Not sure what to price my services for

wgp1987 · Jun 7, 2011

Hey everyone.

I recently was approached by a customer at my normal retail job to shoot him and make a promotional flyer for a gig he has at the local bar. He offered $100 for the job and I thought it was fair since I was friendly with the guy. We spent about an hour at the beach taking shots and afterwards he took me and my friend who I had there to carry my equipment out to lunch. I know that what I did for him would cost much more then $100 and I'm curious what you would charge for such a job??

So, after he saw the shots and we finalized the flyer he told me he would like to book me for his gig that I made the flyer for. I told him we could discuss it and spoke to him about what he wanted and he said he didn't need shots for the entire performance but maybe like 5 decent shots of him playing. So I've neglected to call him in fear of low balling myself on the gig or telling him a price that he may not be comfortable with. I would normally charge $50-75 for a portrait session (1-2 hour shoot) which is very fair. What do you feel would be a fair price after what he payed me before?? I would personally like at least $75 since it's at 10pm and about 40mins from home. $100 would be better

... What do you think?

WesternGuy · Jun 7, 2011

I think part of it might be in an answer to the question - "How long do you think it will take you to get five decent shots of him and what does he consider 'decent'?" Also, how much post-processing does he expect and what does he want to do with the final images? If you think about it, $100 for 5 decent shots, is only $20 a shot. Personally, I would ask $100, maybe more. The $100 would be the same as he gave you for your "flyer" session, but make sure he knows what you might normally charge - which would be maybe $150 to $200 seeing as you have to travel and it is late... The other aspect to consider is that maybe this shoot has the possibility to generate more business for you and, for that reason, it might be good for you to do it for a little less than you might get for a portrait session where you had to travel. How much equipment do you have to take and do you have to spend time setting up for these pics? HTH and good luck.

Regards,

WesternGuy

tirediron · Jun 7, 2011

Determine a price and stick to it. I like a flat, hourly rate for this kind of work.

wgp1987 · Jun 7, 2011

I think ill tell him $75 since he is really cool. Ill probably stay there for 2-3 hours and give him whatever great photos i get. I dont photochop my images like most people. I might adjust exposure and remove stupid things but i wont "create a painting" in photoshop haha. I have a graphic designer friend that if they need that ill forward to him. Im going to call him after i get my package from fed ex (my cactus v5s!!!) and ill let you know what i do. I might ask him what he thinks is fair and go from there

bazooka · Jun 7, 2011

40 minutes away? I'm guessing that's about $20 in gas round trip. That takes you down to $55. For 2 hours, expect another 2 hours in post. Plus the 1.5 hours you spend to get to and from. Round up to 6 hours for unknown. That's less than $10 an hour. As was mentioned, it's also publicity and experience, so that's worth something, which can only be determined by you. If I were you, I'd go higher. One hour of shooting and post is worth more than that, let alone 2-3.