What should My rates be?

[racefan24]

Thanks that works. Here are what I believe to be my top 3:

[TPF Sponsor]

[JayLPhoto]

the second one would be really cool if composed a bit differently, for a race factor, I'd think the first one would be good. I know if I was the driver I'd be stoked on it. The 3rd I think should be sharper and looks like it has a lot of noise.

[KmH]

It doesn't have anywhere where I can add attachments like it is shown on that thread.

[Tulsa]

1, not bad, I like it.
2, while the idea is cool, the composition could be better, and it looks staged.
3, I agree, looks noisy, not wild about all the sources of light.

[racefan24]

Yes you like my racing photo lol. The other two were taken during my first studio class. I am new to that but learning. I agree that #3 is noisy and blurry. How would you change the composition of #2?

[WilliamH]

Just an opinion here.... but I think you really need to be a bit more thick skinned in this industry. I'm not saying that your photos are bad, but I'm not saying that they're great. I think it would help a lot if you outlined what exactly you wanted to do with your photography. From what I understand you do a lot of racing photography, but is that all you want to do or do you want to shoot other things as well? (i.e. portraits, landscapes, etc...)
I think a fair statement would be that if you're looking to charge for your photos, you really should build a better portfolio. Take your time with this and enjoy the ride. I've personally been trying to build mine for a while, and I've learned a lot from just getting out there and shooting.
I also have to agree with another poster (I don't feel like going back and looking at who said it to be perfectly honest) who said something to the effect of "It's not the camera, it's the guy behind the glass". You have a capable camera, so that's not the issue. Like I said, I'm not dogging your work here, I'm just stating my opinion. I'm by no means a professional. Not to say I don't want to be, but I'm not there yet either. Just take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.
One more thing and I swear I'll stop this rant. Going back to what I said about being thick skinned... would you rather have someone on a forum tell you that your work sucks, or a client who's just paid you $35 per hour? I'm not saying that it will happen, but again in this industry you have to remember that people are paying you for services that you have told them you can provide. If your work isn't up to their expectations, they're going to tell you that and possibly be pissed off about it. Most people here, from what I've seen thus far, are here to help you out and have you avoid that situation. That's why quite a few people have talked about portfolio building. It's important.
I know I was all over on this post, but oh well. Just get out there and keep shooting and learning.

~William

[gsgary]

The first shot is just too static, what shutter speed did you use

[DennyCrane]

The first one shows me nothing that impresses a feeling of "race car in motion". It might as well be a car with a jackstand under the front end where someone spun the wheel and snapped a picture.

The second, while an interesting subject, is far too cluttered. Everything that's not the subject distracts the viewer from the subject.

The 3rd is too dark and appears to be either too low a resolution, or too close a crop.

[tdiprincess]

I'm also a noob... IMHO... When people ask me to do any picture taking, at this point, for functions such as formals or weddings.. I charge for a the price of the paper, shipping and like 50cents extra. I generally end up making about $20-30 depending on how many pictures they wanted... I also either give the picture in person or send it to them, so sometimes I make even less.
I have only done 1 function thus far. I have another one coming up.
As for taking pictures of racing images, portraits, IMHO, I would probably do about the same until enough people started asking for portraits, or I started having repeat customers. Something to tell me that my pictures are valuable.. and then I would slowly increase my prices as there was more demand...
This is all IMHO, this is how I do it and I will probably do this for some time to come... The only equipment I've had was an old 35mm film canon from the 70's, my current kodak P&S and I'll be getting a Nikon D70s in the mail today.. I have had no formal education and am just starting to learn basic techniques.. so 1/2 a grain of salt please

IMHO Your pictures are good.. I like the idea of #2.. a different angle could've gotten a little more creative, but it's neat. The racing picture doesn't speak to me. It's good. Looking at it a while you can tell that the car is in action, but a different angle may have helped it a bit. The last one is cool, It's a bit dark IMO. If you played around with it some more you could get a more creative angle...
Like I said above, I don't know very much about photography, please take everything I say with 1/2 a grain of salt...

