Money, Money, Money, MONEYYY

Heather Koch

No longer a newbie, moving up!
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Michigan
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
Okay, so the big question.... What to charge?

I've gotten down my hourly editing rate and my print rates, but what about digital file rates?

A couple days ago I was asked to take some pictures of a family for their Christmas card. I slightly edited all the photos and uploaded them on dropbox for the family to choose the one they wanted edited completely for their Christmas card.... What should I charge them for my time taking the pictures and then for the digital files?


NEXT question... much larger

I've been asked to photograph a friends wedding in April. I have no idea where to even begin with rates for weddings... I know they are very involved. Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated! :)

Thanks everyone and hope you all are having a blessed holiday!
 
What equipment to do plan on using to shoot this wedding?
 
What equipment to do plan on using to shoot this wedding?
Nothing fancy, I have Nikon d7100 and sigma 17-70mm lens I'll be using with a TTL flash.
 
My cousin had previously asked me to do her wedding but I declined because I wasn't ready. Since then I've taken several classes and my work has immensely grown. My cousin paid $1800 for a package including full 8 hour wedding shooting, from getting ready before the wedding, the ceremony, one location between ceremony and reception and reception. The lady just gave her a CD with all the pictures on it, all but 10 were unedited. And they were not happy with the photographer nor the photos... nor was I impressed either.

Just to get an idea of what other local photographers charge ^
 
Can you post examples of your portraits? Or a link to your website?

Where I live, what you should charge has a lot to do with the quality of your work.
 
Can you post examples of your portraits? Or a link to your website?

Where I live, what you should charge has a lot to do with the quality of your work.

Sure :) You can check out my facebook page link in my signature or the flickr link. I just posted a few photos in the peoples photography thread as well.
 
You need better equipment.
An FF body to deal with low light scenarios - Nikon D750, Nikon D610, Nikon D800/810 for example.
You need better lenses - a 24-70mm 2.8 + the 70-200mm 2.8 are imperative I guess (maybe the 70-200 f4 can also work). I would put something like a 85mm 1.4.
External flash if needed - lots and lots of SD cards - at least 3 16Gb (You never know when you will need more space).
Lots and lots of batteries fully charged (You dont have the time to recharge batteries at a wedding).
Also, a backup body (usually another FF camera - most wedding photographers have 2 of each camera).
My wedding photographers had 2 Canon 5D MKIII and 2 Canon 7D MKII (but they were 5 - 2 photographers, one man for video, an assistant and a drone pilot)...
The assistant also had a Nikon D5300 with a 35mm 1.8 (he was training).
You can try to rent these of course...
Let your friends know that you are not a professional, and that something can go wrong (or no so well).
Don't charge them 1800$ for god's sake :p

If you are going to use the D7100 and the sigma, you will need to use the flash on some occasions and you will probably need a tele - 70-300 VR from Nikon would not be so bad - but the best option is without a doubt one 70-200 2.8.

Cheers
 
It is a standard business practice to be paid before making photos and doing any editing.
Proofs are usually included in the price for making the photos and doing basic edits.
At the in person proof review session the photographer then gauges client reaction to the proofs so the photographer can then decide which products, and at what size, to try and sell.

How much you charge is dependent on your cost-of-doing-business (CODB) and on your cost-of-goods-sold (COGS).
Other photographer's COBD and COGS will likely be more or less than your's, so their prices probably would not work for your business.
There are several retail photography pricing models out there - a la cart, by the pose, packages, 1 charge for everything, yada, yada, yada.

My clients did not qualify for buying digital files until they had met or exceeded my minimum purchase requirement which was $600.
At $600 I basically broke even (no profit) on any retail shoot.
My minimum purchase requirement was a dollar amount.
My sitting fee applied towards the minimum purchase and a client then had to buy a few prints or some of the other products I offered.
A disc of 20 digital files , the minimum, was then $1200 ($60 per image file).
 
