Newbies - Planning and Pricing

I just thought I'd share a couple of links that I have found while researching to set a good business foundation.

I read on here to read through www.parttimephoto.com . He has some very practical advice on working with clients.

If you're going to be in business It is advised to write a business plan. This may seem obvious to some but certainly not all. A google search will help you find what the basics are. Here's a couple to start: http://www.fuelyourpho​tography.com …hotography-business-plan/
http://www.nebs.com …ools/bptemplate​/index.jsp

Also, here is a list of docs that will help you realize all that should go into setting your pricing. It's not just your time at the shoot. https://drive.google.c​om …orId=1358299087​0658278323 The spread sheet will help many determine what you should charge and not have it feel like such a stab in the dark. So instead of "what should I charge?" it turns into "what do I need to ask so I know what to charge?".

Finally, I can recommend some videos on www.businessforphotogr​aphy.com The site is kinda poorly set but if you can fuss around a bit you can watch 3 short videos that will give you some things to think about as you start. Namely, the who, what, why of your business and the basics of the flow from marketing to sales to fulfillment. This is not for those who know how to run a business. This is for those that want make their photography into a business and don't know really what that means.

I'd love if others would add to this list.

Did you find this useful or comical? I realize it is probably way obvious to those that are in business.

I have done some additional planning/thinking and though I'd share again. Again, this is all likely very obvious to you all who are up and running so the info isn't meant for you. However, I'd love if you could add things that I am obviously missing. Thanks!

So...

To determine my package pricing, I went through and listed all the approximate time and costs per shoot and then decided what I wanted to make per hour. So say I would like $20 per hour and figure I have 10 hours worth of time & expenses involved per shoot so I need to net $200 per shoot to make my goal.

Here are the things I listed for the factors in my shoot pricing:
First contact - 1/2 hr
Shoot - 1 1/2 hrs
1/2 hr travel
1/2 hr cull
2 hrs edit
1 hr proof session
1/2 hr travel to proof session
1/2 hr place order online
1/4 hr accounting
1/4 hr follow up with client
1/4 hr upload online (FB)
1/4 hr blog
$8 gas in car
$3 CD & postage (if they choose that instead of or in addition to prints)
$2 toward software costs
$30 to equipment costs
$25 print cost

I am just in the beginning stages, too. So there I am sure I will be changing things as I learn.

I've realized that in there is no allowance for other overhead expenses like insurance, web-site, filing fees, etc so I may have to rethink a bit. Anyway, these aren't hard and fast but just a way to get our noggins wrapped around the big picture a little better.

Subscribe to read later.

I'm not an expert but here are my 2 cents:

1/4 hr upload online (FB)
1/4 hr blog

I am assuming these 2 tasks are with your own FB and blog, not clients? If that's the case I dont think you should be billing a client for the time it takes to update your web properties. If you are uploading images to clients FB / blog it would be completely different story.

$3 CD & postage (if they choose that instead of or in addition to prints)

$3 for a cd / dvd sounds too cheap. $10 sounds like a better flat rate price which would cover the cost of the blank cd / dvd + the time it takes you to burn it.

$2 toward software costs
$30 to equipment costs

In my opinion these costs would be better absorbed via higher hourly rate and not the way you have it. It will be easier to justify it. Imagine you come to the dentist office, pay $1000 to have root canal done and also have to pay $250 extra for equipment costs. For example if you add $5 for each hour you would get $40 extra from your photo shoot, instead of $32 which you would collect via additional fees.

dkizzle wrote in post #16230794
I'm not an expert but here are my 2 cents:

1/4 hr upload online (FB)
1/4 hr blog

I am assuming these 2 tasks are with your own FB and blog, not clients? If that's the case I dont think you should be billing a client for the time it takes to update your web properties. If you are uploading images to clients FB / blog it would be completely different story.

$3 CD & postage (if they choose that instead of or in addition to prints)

$3 for a cd / dvd sounds too cheap. $10 sounds like a better flat rate price which would cover the cost of the blank cd / dvd + the time it takes you to burn it.

$2 toward software costs
$30 to equipment costs

In my opinion these costs would be better absorbed via higher hourly rate and not the way you have it. It will be easier to justify it. Imagine you come to the dentist office, pay $1000 to have root canal done and also have to pay $250 extra for equipment costs. For example if you add $5 for each hour you would get $40 extra from your photo shoot, instead of $32 which you would collect via additional fees.

I apologize for not being clear. These are not things that I would itemize for the customer. This is my brain storm to help me realize the time & costs that is involved with every customer. Kinda like when you pay $50/hr for the mechanic.. there's a lot of things factored in. In my case, the customer would not even know what I am aiming to get for an hourly rate. This is just to answer the "what do I charge" or "how much should my packages be" questions. Does that make more sense?

In that case you are on the right track.

sirquack wrote in post #16230727
Subscribe to read later.

That