Am i ready to charge?

[Nick Melson]

I've just started doing portrait stuff recently and started charging people. £20 for an hour n half which includes all the pictures slightly edited [small imperfections and what not] and then the pictures on a disc and posted/given to them.
So far in the last 2 days that i've been charging i've had 3 shoots and have a few more this week.

Heres my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nick-M...27082464027797
Really would like some comments on what i could improve on etc.

Next month i'm looking into buying a studio kit, backdrops, lighting, soft boxes, wireless triggers etc there some pretty good deals on ebay atm.

 

[Samerr9]

I can't open the link..

 

[Nick Melson]

I can't open the link..

Sorry this one should work.

Nick Melson Photography | Facebook

 

[Babs]

I guess the short answer is that you're ready to charge if you can find people willing to pay! I had a look at the portrait shots, and although there are some nice ones, the lighting seems off on quite a few of them, and on others there's shadows and/or folds on the background which is quite distracting.

Maybe wait until you've got your new set-up and see if that helps eliminate some of the dark areas and shadows??

BTW - there's no apostrophe in "photos"

 

[Nick Melson]

I guess the short answer is that you're ready to charge if you can find people willing to pay! I had a look at the portrait shots, and although there are some nice ones, the lighting seems off on quite a few of them, and on others there's shadows and/or folds on the background which is quite distracting.

Maybe wait until you've got your new set-up and see if that helps eliminate some of the dark areas and shadows??

BTW - there's no apostrophe in "photos"

Thankyou.
All of the people i have shot so far are friends/family friends all the pictures of them selfs or there kids are always taken on the phones so there all willing to pay.

Yeah the set up im using atm is just a white sheet and a jessops flash.
When i get some better lighting and backdrops they will look alot better.

 

[Formatted]

Looks like your using the on camera flash which is a big no!

 

[Nick Melson]

Looks like your using the on camera flash which is a big no!

Nope i'm using Jessops 360AFD Digital Flashgun for Nikon - Jessops

 

[dyyylan]

I think you should work on your lighting a lot more, in many of those pictures the subject is underexposed or it looks like you just hotshoe'd a flash onto a your camera, making for uninteresting light. If you're going to pick something to underexpose, do it to the background, not the person you're trying to light.

 

[dallasimagery]

Obviously there are horrible people on craistlist charging, but that aside, I would cast a vote to say that you're fairly far away from being able to charge. I'd recommend spending another couple of years really studying books, taking classes and practicing.

 

[Derrel]

Your lighting looks dark most of the time, and dull. MOre studying of photo technique, framing, and posing would really help. Right now you're at that beginning level of technical adequacy, but your artistry with a camera has not begun to develop.

 

[RauschPhotography]

I agree with what's already been said--the lighting does need some work, as well as the composition itself. I wouldn't personally charge for shots like these, but there may be a few friends who might pay you for pictures with their significant other, or something of that extent. Keep practicing, and you'll get to that level eventually.

 

[bigtwinky]

There is a difference between charging prices as a real photographer, and what most people do and charge peanuts for the work. The peanuters are what is driving the photography market down.

Get your shots, lighting and post production down 100% and then start charging real prices. You can still have lower end real prices. But $40 for a session that includes all images on a CD? Just do it for free while you learn.

In some cases, way under charging will come back to haunt you as you'll find that people know you are the cheap ass photographer, so raising your prices as your skill raises will have you lose pretty much all of your clients.

 

[MichiganFarts]

I'd take some quick pics for dinner, a good movie, and some salty peanuts!

I don't think the OP's ready for cashews yet, though.

 

[rmh159]

Part of me wants to say that if people are willing to pay, there's no reason to not take their money but you probably need to consider reputation pretty heavily as I'd imagine you'd get most business from word-of-mouth. If you start out charging peanuts you might have trouble charging more later as your skills improve. Just a thought.

 

[tirediron]

Looks like your using the on camera flash which is a big no!

Nope i'm using Jessops 360AFD Digital Flashgun for Nikon - Jessops

Looks like an on-camera flash to me...