Photo Booth Pricing

[soho192]

Hi All,
I've been getting into photography as a hobby and my girlfriend asked if I could do a photobooth for her Halloween party. Of course I said yes at the opportunity to learn something new. The photobooth/video(see link down below) was my 2nd time doing it. The first one I did a week before to work out the kinks and issues. Anyways, some people really liked what I did and asked to do their holiday party.

Here's what I'm offering:
Setup with no backdrop (yet)
Props (non holiday themed)...wigs, hats, boxing gloves, mustaches, and other stuff
editing (i did 3 types of editing for this party and uploaded them to a cloud)
Slideshow (as seen above)
Watermark with their company logo
Automatic upload of recent picture to a screen for viewing

I told the company I would do it cheap and we've already agreed on a price, but in the future I'm wondering what something like this might cost. Or what you think the video cost would be specifically. I think my girlfriend got quoted $900 to $1,200 from a few photographers to come in and take the pictures so that's what I'd like to aim for... The video took me a few hours to do, but I think I can cut that in half the 3rd time around.


Notes on video: yes I kicked the tripod because I was in a tiny space with a huge costume on (i'm clippy from msword if you watch the whole thing). Also, the theme of the party was world's fair which is why we used a bleached out tone theme. The color ones look much better.

 

[tirediron]

Can't see the video (My issue), but when you've been hired to do a job (the amount you're being paid is irrelevant, you ARE being paid), this is NOT the time for a learning opportunity. I've done portrait stations at several recent events - regular hourly rate to the organization and set cost to each customer per print, anywhere from $20 - 35 for an 8x10, based on the nature of the event and number of attendees.

 

[soho192]

Oh this is much different than portraits. The photos will turn out great, but everything is a learning opportunity, no?

 

[Designer]

Oh this is much different than portraits. The photos will turn out great, but everything is a learning opportunity, no?

People are going to expect professional results, regardless of how much they pay. No difference from portraiture. It's still portraiture, and the results should be professional quality.

 

[soho192]

Fair enough, I guess my next question would be what would need to be improved if this looks amateur? How many times should I do this before even considering charging people? Also, they've already seen the end product and it's only going to get better every time I do it.

 

[Dillard]

Oh this is much different than portraits. The photos will turn out great, but everything is a learning opportunity, no?

People are going to expect professional results, regardless of how much they pay. No difference from portraiture. It's still portraiture, and the results should be professional quality.

While I agree with you to a point, I do feel that comparing portraiture to photo booth is a bit of a stretch. I agree that people will expect professional quality, but not in the same manner that one would if they went to a studio for formal photos.

We got several quotes for photo booths for our wedding, and they ranged from about $750-$1500 for four hours, as well as the printed strips for the guests to have (the upper price range), or an email option entry to receive a gallery link (the lower end of the price range) .

 

[soho192]

Yeah i'm well below that. Trying to cover costs for backdrop and softbox modifiers. Printed strips is next on the list of things to add. Not sure I can do too many of these videos and sync up the music the way I did. Also I agree that this is far more different than portraiture, though I'm practicing that to improve my lighting skills.

 

[tirediron]

The images from a booth like this will be of a very different style than the ones I do, but that's (or should be) the only difference. They still need to be properly lit, properly posed, etc, etc... In fact, I would venture that this is a step more difficult than "formal" portraiture because the clients are going to have a great deal more freedom and you have to incorporate props as well.

 

[soho192]

Also, drunk....don't forget drunk

 

[tirediron]

Also, drunk....don't forget drunk

True, adding yet another level of difficulty!

 

[desertrattm2r12]

I don't know a thing about modern photo booths but I will gladly venture an opinion. I suppose you could sell a camp, not-very-good photography booth as an wild and crazy idea to some people. But what you need to determine is exactly what level of professionalism the clients will expect.
I was involved with a theatre group who did a bit on stage where musicians pretended to play badly. Some friends who were in show biz told them it wasn't working. "If you're going to be bad, you have to be good," is what they said.
As an aside, I knew a bright young woman who wrote what she called "musical puns." I have a tin ear but everyone around me in a cabaret where she was playing the piano was roaring with laughter. I guess you could say she was bad but she was good.