Help with pricing for Christmas card photos

[epp_b]

An acquaintance of mine asked me to shoot some photos of her and her dog for Christmas cards. She asked me what I would charge and I told her that we'd see how it goes and negotiate from there. Yes, I know, this is a big no-no, so you don't need to scold me for it. This was the first time I'd ever done photos for a client and she's not the sort of person who is going to turn around and not pay.

Anyway, I got some good shots and she really likes them, and I don't really know what to charge. I spent about an hour doing photos and another half-hour processing them. As a starting point, the regular rate of the web development company I work for is $45/hour, but I understand that the rate for photography can vary with photo usage. I gave her the photos on a CD and she will be using them to print Christmas cards (and probably post on Facebook and what-have-you, but that's probably irrelevant).

How do I calculate this?

 

[Big Mike]

We really can't answer this for you. Someone might charge her $20...someone else might charge $200 or $2000.

On one hand you don't want to charge too much and put her off. A happy client will reffer you to others...an unhappy client won't. But on the other hand, you don't want to be known as 'the cheap photographer'.