Help please: Family shoot quote

I must be missing a little something here. 5 families, 2 locations, let's say one inside and one out and group photo. I don't see where this should take 2-3 hours plus edit time. Even if you do 3 shots of each fam at the 2 locations and the group, we'Re talking 50 shots max. Post under an hour.

Price to me seems fair, maybe a little low, but you'Re stressing over something that should be fairly simple. Do all the inside (lights never move and only minor tweets in power), then move outside and reset.

Lets get real here. This is not a photo shoot of the priests and nuns at the church. This is just someone who you happen to know through the church. Do they go to the store and expect a discount because they go to church? Do they pay 20% less than everyone else for a new car because they go to church? No, so why should you offer a huge discount for your services simply because you know these people from church? Has the church, and in particular, these people ever paid your bills for you?

These same questions pop up about event photography when it comes to charities who put on events. The people doing the planning are getting paid, the caterers are getting paid, and in fact everyone else doing any work is getting paid but they are asking the pohotographer to work for free, or very near free.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17981363
a friend from church (ie, someone I already know)

Who is this friend? Is it really a friend, or just an acquaintance who might be offended if you used the word acquaintance instead of friend?

What does this friend do? Would they give you a 50%-80% discount off their work if you hired them to do, well, whatever it is they do? Landscaping, tax accounting, whatever? If they're a caterer,, will they cater your next party for less than their cost for food and drinks? If they're an auto mechanic, will they do your next set of brakes for $250 instead of the usual shop rate of $1200?

mikeinctown wrote in post #17984304
Lets get real here. This is not a photo shoot of the priests and nuns at the church. This is just someone who you happen to know through the church. Do they go to the store and expect a discount because they go to church? Do they pay 20% less than everyone else for a new car because they go to church? No, so why should you offer a huge discount for your services simply because you know these people from church? Has the church, and in particular, these people ever paid your bills for you?

On the dot.


My "friends and family" rate has a very specific set of criteria, and acquaintances from work or church usually don't meet those criteria.

I think its more about my relative discomfort with quoting a complicated family shoot as I don't do a lot of families. I'd have no problem hearing them out for a wedding and confidently stating the best I can do for them given my confidence in my skills and familiarity with wedding workflow.

After quoting $400-500 almost a week ago now, I haven't heard back. C'est la vie.

For future cases it would be helpful if you clearly detail to yourself the differences between the two shoots in order to get a clear idea of the different costs involved in executing them. While travel time and costs are the same you have additional set up, execution and post processing. Also some element of your price should be for the creativity and skill used to produce an image (you don't just charge for the cost of production). So the more images you have to produce the larger the creative cost.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17985065
After quoting $400-500 almost a week ago now, I haven't heard back. C'est la vie.

Like with weddings, someone decided their Uncle Joe with an iPhone is a better option.

Don't forget about Uncle Bob, with his new DSLR from Costco! Its so new that 'kit' lens must be prestine and optically perfect

Its nice also having a decent income in the household. I can take a deep breath and not go on the downward spiral of bidding.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17981363
. . . My wife is now reading me the Riot Act for quoting a friend from church (ie, someone I already know) $400-500 to include edited files, one 8x10" per family, and a print release. She is thinking $350ish is appropriate . . .

Do you like your wife? A little? A lot?