I have no idea to charge for this! Burnt in the past please help

[ThoseCapturedMoments]

I just started my photography business not too long ago and it's still just an up and coming slowly clients trickle in.

I have been asked to do an extended family session. Including about 15 people Grand parents, their kids, spouses and their children (about 6 ranging from 8 to by then 3 mos)

I have been burned in the past by Not offering cds and just offering prints.
I then decided to charge 125 for the disc (usually for a small family or children only and usually with 75 or more photos) and still get passed up because it's too expensive for them.

Where I'm at right now it seems people want to have you come to them, spend however long they feel to get their pictures taken, edit them so they look all nice and perfect eyes and skin etc, then just hand over a disc of 75 or so pics. and pay no more than 50 dollars. I'm sorry but I can't afford to do that.

I know with this family they want the whole shabang. the group pics, the grandparents, just the grandkids, just the kids, couples, indiviuals, and the smaller familes.

I was going to charge this family a session fee which I don't know what to charge with a family so large. (so I am guaranteed to get paid for the time and patience and work I put into these photos) and post an online gallery for them to purchase prints as they see fit.

My mother being from this part of the "woods" and know how people are said I should charge a set amount for the disc. and be done with it. the last time I did that with a family out of state they didn't pay beforehand (they were family I guess they didn't think they had to) I took the photos, edited them, and told them the disc was ready. they said they wanted to see the photos before paying I like an idiot posted them with my logo which states do not crop out my logo to use for anything else. on a certain social media site. I was then told down the road they were in a hardship at the moment and can't sent the money.. that was a year ago.. All while taking random pictures with MY pictures hanging on the wall in the background.


So my questions would be:

Which of the following would you do in my situation? Charge a session fee then they pay for the prints they want or Charge a set rate and give them a cd?

What would you charge as a session fee for (I'm guessing 2-3 hours) or What would you charge as the one rate including the pictures

Would you do something different like have an option to "choose so many pics on disc for "this" price?

 

[tirediron]

For something like this, I would charge my straight per-hour rate ($100) which would include a CD with up to six images. If they want more images, I would probably bill them out at $25/file.

 

[janineh]

I started my business a year ago and I offer a USB package with 25 images for $350. Its going very well and I almost feel like I don't charge enough.
If you are good enough, charge! $50 doesn't even cover your costs. You spend 2hrs shooting and ages editing... Whats the point of doing all this if you don't get paid for it.
If you think you are not good enough than do free shootings to learn and build up a portfolio.

Good luck!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

If you have to ask......well you know

 

[KmH]

Apparently you don't have a written business or a marketing plan. How to Write a Business Plan | SBA.gov

At a minimum I would recommend using tirediron's prices, though I think $25 for a digital file is to low unless the image file is low res, like 500 pixels by 700 pixels, since a digital file can be printed repeatedly.

As far as help starting and managing a business - Starting & Managing a Business | SBA.gov

and Free Small Business Advice | How-to Resources | Tools | Templates | SCORE.

 

[TonysTouch]

Try having them pay a session fee upfront, and then sell them prints and/or a DVD of the shots they want to keep. People like options and you need to get paid, unless you hit the lottery.

 

[cgipson1]

Base it on your CODB!

 

[Forkie]

I don't normally comment on business threads since I have no experience in running my own business but I couldn't resist asking; shouldn't you work out what your prices will be before starting your business?

 

[Tamgerine]

I don't normally comment on business threads since I have no experience in running my own business but I couldn't resist asking; shouldn't you work out what your prices will be before starting your business?

To be fair, prices in a business are something that fluctuate over time a lot. While you SHOULD have a good idea of what you need to charge in order to make a profit in the beginning, things are always changing such as overhead costs, underestimated labor, not to mention you raise your prices when you move up in a market or try and attract a different target market. Or maybe one pricing structure model wasn't working and another one would be better. The OP may know how much he needs to bring in, but not exactly how to structure it to be most efficient.

OP, I'd agree with KmH that you need a solid written collection of your business practices and policies. Figure out your cost of doing business, determine what you need to charge per shoot, and then add to that accordingly depending on special circumstances. Ensure your customers know your policies before you ever enter the relationship with them. It prevents them from saying, "Gosh I didn't know, can't I pay you after the shoot?" and you say sure, and before you know it they have the photos and you have no money.

In your situation I would determine what I need to make, and factor that into my session fee. Charge the session fee up front, they get low res files in a web gallery, and anything I make after that is a bonus. However, I don't ever give out that gallery until I've sat down with them in a proofing and sales session. If they have the low res photos they more than likely won't make much effort to sit down in a proofing session with me because they're already seen everything. So the first time they see anything is when I'm sitting there ready to tell them about my products and blah blah blah. For out of state customers I would set up a Skype session, barring that screw it and here's the gallery.

 

[KmH]

A written collection of business practices and policies is not a business plan, but can be part of one.

 

[tbc]

I had just started my business this year and mainly focus on wedding photography. I had shots few family portrait and I had go with $250 the package come with a DVD (25 images), one 11X14 print, max 5 people (additional people for $30). I had also included a sheet of rate of my prints if they want to order more from me. My clients were very satisfied with this package and sometime they order more prints too.
Hope this will help.