Pricing Question but not a how much....

[JLEphoto]

I have my website set up and have done a few portrait shoots and a wedding etc. I also have a prices page that lists what I charge by the hour for the photographer and then the cost of the prints seperate. How do you guys handle that? Do you say X amount is for the entire session and includes______ number of prints? Do you do it by the hour and then charge for the prints?

Do you typically say a session will last X amount of time for x amount of dollars with x amount of prints... just curious what you guys do.

 

[tirediron]

I charge strictly by the hour for the work, products (whether digital files, prints, or whatever) are extra and priced separately. One thing I DON'T do is make any promises about how many prints, how long, etc. I will advise customers that for a typical six hour wedding shoot, approximately 'X' images can be expected, and that I can typically process about 6-8 images/hour, so how many final images they want is up to them.

 

[JLEphoto]

That is the boat I am in right now with the exception of wedding where I provide a print credit. Thanks for letting me know. Any one else out there do something different?

 

[KDPhoto]

Same here, hourly rate.

Would love to hear what others are doing as well.

 

[KmH]

Rather than selling prints, investigate charging by the pose. It fits well with what retail clients want today.

 

[njw1224]

For weddings I have packages that tell the client how many hours they're getting me and what products are included. I do provide them a full set of proofs of the wedding-day photos, but I don't specify how many there'll be. Every wedding is different, and I can't predict how many I will shoot.

For portraits, I have a session fee that covers my time. All prints and products are ordered a la carte after the shoot. I don't tell clients how many proofs they'll see, but I do give them an estimate of how long the session will take. And to be honest, I've never had a client ask me how many proofs they'll see. I think it's more common to be asked that question with weddings rather than portrait sessions. I have various session fees for different types of sessions - like: studio one-outfit; studio extended (multiple outfits/backgrounds); location; studio and location combined, etc.

 

[newimage]

I try not to commit to an exact time for the session or how many images they will have to choose from. I will tell them when they book an average range that I know everybody will fall into one way or another. They basically pay based on the session options .. not the session length. Then later they pay for prints with a minimum package order before they can order individual prints and products.

 

[gagey]

right now i am offering a flat session rate and havent really limited how long it will take just how long they are willing to let me shoot. most of them are about an hour.