Album design pricing for another photographer

Hi Guys! Sorry ops I put this in the wrong thread before..

For extra income I've decided to do some post processing, which I've been very fast at. A local photographer is paying me $190 to cull and basic edit 2000 images down to a 1200 image wedding.

Obviously, I'm not as expensive as those websites that offer post processing.

Now she asks me if I can do some album design for her! I've done plenty in the past, but never actually kept track of the amount of time it was taking me.

I would be using Photojunction to export to PSD for fine tuning if needed.

How much time does it typically take you to do a page in a book?

Keeping in mind how much I'm doing post processing for her, what is a fair quote to do a 25 spread 50 page album for her?

Thanks for your help! You guys rock

It all depends!

If you're already doing the post work, you're going to have a good feel for what you're working with, so you have a good handle on what the finished product should look like.

This is a tough spot. I've done this before, where I was just the designer, a photographer in the middle, and then the client. Keep in mind, you have two bosses here. The photographer, and the client. They don't always have to agree with each other. This will make it tough on you. I had an instance where I did a particular two page spread, and the photographer hated it, but said the couple loved it. In order to get that feedback through the "filter" of the photographer, it was important that she and I had a good relationship, and she trusted me and my opinions.

That will be key to you too... make sure she trusts you and gives you the creative freedom to get it right.

Since this can go back and forth several times, you should really make it hourly, or per page, or something where you can limit your exposure (no pun intended) to a bunch of redo edits.

I would say something like $30/page, subject to approval, with 1 free redo per page, up to 5 page redos, then $30/page after that. Fixing a single element within a page wouldn't count.

I have given some suggestions here, but I think you can put this together in a way that limits your risk but gets you a good relationship going with the photographer.

I'd charge $20 per page, but I probably wouldn't get the work at that price. I don't do design for other photographers, but I design and sell high end albums, and charge between $1800 and $3800 depending on the size and the details.

If you guys are getting work for $20-$30 a page, please share how. Most outsourcing charges anywhere from $3.50 to $6.00 per page. I work for a local photog producing pages at $2.50 per page. I receive the basic design file from that photographer and am free to modify it how I want. Can pump out a book in a couple hours. I do not deal with the client at all, just the photographer. Its pretty easy and its extra cash when I dont have it coming in. If I were to charge anymore, I would make sense to just outsource it to someone like Modernalbumdesigns.com or something.

I said I would charge $20/pg, not that I do, I doubt anyone would pay that. $6 a page, if 30 pages takes two hours, is $90/hr - pretty good. Albums take me longer than that, plus I rework them as the customers likes, etc.

Cory - do you know how much Modernalbumdesigns.com charges?

Album design can get very customized and sophisticated. It's an art in it self and that's what you're going to pay for. It's a specialty and people will pay more to not have to do it themselves.

But it can also be very simple and still look good (don't get me wrong!) and that's more work horse related and that's what you'll get paid.

I think I settled on $9 a spread(2 sides) - so $225 for what I'm guessing would be about 10-12 hours of work all together. That's okay by me!

heathermarie wrote in post #9825050
Cory - do you know how much Modernalbumdesigns.com charges?

Album design can get very customized and sophisticated. It's an art in it self and that's what you're going to pay for. It's a specialty and people will pay more to not have to do it themselves.

But it can also be very simple and still look good (don't get me wrong!) and that's more work horse related and that's what you'll get paid.

I think I settled on $9 a spread(2 sides) - so $225 for what I'm guessing would be about 10-12 hours of work all together. That's okay by me!

Yes I do but its not info I can pass out. You have to sign up with them and they will send you a pricing sheet. $9 a spread / $4.50 page I would say is in the middle of the road for what I see from a lot of the design houses. If I had a backlog of albums, I would most definitely outsource it.