What equipment to do plan on using to shoot this wedding?
Nothing fancy, I have Nikon d7100 and sigma 17-70mm lens I'll be using with a TTL flash.
What is the couple's expectations?
She said they want photos of the ceremony; walking down the isle, first kiss, etc., group shots, and a few at the reception; cutting the cake, first dance, etc.
I meant more in terms of quality. Are they just looking for a casual record of the event, or a professional-level product but want it at a bargain price? There's a LOT more to shooting a wedding than just shooting the wedding, and of course there's the whole 'no do-overs' thing!
 
You need better equipment.
An FF body to deal with low light scenarios - Nikon D750, Nikon D610, Nikon D800/810 for example.
You need better lenses - a 24-70mm 2.8 + the 70-200mm 2.8 are imperative I guess (maybe the 70-200 f4 can also work). I would put something like a 85mm 1.4.
External flash if needed - lots and lots of SD cards - at least 3 16Gb (You never know when you will need more space).
Lots and lots of batteries fully charged (You dont have the time to recharge batteries at a wedding).
Also, a backup body (usually another FF camera - most wedding photographers have 2 of each camera).
My wedding photographers had 2 Canon 5D MKIII and 2 Canon 7D MKII (but they were 5 - 2 photographers, one man for video, an assistant and a drone pilot)...
The assistant also had a Nikon D5300 with a 35mm 1.8 (he was training).
You can try to rent these of course...
Let your friends know that you are not a professional, and that something can go wrong (or no so well).
Don't charge them 1800$ for god's sake :p

If you are going to use the D7100 and the sigma, you will need to use the flash on some occasions and you will probably need a tele - 70-300 VR from Nikon would not be so bad - but the best option is without a doubt one 70-200 2.8.

Cheers

Thank you! I appreciate your honesty. They definitely know my work and asked me because I would charge less (obviously). I can't afford to hire an assistant so my mother will be helping me...she has an art degree so she knows her way around creative situations. I could probably rent another lens for that day, probably the 70-200mm. And of course a bunch of batteries and sd cards are a must, I have those already. I do have a flash.
Now as a wedding photographer, I imagine its a very face paced event?
 
It is a standard business practice to be paid before making photos and doing any editing.
Proofs are usually included in the price for making the photos and doing basic edits.
At the in person proof review session the photographer then gauges client reaction to the proofs so the photographer can then decide which products, and at what size, to try and sell.

How much you charge is dependent on your cost-of-doing-business (CODB) and on your cost-of-goods-sold (COGS).
Other photographer's COBD and COGS will likely be more or less than your's, so their prices probably would not work for your business.
There are several retail photography pricing models out there - a la cart, by the pose, packages, 1 charge for everything, yada, yada, yada.

My clients did not qualify for buying digital files until they had met or exceeded my minimum purchase requirement which was $600.
At $600 I basically broke even (no profit) on any retail shoot.
My minimum purchase requirement was a dollar amount.
My sitting fee applied towards the minimum purchase and a client then had to buy a few prints or some of the other products I offered.
A disc of 20 digital files , the minimum, was then $1200 ($60 per image file).
Wow, dang. Yeah I guess it would just all depend on my business.

Okay, so I charge 20$ and hour for editing... which isn't a lot but I'm just starting out and figuring out people are willing to pay. For example, I just had a client which I charged $192 (they gave $200) which included 5 hours of editing, 30 minute session time and about 15 prints (plus 32 wallets).
So, maybe charge these clients (xmas photos) $20 an hour for session and editing time, plus $50 for the digital files?
 
What equipment to do plan on using to shoot this wedding?
Nothing fancy, I have Nikon d7100 and sigma 17-70mm lens I'll be using with a TTL flash.
What is the couple's expectations?
She said they want photos of the ceremony; walking down the isle, first kiss, etc., group shots, and a few at the reception; cutting the cake, first dance, etc.
I meant more in terms of quality. Are they just looking for a casual record of the event, or a professional-level product but want it at a bargain price? There's a LOT more to shooting a wedding than just shooting the wedding, and of course there's the whole 'no do-overs' thing!
Quality was not discussed yet. We will have a meeting in person to get exact expectations. I'm assuming since they are asking me they don't "need" highly professional stuff.
 

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