I never wanted to be a pro, but......

MikeBcos · Feb 2, 2009

I have been asked to take some photographs of people at their job.

The people asking know I am not a pro, they know I don't have pro equipment, but they have used a few of my photographs in some printed literature.

They want one group shot of 20 people, to be printed, probably no larger than 16x20. They want 5-10 photographs of some of this group at their work. These will be indoor shots, in a well lit environment. These photos will be used mainly on web sites and as small printed versions in leaflets.

Now, I really don't want to be a pro, but these people are very good customers in my daily job and I will be doing this as part of my daily job (graphic design and printing).

The big question, how much to charge? I'm figuring an hourly fee for the photography then a fee per photograph supplied.

The customer will gain the rights to use the photographs as they see fit.

firefly72 · Feb 2, 2009

Maybe they are expecting you to charge less than what a pro does, just maybe...

bwlergh · Feb 3, 2009

Charge leasing rights for booklets, like an x amount every year.

MikeBcos · Feb 3, 2009

Well, I had to make my decision today. To explain a little further, I run a print company, I do graphic design and customer liaison/sales. The people asking me for some photographs are my biggest clients, they are 60% of my business. When they called and said they want me to take some photographs the last thing I was going to say was "no".

The customer wants about 11 photographs taken over 2 sessions. The first session will be shooting Doctors at work in a hospital, for this I will supply 10 shots. Each shot will have two files, one print quality, one web quality.

The second session will be a group photo with about 20 people. For this, I will supply one 8x10 professional print.

For the first session I won't need much in the way of lighting, I'll be using my SB-400 as a trigger flash with an optically triggered main flash on a flash bracket. There will be a lot of natural light in the area and lots of white walls and light curtains to bounce flash off. I have looked at existing photographs and know I can at least duplicate the quality they are used to.

I will be using my D40, it is the only DSLR I have, it will produce good enough images for this client. As backup, I will be taking two film bodies with 24mm and 50mm lenses.

At the end of the first shoot I'll get to look at the space the group shot will be taken in. It is probably going to be a boardroom with crappy lighting. Fortunately I have permission at home to buy studio lighting!

I ended up charging $100 per hour for photography and post processing and $30 for one 8x10 print. The customer was happy with that.