Simple Headshots - No Printing - Cost?

im interested in what i should charge to do some simple head shots for a group of people in my area...they posted an ad on CL asking for simple head shots and no print outs...

just wondering what fair compensation for such a job should pay???


thanks POTN

If it's CL, don't expect much. Also, I'm assuming you're not running your own business, so you're probably gonna be charging a low amount. I say you charge whatever you think your time is worth.

well...obviously it differs depending on the amount of people

should i do a package deal or individual? $20/person? $30/person? $20/20 shots?

How many people are we talking about? A couple or like 30? How long do you think it'll take you to do all the shots?

And with all that, how long will it take you to edit all the pictures and deliver it to them?

i havent gotten a complete # of people...im asking this question ahead of time so i can have somewhat of an idea to base costs on

should i do a 2-5 category, 6-10, 11-20, etc???

from your professional opinion, what would a base fee be for photos and editing for a photographer of my status???

sorry if my question sound ignorant, but being this new to such a project...id like to get all the input possible

thanks again

I have not charged for many photos but given its craigslist I'd say $10-$20 per sounds right. Make sure they know in advance you'll do something like shoot 3 shoots per person, no editing.

Lets see what kinda help I can be lol. First off I have a full time job and do photography on the side. I have figured my minimum base fee for side work is $50 an hour (remember not my full time job, this also goes for other side work I do). You also have to figure in editing. For one I would be around $100, now 2 people maybe $125-$150. The more people the better the deal to a point. Because your already set up, just keep saying next lol. Editing starts to get a little faster as lighting should be the same so edit one and copy settings to others (other then spot healing kinda stuff).

Without a number count for people its hard to give a number for you to charge. But off CL dont expect much.

ExplicitSnow wrote in post #15504373
from your professional opinion, what would a base fee be for photos and editing for a photographer of my status???

For you (I'm assuming you're a hobbyist and this is all bonus cash for you), I would do the following:

Let's assume you have 20 people, all shot at once in the same lighting and location. Each person wants 3 head shots. You can do the 3 head shots in 15 minutes. That's 4 persons an hour, for a total shoot time of 5 hours. Let's say traveling and setting up takes another hr. Now, you got 60 files to edit. Let's assume you're just doing basic edits and it'll take 10 minutes per picture for a total of 10 hours. That's a total of 16 hours. We'll bump it up to 20 hours. The entire project will take you 20 hours.

Now, since you have really no "costs" involved and you say you want to make $25/hr. That means you gotta bring in $500 which equates to $25/person, which is dirt cheap for them.

Of course, this is all hypothetical but it's one way to look at it. If you were running a business, you'd have to factor in a lot of "costs" that you need to account for or you won't make a profit.

CL?
I want Money up front no matter how much you setlle on

Fester wrote in post #15504458
CL?
I want Money up front no matter how much you setlle on

+1 CL can be a pain

thanks for the help folks...i feel with this information im informed enough to give the client a quality cost for their needs

ill update when i hear back from them


thanks again

This is what I've done in the past with such a project. I was to shoot aprox 200 head shots for a company for online web ID. No post. Assembly line, one shot each, as long as eyes were open. I got bids from professionals in the area claiming I was the one looking for a photographer. Bids were all over the place. So I charged the lowest bid. It was two days, same set up including one group shot from a man lift supplied by the company. I charged 450.00. It was my first big project. Only problem I had was they were all wearing white t-shirts to commemorate an award that plant had received. It was fine because it was an overcast day. Then the sun came out during the shoot and I didn't compensate shooting in manual. Took my readings during no sun, and just like that the sun came out. Fortunately for me I was shooting in raw and it became a non issue.

It was my first real big gig. One thing I learned, in order to be a professional, you have to act/charge like one. They have since asked me back to shoot head shots of the executives. I would probably charge twice that now. My skills and equipment have improved since then. Good luck.

p.s. Is this group of people a company, family? Are you supplying a tax ID#? Makes a difference.

I don't understand why that should be the case.

At some point the return even on a hobby becomes not worth the effort. Any client can turn out to be a PIA, and paradoxically the less they intend to pay, the more likely they are to be PIAs.

You need to establish first in your own head how much trouble you feel like going through, because you don't know their expectations.

Some of the expectations I set up front for myself is that I don't intend to spend more than 30 minutes per person including processing. I intend to go on location, shoot in one setup, have them select one image each, make a few minor touchups on the spot, burn them a disc, collect the check, and leave. That's the only way they get my lowest rate.

If I have to change setups, that's more money per setup. I'll find someone to honcho on their end: Locate a room, set up the schedule, get people in and out on schedule. I'm not going to do any people herding, or that's more money.

I'll tell them what range of clothing to wear, because if I have to do any more manipulation of lighting than just raising a flag, that's more money.

I'm not going to do any Photoshop magic beyond removing a few blemishes, or that's more money.

But those are all expectations that have to be set beforehand, because even if I had no expenses to pay, there's only so much aggravation I'm going to stand for low pay.

RDKirk wrote in post #15505828
I don't understand why that should be the case.

At some point the return even on a hobby becomes not worth the effort. Any client can turn out to be a PIA, and paradoxically the less they intend to pay, the more likely they are to be PIAs.

You need to establish first in your own head how much trouble you feel like going through, because you don't know their expectations.

Some of the expectations I set up front for myself is that I don't intend to spend more than 30 minutes per person including processing. I intend to go on location, shoot in one setup, have them select one image each, make a few minor touchups on the spot, burn them a disc, collect the check, and leave. That's the only way they get my lowest rate.

If I have to change setups, that's more money per setup. I'll find someone to honcho on their end: Locate a room, set up the schedule, get people in and out on schedule. I'm not going to do any people herding, or that's more money.

I'll tell them what range of clothing to wear, because if I have to do any more manipulation of lighting than just raising a flag, that's more money.

I'm not going to do any Photoshop magic beyond removing a few blemishes, or that's more money.

But those are all expectations that have to be set beforehand, because even if I had no expenses to pay, there's only so much aggravation I'm going to stand for low pay.

I agree. And that's why I told him that he needs to figure out how much he wants to make given the circumstances and how much effort on his part it's going to take.