Got a paid gig coming up but need some help...

[ohbearded1]

I'm going to be attending this vintage motorcycle show/meet up this weekend. This is my first paid gig but I'm not sure what to charge. What I have planned on doing is taking shots of certain bikes for people and burning all the images to a disc for them to take with them and get prints done where ever they would like to. I dont have printing equipment so I thought this would be the better option and be a bit cheaper on their part. I was thinking of charging $20 a disc. Would also love to know if anyone has a link or something that would show me an example of a form that the person could fill out to help the transaction go over smoothly.

 

[Big Mike]

$20 a disc...is that even worth your time?

If you give/sell someone a disc, with the intention that they are allowed to make prints/copies...then you are essentially selling the copyright (at least partially). To most photographers, this is worth a lot more than just selling prints etc.

It also depends on what you are doing. If you are just taking snapshots, then maybe $20 is OK. If you are setting up lighting and poses etc...that might be a different story.

But of course, each photographer and each situation is different...you just need to do what works for you.

 

[ohbearded1]

No lights or poses (unless someone wants to pose with their bike), simply snapshots lit by the sunlight that day.

 

[JerryPH]

... using what camera and lighting equipment, and how many shots and how much time are you investing? How much experience do you have in photography?

 

[kundalini]

Get a gallery account like SmugMug. Have plenty of business cards on your person with your website and contact details on it. Snap, snap, snap, smile and hand out your card. Let them order prints off your website. Your cost is nill (apart from travel, etc).

If you don't have a flash (not the pop-up), take someone with you to hold a reflector at the least.

 

[ohbearded1]

I'll be using a Nikon D90 with my 18-105mm and 50mm f/1.8, no lighting except for the sun in the sky. I'll be shooting all day long, not sure of the shot count at all. I've just been told to walk around and snap as many photos as I can. This is my absolute first gig and just came up with a name for the company last night. I dont have a website, but I do have a flickr that I will be using temporarily until a website is made up. As for the business cards......I'm working on that.

Also I dont really have a means of doing printing, thats why I only wanted to hand the disc off to them.

Oh yeah as for my experience, I've been taking photos and shooting video since I was about 16, although i've just recently been able to buy my first DSLR.

 

[KmH]

Around here a disc of 25 - 30 images is about $500 and includes a limited use license that allows having prints made, for personal use only, no larger than 8x10. Online use only includes use on personal social networking sites. Commercial use is prohibited, the photographer retains copyright and reserves all other rights.

Success as a photography business will hinge on your business skills, not your photography skills.

Good luck with your venture.

 

[ohbearded1]

Dayum.....I hope to reach that level one day but I hardly doubt that I'd be able to get by with that price right now. My roommate is helping organize the entire show and says that people at race tracks usually get about $75-100 for a disc so I figure Id lower that based on my experience.

 

[KmH]

Dayum.....I hope to reach that level one day but I hardly doubt that I'd be able to get by with that price right now. My roommate is helping organize the entire show and says that people at race tracks usually get about $75-100 for a disc so I figure Id lower that based on my experience.

Are you being paid to be at the meet-up?

 

[JIP]

#1 I hope you bring some alternative lighting, even a flash will do. Mother nature is not always aware that you are doing an outdoor photo shoot and can put some clouds in very inconvenient places. #2 If you plan to sell the disks at $20 a piece what will you do if noone buys any of them??. Is going to this car show in general payment enough for you?? will you be OK with going home without a penny. Personally I think it is a good idea to find a gallery site where people can order from and pass out business cards with the link on the card for people to go and get images printed. You might have a CD as an option but don't pin your whole day on selling $20 CDs or you will be sorely dissapointed. By the way if you have any kind of rental place near you you might want to consider renting a fast wide lens as you may find the 50 is not adequate in some tighter spaces and your slower wide lenses might produce a less than sellable image.

 

[ohbearded1]

Thanks for the advice JIP.

I'm afraid I can't really afford the extra flash nor the lens rental. This is merely a favor for a friend that has turned into a possibly paying opportunity. I'm not going to be going up to people and offering to sell the discs, I will allow them to approach me for that. I'm going to be getting paid a little to just document the whole thing for a website. So if I dont sell any discs that day...no big whoop, I'll still have plenty of shots for my gallery and a few extra bucks.

 

[JerryPH]

At least buy a reflector (they are cheap), learn how to use it... and charge more than a ridiculous $20/cd. That's the price that would be charged by someone who is clueless and not someone that I would want taking shots of my car or bike and then charging me for the shots.

 

[ohbearded1]

I just rented a SB800 Flash for $23 for the weekend. I may also get a fisheye lens if the price is right.

 

[harleyrider]

use the rented flash for fill flash ,bring lots of batterys

 

[KmH]

He can use the pop-up (in manual mode) for fill and with the SB-800 in SU-4 mode can trigger it off camera from the light from the pop-up flash, for side lighting to make much more sellable images.

Plus, he'll look more professional and generate more interest in his CD's.