Pricing for 1/2 dozen Corp headshots

Request for 7 headshots for corporate use.

Smaller market with 1000s of wedding senior portrait photographers.

I'd like to think $500 with images delivered. I don't know if they need prints or not but I would assume so, off the top of my head.

I realize there are WAY MORE VARIABLES than I have presented but I am competent in the process...

Any thoughts?

I understand your concern to overprice but I would not go under $150 per subject plus editing time. I'd also be specific about usage, odds are it will be used on their website, Corporate Report, internal publications, etc. If the client is that budget conscience, I'd let one of the Wedding Shooters have it.

I usually price things like that more with an hourly rate that covers my travel, lighting setup, etc. This is because a person may get called into a meeting and you have to wait, etc.

You could do a hybrid, $X per hour and $Y per delivered image file.

I think if you get too complicated above that, or start to figure out pricing for usage rights, it may not pay off due to lowered referrals later. Outline the costs/rates so they understand, get their buy in and deliver what you say you will along with a detailed invoice, and this shouldn't be too difficult.

I have done this very thing in the past (a long time ago), but also follow the same model when taking pictures of entrees for a restaurant. Basically I set it up that they are hiring me as a paid resource with a skill (ie. photography) per hour, and for as long as they keep me around waiting, etc I am being paid.

Make sure you understand WHAT the corporation wants, in terms of deliverables. For any contract to exist, there MUST be a 'meeting of the minds' --both parties have to agree as to the content/conditions of the contract -- in order for any 'valid contract' to exist in the eyes of the law!!! IOW, you need to know if the stated price is shoot+digital vs. shoot+digital+harcopy photos...you should not guess or assume.

And WHERE will the portraiture sessions take place?...all in the company office near you, or some shot in different locations (due to the non-centralized work locations that we encounter more due to COVID and remote work).

WHEN...will you need to come back more than once to photograph all of the subjects?

Also, understand HOW the photos will be used...if the photos are used for Marketing purposes by the company, that usually means 'more value' and higher cost should be gotten. When companies will use the images for marketing, they should have to pay for licensing for that use...printed material pricing (e.g. brochure) rights are different from web utilization, and both of those uses are very different from simply placing wall portraits on the company's lobby wall.

Any pricing must factor in being APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR GEOGRAPHIC MARKET...me pricing for San Francisco Bay area would be entirely different from pricing for the central valley of CA which is 2-3 hours awy!