kite surfing

[spiffy]

Hello to all you awesome people!
I am new to TPF, so forgive me if i say or do something stupid.
I received a call from a resort in the Dominican Republic asking if I would photograph kite surfing for their local businesses. I am very willing and excited to do this, but I have no idea what to charge. I have not given them an answer yet just because I need to get everything straightened out. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a great opportunity!

 

[terri]

Hi Spiffy - welcome to the forum! It does sound like a fun gig. I have moved your thread from the Welcome forum over here to General Shop Talk, where some of our working photographers might be able to advise you on charging for a job like this one.

Good luck with it!

 

[tirediron]

Do you have a photography business now?

 

[kathyt]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like fun. Did they just call you out of the blue?

 

[spiffy]

Thanks! I can use all the help I can get!

 

[spiffy]

Do you have a photography business now?

Yes, its been my hobby for years, but my business for only 2 years.

 

[spiffy]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like fun. Did they just call you out of the blue?

Well, my mother sold her business here and moved down there, and she took my business cards with her ;-) So they called as a result of that.

 

[tirediron]

Do you have a photography business now?

Yes, its been my hobby for years, but my business for only 2 years.

Okay fair enough; other than the travel aspect of it, why do you feel that this is any different than quoting any other job? Time to do the job + processing time @ hourly rate + actual travel costs (airfare, meals, lodging, rental car/taxi, air freight) + travel time rate = job cost. What doesn't make sense to me is why they would bring in 'outside help' when it will add so much to the price. Let's say the actual shoot runs 2 days on-location so you bill that at $2K (which includes post-processing), they're going to be in to you for another $2.5K minimum for getting you down there, food, etc...

 

[spiffy]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a great opportunity!

Hi Spiffy - welcome to the forum! It does sound like a fun gig. I have moved your thread from the Welcome forum over here to General Shop Talk, where some of our working photographers might be able to advise you on charging for a job like this one.

Good luck with it!

Do you have a photography business now?

Yes, its been my hobby for years, but my business for only 2 years.

Okay fair enough; other than the travel aspect of it, why do you feel that this is any different than quoting any other job? Time to do the job + processing time @ hourly rate + actual travel costs (airfare, meals, lodging, rental car/taxi, air freight) + travel time rate = job cost. What doesn't make sense to me is why they would bring in 'outside help' when it will add so much to the price. Let's say the actual shoot runs 2 days on-location so you bill that at $2K (which includes post-processing), they're going to be in to you for another $2.5K minimum for getting you down there, food, etc...

I've done action shots through the years, but never through my business. So I guess my question is this...should they be priced differently then other services? For example, weddings are priced higher than senior portraits because more is involved. Maybe I sound stupid, I don't know. Since I've only been doing the business part of it for a couple years I still feel like a noob when it comes to pricing. :-\

 

[tirediron]

It really depends on your pricing structure. I have mine set up, calculated on my CODB so that ALL work is charged at approximately the same rate. That is a family portrait session might be $200 and a wedding $2000, but one lasts an hour and one lasts ten hours. There are three elements to pricing this job. (1) Travel & accomodation. I would bill this at actual cost, plus whatever rate you charge for travel time, and a fixed amount for daily meals; (2) the actual time to shoot and process the work. I would bill this at your normal hourly rate; and (3) Licensing of the final product. This of course will depend on many factors including the number of images they intend to use, the media they will be used on, the size of image that will be used, duration of use, and whether exclusive or non-exclusivity is required. If I were to spit-ball an estimate for this including everything, and assuming two days of shooting, and unlimited, non-exclusive use of ten images in any size/media for one year, I'm guessing the final tally would be around $7K mark. Of course if this is a resort, they have access to a lot of incentives, so you could always spin this in to a vacation, and allow them to reduce the final bill by giving you a free room for a few days, tossing in air-fare for your family, etc.

 

[spiffy]

Thank you for your advice, it is very helpful! Hopefully it all works out! Thanks again