Do you shoot your own family members?

I seem to always have my camera out whenever my family all get together for such things as Christmas, birthday's, mothers day, cookouts , etc and if any family member wanted copies of what I have taken I've never minded giving them a disk of the images for them to print for themselves. I now have a niece getting married and she has asked for me to shoot her wedding for her. Well this is a whole lot more work than just shooting some candids in the back yard. So my question is....Do you ever charge a family member for photographic services? There is no way I would even think about asking full price but now I even feel a little guilty telling her 1/2 price. Should I feel guilty?

Thanks,
Tom

I have never charged a family member, and did shoot my uncle's second wedding for him years ago, because he had no money to hire anyone. If it was a distant relative and you were going to provide a full-blown professional service, you might provide a discount. If it's a close relative and you were "just taking some shots," I'd probably do it for free.

Greg

tough call...if it's really going to be a lot of work, then charge a discounted rate...gotta make it worth your while.

I'm shooting a wedding for a cousin by marriage in a couple of weeks, and I'm charging them half price. I've got at least that much in equipment I bought to shoot the wedding.

If you have everything to do the shoot with, I would do one of two things. 1) I would take the pic's and put them on a disk for Her to print. or 2) If She wanted You to take care of the printing, then I would charge Her the price of the prints. You could mark up the print price alittle to cover your time.

I'd LIKE to shoot some of my family members . . .

SWPhotoImaging wrote:
I'd LIKE to shoot some of my family members . . .

I feel the same way sometimes.

As far as what I charge. Nothing unless it is a full blown job. Then it is 50% off the job plus they pay for prints at my cost through mpix. It I dont charge, all they pay is for prints at cost.

I am shooting my cousin's wedding in September and I am going to charge her the amount it costs me to print and to drive to her location. If she wants a book then I charge her for that too.
I gave her a price (a third of normal rates) and she said it was too low but I feel wierd charging her my normal price!

It depends on the family member. I don't think that you can say all family members are treated equally. I do have one sister that I would literally like to "shoot"

I did my nieces wedding last fall and I made it their wedding present. When they asked what I normally charge they felt very good but in reality it cost me very little. I put the proofs on my website which they picked 40 images from and then I did a printed album for them which cost me about 60.00. You can spin this any way you want to your family.

There is a certain expectation that I will always show up at family gatherings with my gear. I have a locked gallery in my website where I put full size JPG's that they can copy off and print until the cows come home. I really don't feel right charging my family for my photo services. Now if I am out of pocket, then they always pick that up for me but since moving to digital those expenses have pretty much vaporized.

ssim wrote:
It depends on the family member. I don't think that you can say all family members are treated equally. I do have one sister that I would literally like to "shoot"

I did my nieces wedding last fall and I made it their wedding present. When they asked what I normally charge they felt very good but in reality it cost me very little. I put the proofs on my website which they picked 40 images from and then I did a printed album for them which cost me about 60.00. You can spin this any way you want to your family.

There is a certain expectation that I will always show up at family gatherings with my gear. I have a locked gallery in my website where I put full size JPG's that they can copy off and print until the cows come home. I really don't feel right charging my family for my photo services. Now if I am out of pocket, then they always pick that up for me but since moving to digital those expenses have pretty much vaporized.

agree here. I'm pretty much the 'family photographer'. I do shoot my nieces and nephews pretty regularly. Most of the time for my own enjoyment but, I also handle the 'Easter Picture, Christmas Portrait' requests and have never considered charging for them.. They just pay for their prints unless I'm shooting as a 'gift' which I do by the way, it's often a lot cheaper and I don't have to shop.. But, as to whether to shoot the wedding or ask for some kind of payment I would suggest having her pay whatever it's costing you.. either in lost wages for not being at your job and any extra gear purchases, but, if you would have been there as a guest anyway I'd just shoot and consider it your wedding gift.

sari

How about shooting it for free as a wedding present?

First, communication is the key. Expectations could ruin relationships easily. Some people get asked to shoot a wedding for a family member and communication ends, one expecting payment, the other expecting a freebie. I tell them exactly what to expect. Sometimes the relative wants only the disk with all captures in RAW or JPEG and they do with it what they will. Other times the B&G don't have any way to make prints or know how to PP, so they would want you to do the PP work as well. I shoot for free because that is their gift from me (worth more than Aunt Jenny's crockpot) and if they want extras, I charge cost. If they want PP, I do 20-50 pictures and charge them minimal for time. I have never charged anyone yet because I don't spend more than $100 for all the film, disks, etc. They know that this is my profession and they are usually very appreciative. I also have never charged a friend. They pay me a "thank you" fee and that's really not necessary. Most people cannot afford pro prices and can PP on their own. And I don't get insulted if Aunt Jenny's pictures turn out very good and mine are okay. That's what kept happening to me when I was a guest, my pictures came out better than the pros.

Yes, you do. Period. Charging (close) family is not cool. But distant relatives can go for a discount. I just did my younger brothers wedding, the second in fact.

The issue is that he has gotten me some great deals on hotels and such so it all evens out. But screw it up and you will never hear the end of it....

Les Baldwin

Only if they really get on my nerves.

I am also the family photographer that brings gear to all the functions and takes snapshots. I never charge for anything like this, except maybe print costs if they want a bunch of stuff.

However, I have found that there is a dividing line

When family members just expect you to take pictures and provide them with all the files or prints, and use you to avoid paying a pro.... that's the dividing line. Usually that line is even more clear if you know it is a family member that has absolutely no intention of paying for anything or even making you an offer as a considerate gesture. I am happy to help out where I can, but don't appreciate being used. If I am expected to do a pros work and bring a studio light or two to do formal portraits and everything else, I at least charge a flat fee for my time, then cost + for prints and processing.

You have to think about a few things... What happens when you take this gear that you are expected to bring and something gets broken? Do you expect them to take care of the damages? Do you have hard feelings because the damage would not have occurred had you not shot the event? Yes, there is insurance for those things, but not everyone carries insurance on their gear, and usually it is not worth making a claim unless something really expensive gets stolen or broken.

So, yes, I have done weddings for free in my family. Usually it is as a second shooter and with permission from the main photographer. I typically treat my services as a gift and let them do the printing. If I am the only shooter, I usually come to an agreeable rate for my time.