They want my photos to decorate Applebees (what should I charge)

A woman from a design firm hired by a local Applebees has contacted me and requested to use photos from an annual town festival to decorate the restaurant. She also asked me if I would be going to the festival again (which is this Saturday) to take some more pictures. What kind of price should I quote?

I'm thinking of saying $30 per image or $25 apiece if she wants 8 or more, but this is a shot in the dark and I don't know if I'm selling myself short or overcharging since she won't say what her budget is.

Edit: I just noticed the company, Gate3Design, is based in Massachussetts, and I am from New Jersey, so is this a sign that they're a large firm with a big budget?

Can't help you with the price, but I worked with a consulting design firm. They took 50%, so quote accordingly....

Hikin Mike wrote in post #12565330
Can't help you with the price, but I worked with a consulting design firm. They took 50%, so quote accordingly....

What do you mean, who took 50% of what?

The client wanted (a law firm) two 18 x 36 prints. The art consultant (they person that hired me) took 50% of the total sale (my profit). My profit margin allowed for this.

Hikin Mike wrote in post #12565426
The client wanted (a law firm) two 18 x 36 prints. The art consultant (they person that hired me) took 50% of the total sale (my profit). My profit margin allowed for this.

I see. In this case I am dealing solely with the design firm, not directly with the Applebees, so I don't think that's an issue for me.
Any advice on the actual pricing though?
This woman seems to like my work, as she's contacted me twice in the past week, so I don't want to turn her off with a too high price or set standards too low if this turns out to be a long term working relationship. I think they're working for all Applebees in my area, and there are many.

I was dealing with the only the design firm. The law firm bought my images through the design firm. The design firm had to take his cut. I'm going to bet, your situation is similar to mine.

I use a simple formula for pricing my prints: area in inches x $$.

If your shooting new material just for the client, I would imagine an hourly rate, but I've never done a job like that.

Congratulations, BTW!

Don't price out of fear.

You don't mention what size. I just sold three prints for an office through a dealer, I walked away with $700 after the dealer took her share. If I asked for $30 a print, I would have left $610 on the table for someone else to take.

$25-30 a print tells me you don't really value your work that much, especially if you're planning on selling them for little more than an Applebee's dinner, drink, and ice cream dessert.

Definitely price higher. $25 a photo is ridiculously low. I price my work at about $400 a shot for this kind of situation, and the client is always more than happy to pay it, because that price is actually considered cheap by most people who do this for a living.

Like enlightphoto said; Don't price out of fear!

At my local mass bric a brac store, a cheap 16x20 framed print from China costs $200. Obviously your prospective client wants something better and more meaningful than that, or she'd have bought that. At least charge more than the local purveyor of Chinese kitsch.

Mike Jagendorf wrote in post #12565351
What do you mean, who took 50% of what?

Gross receipts from the sale.

Ask this person what the budget is for the project. By project I mean all of your time to shoot plus prints and frames. If she says she does not need frames, ask her if she minds if you bid including frames.

I have an in law in her business.

It is highly unlikely you will see a dime from this, because she will use the cheapest dumbest possible resource to ensure she makes money.

First, that's WAY too low, IMO.
Second, you really don't have enough info to quote a price yet?

You need more information.
Me: "I may go again, unless another client requests my time on another job. What exactly do you want images of? Do you want to hire me to get them for you?
Specifically, are you only interested in the rights to display them in the one restaurant? How many & what sizes would you require? Will you take care of the matting & framing, or will you want me to do it?"
Get the "picture"? Ask questions & get the info you need.

Quote extra high, negotiate low... not the other way around.

If you are happy with $30 per print, you should quote $50 to $100 per print and let them negotiate you down.

What happens if you go to the event, and they decide that they don't like your photos? You make $0.

Since they are asking for a specific assignment, I'd ask for a day fee (or half-day fee) to go shoot the event, and use a part of that fee towards prints. Again, I'd mark up your fee a bit from what you normally get so there's some room for negotiation.

Be sure to have a licenseing agreement allowing the photos to only be used at specified location. You don't want the design firm to continue to profit from them by selling them to other locations

S.Horton wrote in post #12568766
Ask this person what the budget is for the project.

Best advice here.

When working with commercial accounts where large numbers of prints are involved, I have never had a situation where the design firm or end customer did not have a set budget.

WORK WITH THEM! B2B situations are inherently in need of flexibility of all involved.

As far as prices go, $30 / $25 per print seems a little low.

S.Horton wrote in post #12568766
...because she will use the cheapest dumbest possible resource to ensure she makes money.

LOL. Yep, no doubt about this one. Some of the interior designers I have worked with do large accounts such as hospitals where budgets can be $30K - $60 for wall art alone.

So where do they get their stuff? Why of course, they buy cheap press-printed paper crap from art.com!

It is ONLY because I print my own large format prints that I can remain competitive.

I've always been disappointed by the lack of discernment of all involved (designer and customer). Seems like the just want to get something on the wall and don't give a damn whether it's another overly-used Wyeth or not.