Pricing office head shots

I have a lead for a gig to take head shots of office workers. There would be approximately 30 people and the shoot would be scheduled for 2 days. I have lighting, a backdrop and accessories. I would not need to rent anything. The office is not far away from where I live. I could leave my lighting gear at the office overnight.

Usually I charge per person but in this case I am leaning towards a day rate because it is a larger group. Am I missing something here? Any ideas about the pricing structure that I should use?

While I normally price commercial work by day/half-day rates, I still charge for headshots based on the number of individuals, and the number of retouched images. That doesn't mean I wouldn't cut a group rate, but it's still laid out per subject.

Totally depends on your market and place in it, for me I charge around $1500 for something like this. Some would be charging SUBSTANTIALLY more, some a little less.

Would this be your normal rate per person and a group discount?

In my case, I'm assuming only 1-2 retouched images per person. Most likely the photos would be used on their website.

I normally charge $140 per person for 2 images. If I were doing a group of 30 people w/ 1 image each, I would probably do it for about $50/person.

$50/person sounds about standard, but keep in mind the time required for editing/retouching.

Thanks for the insight. In cases like this, is there a reason to limit the license / usage? That would probably make it harder to get the offer accepted.

The use of the phrase day rate is offensive to any commercial photographer and it hasn't been acceptable for more than a decade. Commercial photographers know their CODB and factor in the difficulty of the images, the number of shots, how the images are to be used, term of use among other factors.

About 15-20 years ago, talent/model agencies even abandoned their pricing practices. Try booking talent without knowing the factors listed above, they will send you on your way until you have the information. If you quote a rate without those details, you are most likely leaving money on the table or looking unprofessional. Once you have the details, draft an estimate, send it to the client and then secure a signed document along with a payment schedule. Only then are you ready to proceed.

Let us know those factors and then we can give you a range of prices.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #17623900
The use of the phrase day rate is offensive to any commercial photographer and it hasn't been acceptable for more than a decade. Commercial photographers know their CODB and factor in the difficulty of the images, the number of shots, how the images are to be used, term of use among other factors.

All of this sounds very reasonable but I have dealt with this office before (it's not a for-profit company) and they have absolutely no clue how things work in the commercial photography world. Their main concern is budget and the second is scheduling their people for the shoot.

That's OK. Answer those questions for them. One way to do it is to provide 3 options which are variations on the answers and priced accordingly. Option A - 3 images each, retouching, unlimited usage $2500 25 people over 2 days, Option B .... etc. Let them weigh the advantages/disadvantag​es of licensing and other options against their real budget. Provide a price schedule for any a la cart alterations to the proposals.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #17623900
The use of the phrase day rate is offensive to any commercial photographer and it hasn't been acceptable for more than a decade. Commercial photographers know their CODB and factor in the difficulty of the images, the number of shots, how the images are to be used, term of use among other factors.

About 15-20 years ago, talent/model agencies even abandoned their pricing practices. Try booking talent without knowing the factors listed above, they will send you on your way until you have the information. If you quote a rate without those details, you are most likely leaving money on the table or looking unprofessional. Once you have the details, draft an estimate, send it to the client and then secure a signed document along with a payment schedule. Only then are you ready to proceed.

Let us know those factors and then we can give you a range of prices.

Please. Headshots are pretty standard and straightforward, so, unless you're taking them in a hot air balloon with the subjects dangling upside down from the edge of the basket 1000 ft above ground, a standardised, fixed rate makes things easier for everyone. As would unlimited non-exclusive usage for a token licence fee. You start complicating things you'll alienate the customer and scare him away.

Alveric wrote in post #17624013
Please. Headshots are pretty standard and straightforward, so, unless you're taking them in a hot air balloon with the subjects dangling upside down from the edge of the basket 1000 ft above ground, a standardised, fixed rate makes things easier for everyone. As would unlimited non-exclusive usage for a token licence fee. You start complicating things you'll alienate the customer and scare him away.

Agreed. I don't want to scare away customers who aren't familiar with the usual commercial photography process. If my "day rate" includes a perpetual license, I don't make it overly complicated by trying to educate the customer about a bunch of different licensing and usage options. I'm not doing a commercial shoot to go on worldwide packaging and advertising campaign... they just want headshots that they can put on their website, and if they occasionally print them on the office copier for "employee of the month" on the corkboard, I'm not going to send them a cease-and-desist or a new invoice.

Assuming you get the other details knocked out (rights, releases, etc) and the goal is to fire off multiple headshots of multiple people in the same office, I typically give my price as a setup / per visit fee (of 1.5x to 2x my person fee) + per person fee. This encourages them to get as many people knocked out in one trip as possible. I also often offer a discount if there's more than 10+ people available on any single visit (basically shoot 10 people and the 11th is free, or something like that). If they need me to come out and setup, might as well ensure there's more than just one person available to shoot. I also indicate that 30 minutes of downtime 'waiting for the next subject' will count as an additional person. I don't typically have to charge this, but it's there in case the client isn't very good about scheduling.

This has been very effective system for me. I've had a handful of clients who have used this package with success. Two clients needed multiple site visits, but both had multiple people available on each visit, so it was worth everyone's time.

I'd offer them a fixed bid of "X" amount because as a business person that would make the most sense. Breaking it down on a "per person" basis seems a bit much when they should be getting a break on price due to doing the group of 30 or so. Keep ion mind if you do a good job they may have you back or recommend you to other businesses in the area. Doing good work, being cost effective and word of mouth goes a long ways to increase your business. If you come in and are difficult and/or the business doesn't perceive they are getting value for their dollar is not a good thing. Think long term not just for this one job. Just my two cents.

sipowicz wrote in post #17623908
All of this sounds very reasonable but I have dealt with this office before (it's not a for-profit company) and they have absolutely no clue how things work in the commercial photography world. Their main concern is budget and the second is scheduling their people for the shoot.

Don't confuse "non-profit" with "we don't have any money". Do you think the plumber works for cut rates, or they get electricity for free? Just wanted to point that out.