Pricing question - Photos for restaurant

[lisa_13]

I've been asked by a local restaurant to photograph their sandwiches, about 25 different types. They just want each sandwich to be plated and photographed on a plain white background, for use on their website only. Any ideas about what I should be charging for this? Also should I quote them a rate per sandwich, or just give them a day rate? Thanks in advance as I am new to pricing in this area.

 

[IgsEMT]

PM sent.

 

[lisa_13]

PM sent.

Ya sure about that? I didn't get one!

 

[IgsEMT]

It's there, give it few mins

 

[tirediron]

What is your CoDB for the time it would take to do this?

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Your cost of doing business, your cost of goods sold, your market and your business plan (specifically, your profit margin) are the ONLY way to set your prices. Certainly not what anonymous people on an internet forum think.

I seriously don't know why so many people ask us what they should charge.

 

[KmH]

You may want to invest in some commerical usage licensing software because pricing varies by market area, and Boston is a more expensive market than central Iowa is.
fotoQuote ? Stock and Assignment Photography Price Guide
I also recommend you visit www.ASMP.org and on the left click on Business Resources.

After charging my creative fee for making the photographs, I licensed web site usage (non-exclusive) of my photographs by size and time -3 months, 6 months and 1 yr.

Online photo usage at up to 400x400 px was $35 for 3 months usage/photo. Up to 600x600 px was $50 for 3 months usage/photo. Licensing fees for larger than 600x600 were determined on a as needed basis.

For 1 yr at up to 400x400 px the license fee was $115, and for up to 600x600 px the 1yr license fee was $165.

For 25 photos I would give a price break on the usage licensing depending on the length of time the client wanted to use the photos. A restaurant would likely want to use the same photos for several years.

While I would not license the photos for longer than 1 year at a time, I would quote the client (in writing) prices for a second and 3rd year of usage. Any usage beyond year 3 would continue at 3rd year pricing.

 

[amolitor]

... your market ... plan ... are the ONLY way to set your prices

Arguably, asking people on the internet what you should charge constitutes market research. An important part of developing a business plan is finding out what similar or related products are selling for.

I seriously don't know why so many people on TPF think that anyone asking a business related question is a moron.

 

[cgipson1]

... your market ... plan ... are the ONLY way to set your prices

Arguably, asking people on the internet what you should charge constitutes market research. An important part of developing a business plan is finding out what similar or related products are selling for.

I seriously don't know why so many people on TPF think that anyone asking a business related question is a moron.

And CODB has nothing to do with it, right? And if HER market is TOTALLY different than MY market? How are my market prices pertinent to her at all? Does Image quality enter into the equation at all? Should she really charge what I would charge?

AND if she is already doing commercial shoots... she SHOULD already HAVE a business plan (and business license, and tax number, and insurance, etc, etc....), not developing it after she has already contracted for a shoot.

 

[ceejtank]

Your cost of doing business, your cost of goods sold, your market and your business plan (specifically, your profit margin) are the ONLY way to set your prices. Certainly not what anonymous people on an internet forum think.

I seriously don't know why so many people ask us what they should charge.

I think it's to get more an idea of how you personally went about setting prices for things. For example, I am comfortable with setting event prices, if I'm shooting a party, MMA fight, etc. But for something I've never priced before, I would want some input on how someone else priced it, regardless of my CODB for it. I think asking if theyd do it by a day cost, vs doing it per pic is a reasonable question in this case.

 

[tirediron]

...Arguably, asking people on the internet what you should charge constitutes market research. An important part of developing a business plan is finding out what similar or related products are selling for.

Yes... I suppose, but the market price for a three hour wedding shoot in central NYC is probably going to be somewhat different than that of similar work in rural North Dakota, at least in part because the photographer's CODB is vastly different in the two areas. For market research to be relevant, the markets have to be similar.

...I seriously don't know why so many people on TPF think that anyone asking a business related question is a moron.