[DennyCrane]

In any business, you need to factor 2 things into pricing. Materials and labor. A general rule of thumb is doubling your actual cost for materials (including taxes, shipping, etc). The hard part is labor. You have to decide what your time is worth. And there's a lot of time involved here. Your travel to and from where you're shooting, the time you spend taking the pictures, the time in post processing, the time preparing the prints... the list goes on.

The surest way to the poor house is to give your time away.

[Charles89]

Just an opinion here.... but I think you really need to be a bit more thick skinned in this industry. I'm not saying that your photos are bad, but I'm not saying that they're great. I think it would help a lot if you outlined what exactly you wanted to do with your photography. From what I understand you do a lot of racing photography, but is that all you want to do or do you want to shoot other things as well? (i.e. portraits, landscapes, etc...)
I think a fair statement would be that if you're looking to charge for your photos, you really should build a better portfolio. Take your time with this and enjoy the ride. I've personally been trying to build mine for a while, and I've learned a lot from just getting out there and shooting.
I also have to agree with another poster (I don't feel like going back and looking at who said it to be perfectly honest) who said something to the effect of "It's not the camera, it's the guy behind the glass". You have a capable camera, so that's not the issue. Like I said, I'm not dogging your work here, I'm just stating my opinion. I'm by no means a professional. Not to say I don't want to be, but I'm not there yet either. Just take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.
One more thing and I swear I'll stop this rant. Going back to what I said about being thick skinned... would you rather have someone on a forum tell you that your work sucks, or a client who's just paid you $35 per hour? I'm not saying that it will happen, but again in this industry you have to remember that people are paying you for services that you have told them you can provide. If your work isn't up to their expectations, they're going to tell you that and possibly be pissed off about it. Most people here, from what I've seen thus far, are here to help you out and have you avoid that situation. That's why quite a few people have talked about portfolio building. It's important.
I know I was all over on this post, but oh well. Just get out there and keep shooting and learning.

~William

You got to remember most people dont know sh!t about photography.

Some people that are not my friends(meaning they dont wanna be nice), but that have seen some of my shots sometime come to me and are like : omg your photos are ****ing great. And ill post the said photo here and it wont get any comment or will get negative comments. I doubt the client would say his work sucks from what Ive seen of his work.

[DennyCrane]

There's a wealth of great photographers out there and it's very easy to become a good judge of who's good and who isn't simply by looking at enough portfolios. And smart people looking to hire a photographer do exactly that. It's better to find out now what you're doing wrong than to sit and wonder why you're not getting repeat business... or worse, no business at all.

[GeneralBenson]

There's a wealth of great photographers out there and it's very easy to become a good judge of who's good and who isn't simply by looking at enough portfolios. And smart people looking to hire a photographer do exactly that. It's better to find out now what you're doing wrong than to sit and wonder why you're not getting repeat business... or worse, no business at all.

+10 million

[Charles89]

Indeed.

[GraphicsGeek]

Your race photos are very static and show no movement at all. It appears as if the cars just positioned that way and you are taking photos. There is no movement in the wheels or in the background. Try using a slower shutter speed and pan your body with the car as its going around the track. That should give you some movement.

The second photo is really busy. While I see your intention, but, to an outsiders eye, I get extremely lost in it trying to figure out whats going on. A person who has no idea what they are looking at will skip right over that photo.

The third is interesting. While it does start to tell a story, its a little blury and noisy. As far as composition goes, try not having everything in the middle of the photo. Think outside of the box and youll be surprised what you come up with.

All in all, you have some potential. I, personally, wouldnt charge right now and would just keep shooting and getting some experience. Once you learn how to get the image you want without using the auto mode, you may want to start thinking about charging. Until then, have fun learning from people with more experience. Dont get offended when someone craps on your work. You're young and you're going to go through alot of rejection throughout your life in many different aspects. Opinions are like a$$holes, everyone's got one. But that doesnt mean you shouldnt listen to the criticism.