I think the thing about this whole this is, I am not a seasoned pro, I know it, he knows it, and he probably wants to pay me accordingly.

I mean, yeah, if I had the presentation, etc...and he called my number up out of the blue, then that would be different.

But it was one of those things where my wife was chatting up his wife, and this and that...very casual, very informal.

So I am thinking $200-$250 ain't that bad then.

Yep i'm a professional, wedding photography mainly. Sounds like it's a hobby/charity thing for you. Since the difference between $150 and $250 isn't important to you, and he does a lot of good work for the community, $150 might not be unreasonable. Then again he runs a business, and he'll get a lot of use of your images i'm sure.

[nicksan]

Does the $100/hr include time to travel or is that a built-in charge?


Charity work is charity work...Don't charge for it but take the deduction off your taxes, you are going to need all the help you can get in NY. You may come out on top this way.

If you are going to charge, then charge the going rate. I try to charge in the $100/hr range when on site, because you have so much pre and post expenses.

Greg

P.S. I have just started charging to go out with my cam, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Pyromaniac]

Hell Folks,

So the logistics are:
2 hours travel time by car.
About $20 of tolls.
Have to take Monday off from work so I am burning a vacation day.
I would assume the actual shoot will be between 1-2 hours at the most.
Add maybe 1-2 hours of PP time.
Post online, burn CD, mail.



Well, to start you need to get back at least what it is costing you to do it. You already know what the tolls cost, then there is gas for the car, the cost of a CD, and postage.
Then you should get something to cover you time, which looks to be 4 to 6 hours that you are estimating. Since things always take longer than you think they will (at least for me they do) call it 6 to 8 hours and that now a whole day. If it were me I'd probably charge $300-$500 for it, but I live in Ohio not NY, so goods and services here are a lot less that there.

[nicksan]

But then consider I am not a seasoned pro by any stretch. I know it. They know it. So the objective here is to arrive at a fair market rate for someone with my "credentials" which is pretty much none.:(

So if a pro like you guys would be charging $300-$500 (or $750 for the other poster) , then I'm thinking I should be charging half of that, if even that much.

In that case, I think $200-$250 sounds like it may be a fair deal.

I guess the $150 that I was originally thinking about might have been too low. I realize that now.


Well, to start you need to get back at least what it is costing you to do it. You already know what the tolls cost, then there is gas for the car, the cost of a CD, and postage.
Then you should get something to cover you time, which looks to be 4 to 6 hours that you are estimating. Since things always take longer than you think they will (at least for me they do) call it 6 to 8 hours and that now a whole day. If it were me I'd probably charge $300-$500 for it, but I live in Ohio not NY, so goods and services here are a lot less that there.

[Concretin Nik]

If you are providing good quality photos, it doesn't matter at all if you have 'credentials' of years at it. Do a good job and the price won't be an issue.

In all my lurking and reading all these different threads about charges and noobs and professionals, charge what you feel is comfortable, FOR YOU. Know that you are setting a precedent for your future charges, which might be uncomfy to raise later, but what can you live with?

If you still feel too 'weird' about taking so much more than you initially thought... Have a print made of one of the better photos, get it framed, and have it delivered... perhaps with a check in the amount of the difference between what you were paid and what you are comfy accepting... of course made out to your favorite "music awareness for kids" charity. Win win win. I say add one more win by taking your agent out to dinner.

[GregMik]

Does the $100/hr include time to travel or is that a built-in charge?


No...just when on site....Because of the travel and processing you have to do.

Greg

P.S. We have made a whole $4700 off our pics so far in 2 yrs. So take everything I say with two grains of salt.;)

[Box Brownie]

Interesting background to the story.

Well take my 2p's with a large pinch of salt. You say he has been delighted with your 'work' so far, so seasoned pro or not your work 'speaks for itself' becuase he hoas "bought" into it. Therefore now is the time to pay for your services ~ he knows the quality and is content to 'hire' you, yes you have fun & enjoy the experience but as I think you mentioned the day job is good & so far secure but should you get a downturn (I have had to accept a paycut in my job) you will welcome the fact that you have established a reputation for quality work with good rates but make the rates worthwhile ~ its easy to give special reductions but very hard to increase rates.