No one referred to the OP as a "moron", HOWEVER, there's a distinct difference between saying, "I've been contracted to do a shoot for ..... Based on my CODB/COGS/etc, it should price out at $.... Does that seem reasonable?" or "I normally price work of this nature by the hour, but because of ..... I'm thinking of quoting for the whole job, does that make sense?" and questions such as that posted by the OP, which loosely translates to, "Tell me how much to charge!". This indicates that the OP hasn't done any of his/her own work and really has no idea what they're doing, and probably shouldn't be undertaking commercial work.

 

[tirediron]

...I think it's to get more an idea of how you personally went about setting prices for things. For example, I am comfortable with setting event prices, if I'm shooting a party, MMA fight, etc. But for something I've never priced before, I would want some input on how someone else priced it, regardless of my CODB for it. I think asking if theyd do it by a day cost, vs doing it per pic is a reasonable question in this case.

I agree, that is a valid question, but the OP asked two questions. One was how to charge, the other was WHAT to charge.

 

[ceejtank]

...I think it's to get more an idea of how you personally went about setting prices for things. For example, I am comfortable with setting event prices, if I'm shooting a party, MMA fight, etc. But for something I've never priced before, I would want some input on how someone else priced it, regardless of my CODB for it. I think asking if theyd do it by a day cost, vs doing it per pic is a reasonable question in this case.

I agree, that is a valid question, but the OP asked two questions. One was how to charge, the other was WHAT to charge.

Agreed. What to charge is difficult to answer for all reasons mentioned above, but some guidance on how to charge I feel is acceptable. As I have never shot this type of shooting, I can't help. If I were to do it though, based on what I've read... my personal strategy would be the same as licensing a photo to a website for a given amount of time.

I would say "You have license to use these x photos for x amount of time for your website solely, I retain copyright, but you have exclusive rights to use them".. that would generate you some more $$ and I would charge a fixed amount per photo. That is how I (never having done this type of shooting before) would go about it.

 

[Derrel]

I wonder just how different sandwiches on a plate are in say Portland, as opposed to New York city? I bet the sammiches in NYC are louder, and more brash than those in PDX. I bet it costs a LOT more to schlep a couple lightstands and lights on the bus in NYC than it does in PDX. I hear tell that 8-gig Compact Flash cards in NYC are like $100 each! I bet the CODB in NYC is like 3.56789432 times higher than the cost of doing business in Portland. Or Vancouver, either in Vancouver WA or Vancouver, British Columbia. And besides, the going rate for shooting sandwiches on plates for web site use is a closely-guarded TOP SECRET LEVEL bit of insider information that NOBODY IN HIS OR HER RIGHT MIND would dare discuss on TPF!

 

[tirediron]

I wonder just how different sandwiches on a plate are in say Portland, as opposed to New York city? I bet the sammiches in NYC are louder, and more brash than those in PDX. I bet it costs a LOT more to schlep a couple lightstands and lights on the bus in NYC than it does in PDX. I hear tell that 8-gig Compact Flash cards in NYC are like $100 each! I bet the CODB in NYC is like 3.56789432 times higher than the cost of doing business in Portland. Or Vancouver, either in Vancouver WA or Vancouver, British Columbia. And besides, the going rate for shooting sandwiches on plates for web site use is a closely-guarded TOP SECRET LEVEL bit of insider information that NOBODY IN HIS OR HER RIGHT MIND would dare discuss on TPF!

I won't pretend to know, or even guess what the differences in COL and CODB business would be between a major centre such as New York City, and a small rural location like North Gumboot Junction, SD. I DO know however that between Vancouver, British Columbia (a major centre by Canadian standards) and my area (a small town 25 minutes west of Victoria) that costs such as rent, vehicle insurance and fuel are significantly different, and therefore would result in a much different CODB for photographing the same plate of sammies.

I don't see it as any sort of secret; my rates are there for the asking, and if it's of any use to the OP, my rate for doing the work would be $100/hour for the work plus licensing which would of course be use-dependant.