What do you charge based on?

[dawnkyung]

So, yesterday afternoon (long story short) I ended up messaging a professional photographer and asking them if they had any classes available on posing people. I also linked them my website for them to view, in case they were curious. I didn't expect a response about my website, since I assumed they were very busy.

The pro messaged me back and said (in a respectful way) that they don't offer posing classes, but after looking at the thumbnail that came up with my website, I could use some help with my lighting. I responded that yes, I definitely need help with lighting and made some off comment about how I took that photo at the worst time of day and I need help learning how to combat harsh lighting.

The 'tog responded that there is no "worse time of day" to shoot and that they could shoot at any time of day - and that that's why posing is not what I need to work on and that having full control of my camera is what I need.

I replied that I feel comfortable using my camera fully on manual (because I am!) and that of course there is more to learn. I hoped to leave it at that.

Well, they messaged me again and said that they looked at my prices and asked if I was ready to kill myself yet (I charge 10$ for an 8" x 10"). I responded that, lol, yes, I am - but hoping to raise my prices as the quality of my work improves. (Please note that I am by no means doing this full time - I'm a weekend warrior!)

So, the 'tog writes me back one more time and says

"If you take my class and you tell me that you will charge based on the quality of the work your produce, I will laugh at you. Boy can I tell you stories. My student charged $10 per 8x10 too. I've heard it all. You can either do something about it or work yourself to death for pennies. I say this with joy in my heart and a passion to help people like you "see the light" Open your mind, heart and soul. I promise you....you will "get it"

This message was accompanied by an MP3 with a lady talking about how she keeps her photography business homey and how she does her marketing.

So, my question is - if you don't charge based on the quality of your work, what do you charge based on?

[RDKirk]

So, my question is - if you don't charge based on the quality of your work, what do you charge based on?

(All expenses of what it does to do the particular job, which includes my salary)
+
(materials for the particular order, including packaging)
+
(annual overhead/number of jobs I expect to do in a year)
+
(company profit to expand the business/number of jobs I expect to do in a year)
+
(sales taxes)
=fee charged

"Expenses to do a particular job" includes everything, such as the gasoline it takes to drive to a particular venue (on which things like travel fees are based). Also, I count my own hourly salary as a company expense, so I'm including salary for time spent driving to the venue, shooting, editing, packaging, consultations, et cetera. If I should hire someone to do any of those tasks, I simply substitute their salary for mine. If I rent a venue (I sometimes use local bread-and-breakfast locations for portraits), that's included here, too.

"Annual overhead" includes studio or venue rental, income taxes, insurances, utilities, association fees, workshops and other educational expenses, and all costs of being in business that exist whether I do any work or not. A portion of my vehicle costs (because I use my private vehicle for business as well) goes here. The cost of maintaining equipment and facilities goes here--replacing and repairing current capabilities, not expanding capabilities. Annual marketing expenses also go here.

"Company profit" is not my salary. Company profit is money used to expand the capacity of my business--a better camera that will allow me to deliver products that I can't deliver with my current equipment.

I have calculated on a big spreadsheet how much it costs me to produce each specific product that I sell, such as an 8x10 or a 16x20, including packaging. That's identified separately from what it costs me to do an average job--most of those costs don't change whether I do an 8x10 or a 16x20 for that job.

But after having figured the cost of the job, it became instantly clear that I can never have a job that sells only a single 8x10 because I'd need to charge at least $300 just to cover the cost of going there, shooting it, and editing it. Maybe one day I'll be able to charge >$300 for a single 8x10, but not today. What that means is that I can't sell any less than a 16x20 (the smallest size for which I can charge more than $300).

Different photographers work that out in different ways. The old model was to charge a tiny session fee and then hard-sell the client to as many prints as necessary to reach the necessary profitable amount. Some will charge that $300 as a session fee, some others will split it up between a session fee and a minimum package.

I started out as a portrait painter, and I still operate in a similar manner: I create a wall portrait and I have a price for that portrait. I foresee a day within 5 to 10 years that everyone will have 30x40 digital wall displays--when that happens, I'll be selling digital files, but my fees will be based on the same calculations.