questioning on product photography

[Cliff666]

I was contacted by a woodworkman that is needing clean well done web images for his new site of his workwork. thing is i know how much to charge for portraiture sessions because i've done a few b4 but in terms of this i am kinda lost on how much is too much or too little w.o feeling im selling myself short. all in all i guess im asking what would u think is fair or how much have u charged for such work.

basically its 6 items @ 6 locations 6 pics per item. all items in their environment taken as well (how he wants them done) and then detailed specific shots as well. originally i was thinking of charging him per item but then do u think this might be better to give him a flat rate for the total job instead?

thank you for any input

cliff

[adam8080]

What is he getting? Digital pictures with copyrights or are you licensing images to him? If you are licensing, what are the terms?

[Cliff666]

digital images with copyrights for use on his website. everything would be for advertising for himself, no rights to sell the images. as far as any liscencing aside that we have not talked upon to this point. only back and forth so far through email if he accepts my rough quote we will meet up n discuss the terms of the legal stuff.

[adam8080]

So small web images (72dpi) for an indefinite amount of time?

Is this 6 items per location, or 6 items at 6 different locations? 36 or 216 total?

Figure up your total time per image (posing, shooting, editing, etc.), multiply that times the total number of images to figure out how long you will be at it, and don't forget to cover travel time/cost, any rentals/models if needed, and anything else that comes out of your pocket. Figure how much you will need to charge to make yourself happy (including the expenses), and there is your quote.

If you want to give him the images royalty free, then go for it, otherwise be clear on acceptable usages and get it in writing!

[Cliff666]

36 images about 6 different locations and 6 images edited of each item possibly more than 1 item at some locations so about 36-48 images roughly.
thanks for the input! im going to calculate everything n hopefully he'll bite n get it signed in writing soon =)

[Dennis_Hammer]

I would consider it work for hire. A guy like this could be a regular repeat customer if his site is fairly active so to try and hit him up for usage rights may sour his willingness to come back.

Charge what you feel your worth per hour plus travel to the locations and be done. Supply him with web appropiate sizes and if he wants the full res then make yourself a little more.

[tcphoto1]

I would not think the initial quote then follow up to iron out details is smart. Like any job, it is about gathering information, weighing the value of the images and putting together an Estimate. Will you be doing more than a basic edit on the images? Delivering 72 dpi or high resolution files that can be used in a printed piece? I got the impression that it is a small shop and you can price appropriately. The licensing will have to be very clear and a fee that will be worth your time. And most important, get a signed Estimate which will eliminate any problems in the future.

[Cliff666]

Originally Posted by tcphoto1

I would not think the initial quote then follow up to iron out details is smart. Like any job, it is about gathering information, weighing the value of the images and putting together an Estimate. Will you be doing more than a basic edit on the images? Delivering 72 dpi or high resolution files that can be used in a printed piece? I got the impression that it is a small shop and you can price appropriately. The licensing will have to be very clear and a fee that will be worth your time. And most important, get a signed Estimate which will eliminate any problems in the future.

i went through his site and i have agreed on a standing price for the 2 locations near me since there will be lesser of travel between them. and as far as editing goes i will touch up clean up and make it more of a worthwhile picture than what ive seen with his old P&S pictures of his work.
as far as a small shop yes he is but talkig to the guy he actually gets alot of work and his quality is amazing its just a shame his pictures he's taken with the P&S dont do his work justice really. i really look to try aside doing my best with a camera(not a pro yet but am striving for that level) i am a customer service salesperson at heart so i did cut him a deal for the first few shoots at a fair price for him and what seems fair for my level of work and we both seem happy about the rates i gave him. I always try to get repeat customers in everything i do(i used to run a shop so i know how important word of mouth is).

thanks for the ideas and tips and help. when im done with the shoot ill post some of the stuff up for some C&C =)

[nicksan]

I recently did a shoot for someone who was going to get into selling/renting musical instruments.

I don't do this full time at all so basically I calculated what I make hourly at my day job, and used that as a reference point to charge him.

I calculated based on about 5 hours of work. (3 hours at location, 2 hours for PP). I didn't bother with the time/cost for transport.

I ended up staying at the location for an extra 2 hours and the guy was actually willing to pay me for the 2 hours being aware of my hourly rate. I told him don't worry about it. (I felt I took my time to set things up correctly, since I'm not a "seasoned" guy...I was very deliberate, not 1-2-3-bam it's done...)

Since then, he's been spreading positive things about my photography. He'll also try to link up my Zenfolio gallery in his website and refer me to anyone with small sized projects. He's very happy with what I provided him, which also included 2 concerts/recitals.

No talk about licensing fees and all that. It was an all-inclusive job. But I guess there's always a time and place for everything. This was a pretty casual gig so...

Originally Posted by Dennis_Hammer

I would consider it work for hire. A guy like this could be a regular repeat customer if his site is fairly active so to try and hit him up for usage rights may sour his willingness to come back.

Charge what you feel your worth per hour plus travel to the locations and be done. Supply him with web appropiate sizes and if he wants the full res then make yourself a little more.