Best of luck and in case I missed it by any other posters make sure you agree a contract and terms of usage of the images.

HTH :)

PS Your wife sounds like she is on the ball with a commercial head on her :D

[Oxymoroness]

OP I understand you fear at charging "too much" — with my freelancing business, I've had to face the same thing. A fellow freelancer gave me some very good advice.

1. If you charge to little, people won't value you or what you do.

2. Keep in mind that at a full time company job you don't just get paid in cash, you get paid in security, benefits and other intangibles. So your "hourly" calculations should also figure those things in.

So when you figure a price factor in what you would need to make in order to cover health care and market value plus (or minus) experience level. Then add up costs (tolls, milage, etc.)

And dude, you're in NY! I realize that this is a part-time "fun" gig. And $300 is low. Get over your discomfort and listen to your wife and these other posters. I know, I'm still there with "Invoicing Fear" (I've actually got to send out a few today.) but you really do need to get over that. It's not healthy. :)

[Billo78]

Nicksan, after seeing you had 9000+ posts and checking out your Flickr and ridiculously impressive equipment list I can assure you that the photos you procude will be equal or better than PLENTY of professionals out there. If this guy can afford 4 cars and a fancy penthouse suite then he'll be happy to pay you $300 for your work as he'd have to pay at least that to get a "professional" who wouldn't produce anything discernably better to his eye than what you'll do. I'm sure he'd rather pay $300 to a friend than a stranger.

If he was poor and genuinely couldn't afford $300 then sure, give the guy a discount and rack it up as charity, but you're giving up a full day of work to do this so it's gotta be worth your while.

Get your wife to negotiate for you if you find the money side uncomfortable!!

[nicksan]

Man...this is GREAT!

I really appreciate all the advice, suggestions. This is a completely new territory for me because as I mentioned earlier, photography is a passion for me and I told myself to strictly do it for the joy of it. I can afford to do that b/c of my day job but after doing my first paid gig last Sunday (even if it was only for $100) it changed the way I feel about all this. Not in a bad way mind you. But really, it wouldn't be all that bad making some money on the side, as long as I can keep the pressure low and not spend all my free time with this.

Shooting recitals and classrooms would be right up my alley as far as comfort level is concerned. I think I would be cool doing events as well. Weddings...uhh...no! (Though I am shooting one in August for a friend of mine on the cheap...that's another can of worms right there! ;-) )

I just opened up a Flickr Account in the hopes of organizing myself. I already have a Zenfolio account. But I end up putting EVERYTHING on it. It's not categorized. Everything is chronological, with mostly personal shooting on it. Just thinking about all this gives me a headache! You know...business cards, name for the "business" (My name sucks for any business "Nick Nishizaka"....uh...right!), etc.

Much respect for those who do this professionally. There's just soooo much to think about!

...and yes, my wife is better at money talk more than me. Now that I got my first paid gig under my belt, I think all she sees is dollar signs! ;-)

[Oxymoroness]

...and yes, my wife is better at money talk more than me. Now that I got my first paid gig under my belt, I think all she sees is dollar signs! ;-)

I've been my husband's agent for some illustration gigs. So I can tell you it's less about the $$$$ and more about protecting my man!

Nobody takes advantage of my honey!

[Dan-o]

Just thinking about all this gives me a headache! You know...business cards, name for the "business"

Invoices, contracts, insurance, DBA, business lic., 1099's.......

[nicksan]

Ahhhhhhhhh!:lol:;)

Actually, right now it's on a cash basis. (Should I even be mentioning this here?) But again, we are talking $100, $300, etc...

Obviously if this were to balloon to a point where I am raking in thousands, then yes, lots of other things would need to be considered.

The DBA part, I am thinking about doing. Just registering a business name with my county as a sole proprietorship or something to that effect.

Business cards would probably be a great idea too.

I don't even have a name for my "business"...especially b/c my name "Nick Nishizaka" doesn't exactly roll of the tongue you know?:lol::(


Invoices, contracts, insurance, DBA, business lic., 1099's.......

