Where to begin

I am an amateur photographer- been practicing for 25 years, minored in photography, but never gone into business. I mostly shoot macro, landscapes, portraits of my kids. Anyway, I’m going to work at a friend’s campground on the river this summer. They asked if I would do family portraits for guests as part of my job. We haven’t discussed anything about it yet, so I don’t know what they are wanting/expecting. Of course, we are going to talk about this soon, but I feel clueless going into it. I’m not planning on starting an LLC, but I also don’t think getting paid $10/hour for this work (which is what I would be paid doing office work, cleaning cabins, and other odd jobs) is appropriate either. Would the camp need to charge the guest and then I’d negotiate a percentage? And what would be an appropriate percentage? I’m taking this job for fun, so I’m not too concerned about profit, but I don’t want to devalue myself either. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

First thing to do is to get some idea how the camp is going to monetize the portraits. They may be thinking it's a free add on since they have a person on staff and prints are cheap. If so then some serious negotiations are in order and it probably won't go well as non photographers don't see the skill factor in the cost equation

If they are offering the service as an upsell, you need to get an idea of the price range they expect to meet. Also ask if they are shooting families for free and using print sales to drive the business or will they be selling packages before you shoot?

Also get an idea of what sort of product they expect to offer. If it's just a low skill group shot in front of the camp winnemucca sign any monkey with a digital camera can do that. But if they are envisioning high quality family portrait sessions with quality lighting and processing then you have a chance to build yourself a business.

Michelleely wrote in post #19057064
I am an amateur photographer- been practicing for 25 years, minored in photography, but never gone into business. I mostly shoot macro, landscapes, portraits of my kids. Anyway, I’m going to work at a friend’s campground on the river this summer. They asked if I would do family portraits for guests as part of my job. We haven’t discussed anything about it yet, so I don’t know what they are wanting/expecting. Of course, we are going to talk about this soon, but I feel clueless going into it. I’m not planning on starting an LLC, but I also don’t think getting paid $10/hour for this work (which is what I would be paid doing office work, cleaning cabins, and other odd jobs) is appropriate either. Would the camp need to charge the guest and then I’d negotiate a percentage? And what would be an appropriate percentage? I’m taking this job for fun, so I’m not too concerned about profit, but I don’t want to devalue myself either. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

Before thinking about pricing you need to objectively determine your level of skill, that will drive everything going forward, or course the greater your photography skills the greater the value of your services. You also need to find out how deeply you will be involved, will you be doing all the setup and knockdown, if so who'd covering that time, will it part of your normal salary or part of the shoot you will charge for. Who going to do the editing, printing and sending the work to the customer and who is paying for the materials.

And you need to find out what other photographers in your area with the same skills are making, a price that varies greatly from location to location, though the average is around $18.00 per hour as an employee.

Lastly you need to know who is providing liability insurance, if someone gets hurt during a shoot they might legal up and threaten to sue.

Once you have that information post it back here and we will see what advice you can be provided.