Need some pricing advise please.

Enem178 · Jan 6, 2014

Hello all. I have a friend who is head of human resources for a large school district. They are looking for photographer to take head shots of the employees at one location for their website. She said there are about 100 people give or take and they just want the photos put on a cd or flash drive when Im done. She needs to know how much I will charge to do it but I have no idea what is a fair price. I dont want to come in too low or high. Does anybody have any advice for me?? Thx in advance!

gsgary · Jan 6, 2014

$2000

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Rosshole · Jan 6, 2014

gsgary said:
$2000

$1999... you apparently aren't a marketing guy...

But seriously, how much time will it take, plus mileage, gear depreciation and editing time. How much per hour you should make? All this considered $2000 is not really a bad number.

tirediron · Jan 6, 2014

My first thought was $2500 - but it depends on a number of factors (or at least it would for me; YMMV). Will it all be done on one day? Unlikely since getting 100 people together on a single day is unlikely, especially when you factor in sickness 'bad hair' days, and all the rest of it. I would expect to have to go back at least once for 'no shows' (and more likely twice). Are you going to be able to shoot in an area which allows for minimal post production? In other words, are you going to have to process each image, or will it be pretty much colour-correct & crop? I would probably quote this job at about $3000 - 3200 assuming it's just for their website. Obviously greater use means a higher price.

gsgary · Jan 6, 2014

Rosshole said:
gsgary said:

$2000

Click to expand...

$1999... you apparently aren't a marketing guy...

$2999 then im not dropping my price

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Rosshole · Jan 6, 2014

gsgary said:
Rosshole said:

gsgary said:

$2000

Click to expand...

$1999... you apparently aren't a marketing guy...

Click to expand...

$2999 then im not dropping my price

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haha

ronlane · Jan 6, 2014

tirediron said:
My first thought was $2500 - but it depends on a number of factors (or at least it would for me; YMMV). Will it all be done on one day? Unlikely since getting 100 people together on a single day is unlikely, especially when you factor in sickness 'bad hair' days, and all the rest of it. I would expect to have to go back at least once for 'no shows' (and more likely twice). Are you going to be able to shoot in an area which allows for minimal post production? In other words, are you going to have to process each image, or will it be pretty much colour-correct & crop? I would probably quote this job at about $3000 - 3200 assuming it's just for their website. Obviously greater use means a higher price.

^^this and if you act now, I'll double the order, just pay separate processing charges.

Enem178 · Jan 6, 2014

Wow! i wasnt considering charging that much but I definitely appreciate your advice and will strongly consider it!! O btw the location is only 10 mins from where I live. Thx!

gsgary · Jan 6, 2014

Enem178 said:
Wow! i wasnt considering charging that much but I definitely appreciate your advice and will strongly consider it!! O btw the location is only 10 mins from where I live. Thx!

But you still have to set up background and lighting get it bang on you wont have much editing

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Enem178 · Jan 6, 2014

Absolutely right! Those are the things I havent considered. Thank you!

Designer · Jan 6, 2014

Enem178 said:
Wow! i wasnt considering charging that much but I definitely appreciate your advice and will strongly consider it!! O btw the location is only 10 mins from where I live. Thx!

O.K., I'm not a pro, but there might be a way to figure it.

Time and costs (transportation, equipment usage, CDs, etc.)
You should figure on going there several times. The first regularly scheduled photo days will catch most of the employees. Figure a minimum amount of time for each person. Schedule in breaks, lunch, and incidental meeting time. Schedule probably three days to start, and then two more days for a few hours each to catch the ones that missed the first appointment.

Add up all the time, and figure what you need per hour, and add in your costs. I can't imagine they will want to pay for any editing, but you need to figure on how much time it will take you to get the photos on a CD and delivered.

When you get that figure, add in your taxes, insurance, office overhead, and profit margin.

Add it all up, and that is how much you should charge. Don't forget to send some money to the feds and your state for estimated tax.

snowbear · Jan 6, 2014

^ This.

Also, don't label the images as "copywritten" which has to do with writing for advertising, and such. Your images are copyrighted.

KmH · Jan 6, 2014

Pricing for commercial photography is different than the pricing for retail photography.
The type of photography you are asking about her is commercial usage.

I agree with John (tirediron) @ $3000 - $3200 as a minimum, but I charged a bit more than he does. I would be closer to $5000-$5200 to shoot 100 people, including a 12 month use license for all 100 photos, as long as they are all used at no larger than 400 x 400 px.

John alluded to, but didn't really speak much to what image usage costs - use licensing.
Use licensing doesn't apply to retail photography.

You will own the copyright to the photographs you will be making for the client. A use license can be thought of as a copyright rental agreement.
You can specify many aspects of the use, like limiting usage to the web, and limiting the size at which the images can be used on the web.
If the client also wants to make prints to hang on the walls in HR, they have to pay a use licensing fee to do so.
If they want to use the head ans assistant HR person's photos at a bigger size than everyone else, they have to pay a premium to do so.

For web site use I would not license images for longer than 12 months at a time. However, I would let the client know now how much the use licensing would cost in a year for an additional year of use.