[DDCSD]

Charity work is charity work...Don't charge for it but take the deduction off your taxes, you are going to need all the help you can get in NY. You may come out on top this way.

The only deductions would be travel mileage and material. You can't deduct for your time.

[GregMik]

The only deductions would be travel mileage and material. You can't deduct for your time.


I don't know about NY. In MN I do allot of work for The Raptor Center. In fact I have to go tomorrow and trap another coopers hawk out of a warehouse.

I am allowed in MN to deduct my time also. Based on my job.

Greg

[DDCSD]

I don't know about NY. In MN I do allot of work for The Raptor Center. In fact I have to go tomorrow and trap another coopers hawk out of a warehouse.

I am allowed in MN to deduct my time also. Based on my job.

Greg


Are you actually itemizing your time? How do you value it? MN's Dept of Rev website says that it allows charitable deductions that the IRS allows, and the IRS doesn't allow you to deduct for time.

Or are you simply charging for your services, then donating back to the Center and claiming the donation as a deduction?

[GregMik]

Are you actually itemizing your time? How do you value it? MN's Dept of Rev website says that it allows charitable deductions that the IRS allows, and the IRS doesn't allow you to deduct for time.

Or are you simply charging for your services, then donating back to the Center and claiming the donation as a deduction?


I take my time based on hrs worked/ money made in the yr. I have records of everything I do in my biz, IB self employed.

I log the time it takes me to trap the birds, and deduct it as a charitable donation to The Raptor Center. I have done this for the last 5 yrs, and have not been audited yet....Not that I will not be.:rolleyes:

Greg

[madspartus]

by the sound of things your doing this for nice cause that is non profit in itself. I think if its fun for you, not for a profitable cause, and you will feel like you helped out doing it, id do it at reasonable cost to youself. for example if you are gonna lose out a days pay, you can think of that as a charitale donation of time, kinda like taking time off to volunteer somewhere, but you will spend a half day there and have some expenses on the way, i think at most you should probably charge your work pay for the day and call that your cost, and not charge for your gas or road tolls and consider that as donated since your getting a half day off and the other half to do something fun. at the minimum would be probably half days pay + tolls and gas etc, so 200 approx.

[nicksan]

Well, I just got an email directly from the owner about what sounds to me like a separate project. He wants to open up a website to rent/sell used instruments and wants me to take pictures of the instrument. This involves about an hour each way to get to the location, then perhaps an hour or two for the shoot, then coming home. Plus PP, etc. Figure a half day job again.

I guess I have a regular client in a sense. :-)

Not sure if it involves a weekday or a weekend, but I'm thinking in the $250 range since this sounds to me like a profit making project...unless he's trying to sell instruments on the cheap to benefit less fortunate kids. But I guess I really need to stop thinking about that, feeling guilty and all that.

I don't know why I can't get myself to just tell him "Sure, I can do this for $250 which will include my time, processing time, and a CD of finished images".

I'm just too nice of a guy...;-)

Beginning to feel like I'm this guy's photographer lackey...It's just such a different mentality. Until now, I answered to no one b/c I did this for the love of it as a hobby. I don't need the money. It's nice and I'm not going to be stupid and refuse even $250. But it won't make or break anything in my life. I guess I just need to suck it up and do the job and feel confident about my abilities.

[DDCSD]

Well, I just got an email directly from the owner about what sounds to me like a separate project. He wants to open up a website to rent/sell used instruments and wants me to take pictures of the instrument. This involves about an hour each way to get to the location, then perhaps an hour or two for the shoot, then coming home. Plus PP, etc. Figure a half day job again.

I guess I have a regular client in a sense. :-)

Not sure if it involves a weekday or a weekend, but I'm thinking in the $250 range since this sounds to me like a profit making project...unless he's trying to sell instruments on the cheap to benefit less fortunate kids. But I guess I really need to stop thinking about that, feeling guilty and all that.

I don't know why I can't get myself to just tell him "Sure, I can do this for $250 which will include my time, processing time, and a CD of finished images".

