Portraits, weddings, etc. How much to charge????

Sharkbait · Feb 3, 2004

Okay, so after turning our website 'pro' (actually more like semi-pro), my wife and I have been inundated with co-workers and friends wanting to hire us for family portraits and such.

How the heck much do I charge for that kind of thing????

bogleric · Feb 4, 2004

I know a few people who do this on the side and it really depends if you are shooting film or digital. Many have a flat rate per roll plus prints and others charge an hourly rate or a hybrid of the two.

If you are doing digital shots I would recommend an hourly rate and then cost plus 3 - 5% for the prints while you are starting out. Keep in mind normal portrait packages at a photo studio range from $1700 to $3000. I paid $2000 for mine but the same package today is $2500 and includes nothing additional.

To start out and get some business you may want to charge $100 - $150 per hour plus prints and guarantee you will take at least 200 - 300 shots of the wedding and reception.

I hope this helps, but alot of it depends upon the area in which you live and how much business you would like to profit.

Sharkbait · Feb 4, 2004

bogleric said:
I know a few people who do this on the side and it really depends if you are shooting film or digital. Many have a flat rate per roll plus prints and others charge an hourly rate or a hybrid of the two.

If you are doing digital shots I would recommend an hourly rate and then cost plus 3 - 5% for the prints while you are starting out. Keep in mind normal portrait packages at a photo studio range from $1700 to $3000. I paid $2000 for mine but the same package today is $2500 and includes nothing additional.

To start out and get some business you may want to charge $100 - $150 per hour plus prints and guarantee you will take at least 200 - 300 shots of the wedding and reception.

I hope this helps, but alot of it depends upon the area in which you live and how much business you would like to profit.

Yes, thank you; that's EXACTLY the kind of info I was looking for!

If/when I do a wedding, do I need a contract of some sort?

Dew · Feb 4, 2004

i would recommend a contract for weddings and a down payment up front to set a date ... we've done one small wedding so far (5 hrs) and it was exhausting ... we thought about doing more, but the hubby talked me out of it after doing some research :lol:

.. i asked, "why is it that photographers that do weddings arent doing it anymore?" :lol:

anywho, charging for portraits depends on "the going rate" where u live .. in New York City, everything is expensive .. i started out at $120 per hour and the hubby thought it was time to raise the rates to $250 (which is still pretty cheap to New York standards) ... by mid year, im gonna raise them again to $350 per session

... which is about "normal" or closer to the higher price for NYC (a girls gotta get some self-esteem sooner or later :lol:

)

but i would start somewhere in the middle .. if ur too cheap, their gonna think u do cheap work ... i've seen your portfolio .. its solid, u do great work ... charge'em for it :wink: