Charging for rehearsal and rehearsal dinner photos

I first posted this under wedding photography. Got many looks but not replies. So, I thought I'd try it in another forum....

A co-worker and friend of mine asked me to take pictures @ her Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. She wants to know how much I'd charge and I have no clue! I am not at the professional level...I'm quite the amateur. She has seen my work and understands my abilities, so she should be pleased with the quality. I am not "in" this wedding, so my sole role at the rehearsal and dinner would be to take pictures.

My thoughts were charging her for my time of taking the pics and PP and then allowing her free access of the pictures to print as she pleases. I also know that you can get quaility pics at MPIX.com so I wondered if I should offer to print what she wants and charge based on size/quantity of prints.

Any thoughts/pointers/idea​s? Any information would be helpful.

Thanks in advance~

I've only done one wedding (my nephew's wedding) and didn't charge them since I didn't have any wedding experience and even less confidence in doing a once in a lifetime event. The pics came out pretty well but wedding photography is a bit too nerve wracking for me.

I'm assuming that there will be a pro photographer photographing the actual wedding and that your shots will be more in the snapshot category. If that's not the case and yours will be the only pics taken you'd want to charge commensurate with results because you stand a big chance of being blamed if you screw up. I can't help you with pricing. If this is this a good friend maybe you would want to charge only for out-of-pocket expenses such as printing the pics and/or burning picture CDs. If she's willing to pay for your PP time that would be a plus. If you are the "second" photographer then there won't be a ton of PP to do but you're still likely to put in an hour or three. How much to charge for that would be up to you. How much is your time worth? How good a friend is this?

This is a perfect time to get some low stress wedding photography experience if you think wedding photography is something you'd like to do.

Like Roach711 said, how good a friend are they?

If good friend, get them to cover costs and put the rest down to learning/experience, then get them to by you a few beers at the bar afterwards.

Rob

As far as pointers go:

Get to the church and reception hall early and take some test shots. Bring your significant other as a model. If ceiling height permits, bounce your flash for more even lighting. Many experienced photogs recommend using manual mode (ISO 100, 1/80th or 1/100th, f5.6 or 7.1) and letting your flash expose the scene. This gives you hand holdable shutter speed and decent DOF. If the flash is firing hard bump the ISO up. Churches usually have high ceilings so flash bounce probably won't work too well. In that case a a flash diffuser or bounce card helps take the hard edge off "straight on" flash shots.

Thanks for the input and I want to clarify that this is for "Rehearsal" and "Rehearsal Dinner" only. I am not taking any pictures for her @ the wedding and/or reception (except maybe snapping some candids) that I'd never charge for. Wanted to clear that up as it seems as the above posters misunderstood and thought I was shooting @ the actual wedding.

There will not be a wedding photographer @ the rehearsal and/or dinner.

I would not be @ the rehearsal and/or dinner if I was not asked to take the pictures. This is why I feel I should charge for "my time."

To maybe spark some discussion, I can say that I'm thinking in the ballpark of charging about $40 total, which would include PP. I'm thinking all in all, this will take up approximately 7 hours of my time.

Just fyi, her wedding photog is charging her $50-$75 for each 1/2 hour.

Thanks, again, for the above comments and especially advice on shooting in a church, as the rehearsal will be in a church.

Leslie, I would suggest that your time is worth at least $15 to $20 (US) per hour expended to work for a friend - including travel time and post-processing time. She couldn't get any working pro for that paltry sum. It would be a fair value. If the photos totally flopped for whatever reason, then you could consider returning some or all of the pre-paid money.

$40 is certainly in the "buddy deal" category and sounds more than reasonable. If you are going to the actual wedding that would be a great time to watch the "pro" in action. Be careful that your flash doesn't trip his slave flashes as some are light triggered. At least take your shots after his. Some wedding photogs don't like "amatures" taking advantage of their posing (which I can sympathise with) thinking that the bride/groom may take some of your pics (for free) instead of buying his. You may want to limit yourself to acting as the candid photographer and catch the shots the pro isn't getting (like at the reception). Also, be aware that many churches don't allow flash photography during the service and some don't allow pictures to be taken at all.

This can be a prime learning experience and POTN is the best place to prepare for it.

Thanks for your replies...and again...not taking pics at the wedding. Only the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner where there will be NO professional photog.

$20-$40 + dinner would be nice. This is a good way to get some experience.