I'm just too nice of a guy...;-)

Beginning to feel like I'm this guy's photographer lackey...It's just such a different mentality. Until now, I answered to no one b/c I did this for the love of it as a hobby. I don't need the money. It's nice and I'm not going to be stupid and refuse even $250. But it won't make or break anything in my life. I guess I just need to suck it up and do the job and feel confident about my abilities.

If it makes you feel guilty to take the money, donate it to a charity. Don't donate it back to the same program, but donate it to something else that could use the cash.

Just remember, there's nothing wrong with making money for doing good things. Its pretending to be doing good things while taking advantage of the situation that is wrong. Even preachers get a paycheck.

[nicksan]

Point well taken. I'm going to start off with $250. See what he has to say.

If it makes you feel guilty to take the money, donate it to a charity. Don't donate it back to the same program, but donate it to something else that could use the cash.

Just remember, there's nothing wrong with making money for doing good things. Its pretending to be doing good things while taking advantage of the situation that is wrong. Even preachers get a paycheck.

[nicksan]

Looks like one set per instrument is called for instead of a set for each distinct instrument:


The pictures will just be 1 instrument of each group perhaps 2 or 3 different violins violas and cellos each since they are wood grained instruments so we can show some different quality and style of those instruments. Trumpets and others are all the same.


So not as much as I originally thought. He does want 2 or 3 photos of the same instrument for different angles, etc. I am thinking 2 hours shooting time max, if even that much.

I feel $250 would be the right rate for me but since he is a "friend", I am thinking about charging him a flat rate of $200. Maybe I can ask him to put my name and email address as credits?

Do you think $200 is just too low? I figured $50 is worth the continued business, perhaps some advertisement, etc.

It does look like this might be a one time deal for this specific venture of his, since he's not taking photos of each distinct instrument. So once he has a violin shot for instance, he'll probably use that as representative for all violins he's selling. So I don't imagine him calling me for more photos.

But I am sure he'll call me for his recitals and anything else he has in mind. Since it's not like I am fending off clients with a stick (he's my only client!) perhaps I should keep the price friendly...

[jcpoulin]

Nicksan,

Are you set up as a business? Can some of this be written off as charitable deduction since it is a school. You can work for some "travel expenses" and have a letter on school letter-head stating you where hired for X hours of work at X rate for a total of Y in value. Just a thought!

[nicksan]

No, I am not set up as a business as this has been something that came up suddenly.

Up to this point, I was pretty content to shoot for the joy of it.
I did my first paid shoot 2 weeks ago, and now this.

If this continues, I might set something up. I've been thinking about a name for the business, and it's just a nightmare, because my name isn't business friendly! (Nick Nishizaka Photography...uh...no.:()

Actually, I forgot about that part. Since this is on a cash basis, I would have to consider taxes, etc. I am comparing what I make at my day job on a pre-tax basis. So even at $50/hour for this particular project, it's actually probably worth $70-$80/hour if you consider taxes.


Nicksan,

Are you set up as a business? Can some of this be written off as charitable deduction since it is a school. You can work for some "travel expenses" and have a letter on school letter-head stating you where hired for X hours of work at X rate for a total of Y in value. Just a thought!

[Jethro790]

name for the "business" (My name sucks for any business "Nick Nishizaka"....uh...right!), etc.

Are you kidding me? That name is perfect for a photo business. You won't have any other smiler business names to confuse people, and it is memorable. Besides, anyone with a name ending in "zaka" has to be a great photographer.:p

I'd use that name in a heartbeat.

[egordon99]

Can't do that, the IRS is smarter than we like to give them credit for....

If you do volunteer your time to shoot (as I do often at my synagogue), you can write off any out-of-pocket expenses as well as mileage driving to/from the site, but you can NOT write off the time based on some nebulous hourly rate. "Uh yeah, I would have charged $1000/hour, but I'm donating my time, so I'll take $5000 off of my taxable income...."

