Head Shot Fee

I received a request to shoot head shots for one client for business purposes. What should I charge?

Money. There are so many variables to your question it's impossible to tell.

What are your costs?
What is your skill level?
What market do you want to be perceived as being in?
Who else provides a comparable service in your area?
How does your work and reputation compare to your competitors?

RockSlut wrote in post #16174719
Money. There are so many variables to your question it's impossible to tell.

No, you just don't want to answer the question!

I've noticed this "reticence" before, pro's just don't like sharing information.

Lowner wrote in post #16174822
No, you just don't want to answer the question!

I've noticed this "reticence" before, pro's just don't like sharing information.

...actually pro's in this forum love sharing information. Do you read the threads in this forum? What do you think is happening in all the threads in "The Business of Photography" if not information sharing?

Its just that without the information RockSlut mentioned for starters there is no way the OP's question can be answered with any other answer except "it depends." If you feel you can give the OP a definitive answer based on the single sentence in the OP, why aren't you giving it?

Lowner wrote in post #16174822
I've noticed this "reticence" before, pro's just don't like sharing information.

It is not that at all. There are so many variables it just isn't funny. I could say they should charge $20 based on my guess of his costs, time etc or I could say $200. I don't (nor does any other pro here) have the vaguest idea what their costs, time are for the job.

Like it or not any photographer who doesn't work out their pricing at least knowing their costs etc shouldn't be in business. Asking randoms on the Internet what they charge is not the way to go.

The OP should know what the minimum they can afford to charge for the job based on their costs and the minimum they are prepared to accept as profit. From that they can then look at what is reasonable above that.

RockSlut (interesting name) makes several valid points to be considered.

Because I'm not a pro 'tog.

However, I was an electrical installations engineer and my job involved quoting for very large contracts and I was able to tell anyone the price to the nearest penny and the time it involved in anything in a multi million pound contract. And don't try and tell me its any different in the photography game, because I don't believe it.

Lowner wrote in post #16174894
Because I'm not a pro 'tog.

However, I was an electrical installations engineer and my job involved quoting for very large contracts and I was able to tell anyone the price to the nearest penny and the time it involved in anything in a multi million pound contract. And don't try and tell me its any different in the photography game, because I don't believe it.

Well as you aren't in the pro photography game you're hardly in a position to tell pros what they should or shouldn't be able to do.

Lowner wrote in post #16174894
Because I'm not a pro 'tog.

However, I was an electrical installations engineer and my job involved quoting for very large contracts and I was able to tell anyone the price to the nearest penny and the time it involved in anything in a multi million pound contract. And don't try and tell me its any different in the photography game, because I don't believe it.

...you don't believe what exactly? Do you think an electrical installations engineer in another part of the world serving a different client base would come up with an exact same price as you to the nearest penny?

Do you concede that the Business of Photography forums is full of photographers sharing information?

The short answer is---> as much as you can get.

A headshot with me runs $220 for 2 images and about an hour to hour and a half session. I'm part of the ph network and my head shots can be seen at www.dgheadshots.com

Lowner wrote in post #16174894
Because I'm not a pro 'tog.

However, I was an electrical installations engineer and my job involved quoting for very large contracts and I was able to tell anyone the price to the nearest penny and the time it involved in anything in a multi million pound contract. And don't try and tell me its any different in the photography game, because I don't believe it.

That answer is really poorly thought out. Do you mean if someone from Port Neches, Texas asked you "What should I charge for an electrical installation?", you could tell them? No info on size of the job, no info on restrictions on suppliers, existing vendor agreements, constraints, risks, you could just give a "to the penny" answer?

I've found very good information on these forums to help me price jobs outside my usual area of expertise. But the useful posts never said "Charge $X".

Lowner wrote in post #16174894
Because I'm not a pro 'tog.

However, I was an electrical installations engineer and my job involved quoting for very large contracts and I was able to tell anyone the price to the nearest penny and the time it involved in anything in a multi million pound contract. And don't try and tell me its any different in the photography game, because I don't believe it.

Look at it in this perspective:

Electrical engineer "A" is a self employed sole proprietor, his home is paid off and he doesn't have any debt. His wife who is in the same situation makes $250K a year. Engineer A is bidding on an installation job and knows there will be competition so his quote needs to be low.

Electrical engineer "B" owns a big company and employees 375 people. He has a fleet of vehicles and two warehouses and everything if financed. His company has no real cash in the bank and relies on receivables to pay for payroll and loan payments. Engineer B is bidding on the same installation job, he also knows there will be competition but can only bid so low because of overhead costs.

Obviously A can undercut B because of his financial situation. Its no different for any other profession. Lots of variables dictate your price, the least of which is what the other guy is charging. (although its nice to know)

banquetbear wrote in post #16174918
...you don't believe what exactly? Do you think an electrical installations engineer in another part of the world serving a different client base would come up with an exact same price as you to the nearest penny?

Almost, the differences were minimal given the size of the contracts! But even if not we would happily share details, although not the price until after the contract was awarded.

Given how alike pro togs cost base is, it should be a very simple thing to answer.

Lowner wrote in post #16175752
Given how alike pro togs cost base is, it should be a very simple thing to answer.

Alike? Some maybe. Certainly not all.

OK, Lowner, so how would you answer the question? I'm not saying answer it, but what kinds of details would you be happy to share?