Political candidate photography question

forevercaptured · Sep 19, 2011

I am fairly new to photography and love what I do. Recently, a local Magistrate messaged me and asked me if I was interested in being her photographer. I have never even considered being a candidate photographer. I am a wedding/family photographer, but I do not want to pass up this opportunity. I just have no idea what I would charge or how I should approach this. Can someone point me in the right direction or have some advice? Thank you in advance for any help I may receive.

CCericola · Sep 19, 2011

I think you would charge by the hour for something like this. Do you have time to be at every function the candidate attends? If it will cut into your regular business you need to calculate that in as well.

forevercaptured · Sep 19, 2011

I believe she just wants some photos done at a couple of locations in one day. I just didnt know how I should handle it since it is not just a regular photo shoot.

c.cloudwalker · Sep 19, 2011

CCericola said:
I think you would charge by the hour for something like this. Do you have time to be at every function the candidate attends? If it will cut into your regular business you need to calculate that in as well.

Wait a minute... we don't even know what this "candidate" wants done.

Not that I don't agree with you if this person wants to be followed like a shadow but what if she only wants one (1) portrait...

For all we know, that's all she wants and the question should be one of usage rights and fees and nothing more. The other question of course is what does "local" mean?

KmH · Sep 19, 2011

In essence, the candidate wants commercial photos to use for advertising and promotion.

The pricing model for commercial photography is based on selling usage rights to the photos you make, and is nothing like the pricing model for retail photography (weddings, portraits, seniors, families, events, etc).

You would need to know what media types and length of time the candidate would want to use the photos for.

After my creation fee, I usually charge a percentage of the total media buy. If the media buy is small I get a high %, and as the total media buy gets larger I reduce my percentage.

christian.rudman · Sep 19, 2011

If it is going to be minimal but requires you to travel around to photograph her where she pleases, charge your base fee plus on-location charge. You should be charging at least the same for your studio stuff, plus extra for travel and hassle. Not to mention a PITA fee for being a politician. I personally do a base fee that includes two hours for on-location, and would be charging additionally for a retainer fee. Politicians can be flakey and time-consuming, and having those extra little charges up front will protect you for taking time out of your business to serve her, especially if she happens to cancel or have something else come up.

If it's going to be much more involved than that, think about per-event pricing for debates, speeches, etc. Don't skimp, they will just be taking money out of your tax-paying pocket later.

and +1 for KmH's points.