Nicksan,

Are you set up as a business? Can some of this be written off as charitable deduction since it is a school. You can work for some "travel expenses" and have a letter on school letter-head stating you where hired for X hours of work at X rate for a total of Y in value. Just a thought!

[egordon99]

And if you do generate "income", you will have to declare that on Schedule-C of your personal tax return (assuming you're not setup as any corporate entity). For my Bar Mitzvah jobs (a niche I stumbled into after shooting all those synagogue events), I declare all my income, BUT I keep track of ALL my miles (last gig I did 50 miles) and expenses (advertising) and deduct those. Unfortunately all my equipment is also used for personal stuff, so I didn't keep track of any of those so that's ~$6K I can't write off :(

[nicksan]

As John McEnroe would say...You can't be serious!:lol:

Are you serious?!?

Nick Nishizaka Photography?

My last name gets butchered all the time!

Are you kidding me? That name is perfect for a photo business. You won't have any other smiler business names to confuse people, and it is memorable. Besides, anyone with a name ending in "zaka" has to be a great photographer.:p

I'd use that name in a heartbeat.

[nicksan]

I heard back from him and he agreed with my $250 price.
Great! I shoot in 2 weeks.

[egordon99]

What's wrong with "Nicksan Photography" ? ;)

[nicksan]

Hmmm....:lol:

So you really think "Nick Nishizaka Photography" is OK?

I must have heard "How do you pronounce your last name" at least a thousand times in my lifetime!


What's wrong with "Nicksan Photography" ? ;)

[jcpoulin]

egordon...you may be right. Although there may be an exceptable rate or amount which doesn't stir up the pot. I think I will call my acct to see what the rules are for curiosity. Interesting.....thanks for the food for thought.

[DDCSD]

I heard back from him and he agreed with my $250 price.
Great! I shoot in 2 weeks.

See, never be afraid to offer a service for a fair price. Sometimes people will surprise you! He probably thinks he's getting a steal! :lol:

As John McEnroe would say...You can't be serious!:lol:

Are you serious?!?

Nick Nishizaka Photography?

My last name gets butchered all the time!


I think its great for the business name, but I'd to something like nishphoto.com for a website URL.

Hmmm....:lol:

So you really think "Nick Nishizaka Photography" is OK?

I must have heard "How do you pronounce your last name" at least a thousand times in my lifetime!

egordon...you may be right. Although there may be an exceptable rate or amount which doesn't stir up the pot. I think I will call my acct to see what the rules are for curiosity. Interesting.....thanks for the food for thought.

Only if you're volunteering as a teacher's aide in Minnesota. ;)

[nicksan]

Hmm...Derek, so you are the second person to seem to think that my full name is good for a business.

Dunno...I asked my wife and she was like "no way...not the last name." :-(

I told her, it's probably not a big deal, that I just want to get it over with and come up with a name. They may not be able to remember my last name, but my first name is easy, plus they'll think "Oh, yeah, that guy with that f'ed up last name. That's the guy" :-)

She prefers Nick's Photography, Nick's Images, or Nick's Imaging.

My opinion is that there must be at least dozens of people named Nick who does photography. (Then again, there is a Nick's Pizza in my neighborhood...)

I think perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself, pretending like I'm enterprising or something. All I really want is a business name I can go by, maybe create some simple business cards to hand out, etc. Nothing too complicated.

Ugh...what a nightmare!

[nicksan]

Suprsingly, a basic search at yellowpages.com for my county revealed there are several photographer's named Nick but with business names that also contain their last names.

So perhaps there is a chance that Nick's Imaging or Nick's Photography are available.

So perhaps these are the choices:
Nick Nishizaka Photography
Nick Nishizaka Imaging
Nick Nishizaka Images
Nick's Photography
Nick's Imaging
Nick's Images

I guess it sounds kinda generic without the last name. I would say too bad I don't have a more common last name, but then the chances of the name being taken would increase. I am pretty sure I am the only Nick Nishizaka in NY.:lol:

And you are right. I could still keep the domain name simple, if it comes down to that. (I have zenfolio right now so...)

I have no ideal what to do!:o

[DDCSD]

How about nicknish.com? The important thing is that the URl is easy to remember. The actual name is less important. My name is Derek Cecil. Both of those names are very easy to misspell. That's why I use SDSportsPics.com for my sports page and cecilphoto.com (and carry business cards) for my "main" page.

[nicksan]

My wife changed her mind. She said using my full name is OK. I guess she searched around and saw that was pretty common practice.

Again, my first name should be easy to remember. I am not really concerned about the last name. I'll probably make some business cards, which is another headache!

And I agree with your idea. I should keep the URL simple, should I get one. Right now I have my Zenfolio account which I am happy with. Perhaps I should reorganize that page. I should really get my own domain name.

I also need to see if I can register the name as D/B/A in my county to make things official.

I don't anticipate clients coming out of the woodworks. Hardly. So far, I just have this one guy who happens to own and operate 2 music schools. If I keep things reasonable, I should be able to make it a regular gig, shooting recitals for him.

Thanks for the help folks...great stuff!


How about nicknish.com? The important thing is that the URl is easy to remember. The actual name is less important. My name is Derek Cecil. Both of those names are very easy to misspell. That's why I use SDSportsPics.com for my sports page and cecilphoto.com (and carry business cards) for my "main" page.

[Jethro790]

I'm still saying that using your full name is the way to go. My last name is Taylor, how boring and common is that... There are about 400,000 photo businesses with the name Taylor. My chances are that someone looking for Taylor Photography would end up getting someone else by accident and not even know it.

[nicksan]

Yes.
I decided on Nick Nishizaka Photography.
Not surprisingly, that name is not taken.:lol:;)

I'm still saying that using your full name is the way to go. My last name is Taylor, how boring and common is that... There are about 400,000 photo businesses with the name Taylor. My chances are that someone looking for Taylor Photography would end up getting someone else by accident and not even know it.

[nicksan]

Just a quick update.
I successfully finished the shoot. Went well.

The guy was mumbling about how he might want to promote my photography by putting a reference on his website. So he was asking if I had a business website, etc.

Time to get cracking on things!:D

[bbeck4x4]

check out smugmug, they have some great options, I (along with many others) have a discount code if you decide to go that route.

Brian

[nicksan]

I'll probably end up cleaning up my zenfolio.
It's a mess right now!:o
check out smugmug, they have some great options, I (along with many others) have a discount code if you decide to go that route.

Brian

[Optiq]

I like just "Nishizaka Photography." It sounds art-zy and unique. Or maybe you can combine the first and last names for "Nickzaka Photography."

As for feeling guilt for charging too much . . . just think about the profit made by the all of the people involved in making and selling you all of that fine gear. Now you can start getting some of that back! I used to live in NYC - everything is expensive. They're probably getting a huge bargain at $300. You should charge the $300 plus expenses and call it an introductory rate so you can raise it even higher later.

[SuperHuman21]

So Nick somethingZaka, how's the business thing going? :)

[Karl Johnston]

How do you pronounce your name?

[NGC2141]

First and foremost, you can not "recover" lost wages from another job. If you choose to take off from one job to work another then that is on you. As far as your customers know, photography IS your job.

I started in a similar situation as yourself taking pictures for fun at my kids baseball games. Before long a few parents asked me to take some of their kids as well. Before long I was working M-F from 8am to 4pm at my full time job and then going to the ball field from 5pm-10pm shooting games. I charge per picture instead of session fees but also offer sessions for teams and parents. Eventually I got to a point where I had to decide between my full time job and photography, I choose photography. I dont make anywhere near as much as I did before but only because I have not marketed myself much. Starting this fall I begin shooting football games as I did baseball. Same premise as before, pay per photo or sessions are available. I did get a contract with the local sports league to shoot all their games, baseball, football, basketball, and soccer. Next year I am expanding into Weddings, Portraits, and stock photography.

Moral of the story is this, charge what you feel your time, effort, and abilities are worth. If it's a hobby, treat it as one and shoot for some extra cash. If you are going to start taking off work and it is going to take over your income from your other "job" then you need to charge enough to live.

Only you can put a price on your work, creativity, and passion.