Product Photography pricing

tr0gd0o0r · Mar 25, 2004

A friend of mine has been given the task of creating a website for a lady in town who is planning on starting an online business selling motorcycle gear for women. (clothes and stuff i think). Anyway, this lady asked my friend if she knew anyone who could photograph the products for the webpage. Unfortunately, my friend was a little late and the lady already made some initial arrangements, but after the first shoot she may call me and get me to do the photographs from there on out.

Anyway, I'm having a real tough time deciding a reasonable price for each image. I know she doesn't have a lot of money to spend, and is looking for students to do the work so we can build portfolios, make a little money, and it will be cheaper for her. There isn't really any cost to me since i shoot digital and the photos are going on the web so there would be no prints (except for the camera, which i got for christmas so isn't really my cost either). I will probably have to buy some sort of backdrop to match colors of the website though. Since this would be a continuous thing everytime she gets new merchandise, I don't want to charge a whole lot, and i am thinking the best way to charge would be per photograph. What do you guys think would be a reasonable price for these photos?

Jovian · Mar 25, 2004

it all boils down to you. Noone can tell you how much your time, effort, and expertise are worth. I know that's not what you are wanting to hear...but that's the best advice I can give you.

~Andrew~

jack · Mar 25, 2004

tr0g

Q will the clothes be modelled or will they be photographed flat (?)
in this scenario (if shooting rollfilm), i would consider it is a goodwill,
TFP/mutual situation. I would require only film costs and neg scanning
costs. i would waive the photoshop hours of review and post-production.
I would have a rapport with the businesswoman where 'copyright'
and 'licensing' wouldnt be an issue.

If you are building relationships on goodwill and good , to establish
yourself, it would be profitable for you to actually charge nothing if you
do this with a digital cam (and its local). do as good a job as if you were
being paid $150/hour. i bet if you did this right, it would do a lot for the
future.

:0)

markc · Mar 25, 2004

I don't know what you should charge, but I personally wouldn't do it for free. It sets a bad precident that can be hard to shake. If it's a model and you want to practice, exchanging prints for time is a long-honored practice, but there is still an exchange.

Your time alone is worth money. Don't undersell yourself. That's one of the biggest mistakes photographers make when first getting into the market.

tr0gd0o0r · Mar 25, 2004

I thought about doing it for free, but she is paying other students here for their work for her, so why shouldn't i get paid. I don't know aobut the model thing or not. The dollar amount that i have in my head at the moment is $10-20 per image (depending on how many images she gives me). I do agree with the good rapport and what not and mutual benefit, which is the reason i want to keep the price pretty low.

Jovian · Mar 25, 2004

just keep in mind you can build excellent rapport while still charging for your time at least. I think it's Mary Ellen Mark who charges 120,000 dollars a day for her work...don't go that far, but don't undersell yourself either

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

~Andrew~

jack · Mar 25, 2004

good luck with it lol

jack · Mar 25, 2004

i guess if its $10-20 an image then .. if she has x amount of catalogue items then thats the budget. shoot 2 or 3 versions of each item (bracket , w/o filter whatever) and sell her one of each for $15.

urameatball · Mar 25, 2004

I hate product shots in general unless they're interesting stuff.

back to topic...
If you're just starting off, it wouldn't really be fair to charge pro level pricing so I think $20-$40 per product would be in order. It depends on how she wants the photos done, if you're taking a pic of a jacket, that's easily done and you don't need to do much work in this case; but if it's modelled and matched with numerous other accessories, prices should go up.

You can also trade your cheap price in with a link to your website or a friendly mention of your name on the website to promote yourself. I'm sure with affordable pricing, the owner wouldn't mind mentioning your name in your photographs.

GerryDavid · Mar 26, 2004

urameatball said:
I hate product shots in general unless they're interesting stuff.

back to topic...
If you're just starting off, it wouldn't really be fair to charge pro level pricing so I think $20-$40 per product would be in order. It depends on how she wants the photos done, if you're taking a pic of a jacket, that's easily done and you don't need to do much work in this case; but if it's modelled and matched with numerous other accessories, prices should go up.

You can also trade your cheap price in with a link to your website or a friendly mention of your name on the website to promote yourself. I'm sure with affordable pricing, the owner wouldn't mind mentioning your name in your photographs.

Wow, $10-$20 a picture? I was thinking $20 an hour, hehe. Then again I havent done this and I also dont have any idea of what to charge. What do pro's charge? I think you said pro's charge $20-$40 a picture but I could have misread that. and im also assuming that a pro would take a bunch of pictures of the same thing to give the customer a variety of choices of each.

Something I would work into the agreement would be a credit line for each photograph or something, or something at the bottom of the site.saying who took the photographs.

thing with charging $10-$20 a picture is some other student may be glad to do it for $20 an hour since it would be 3 times or more than minimum wage. But then again its not constant work, just here and there.

markc · Mar 26, 2004

Another thing to consider is if it's going to be "work for hire" or not. Normally the photographer retains copyright and the client is going to need to give photo credit and post the copyright notice anyway, whever they use it.

If it's work-for-hire, then you give all rights to the photo to the client and they can do whatever they want with it. You should charge a lot more for work-for-hire jobs, since you lose all rights to the image. This means that you can't even put it on your own website without the clients permission, and they might even charge you to allow you to do so.

Be very careful with work-for-hire contracts. This probably won't come into play here, but if you are contracted to shoot a flower garden, for instance, and decide to shoot "just some for yourself" while you are there on their time, you can get sued big-time if you end up not giving them the image and using it yourself for something. You'll also never get another work-for-hire job again.

If it's not work for hire, make sure you state in the contract what rights the client does get. If it's just for the website, then it should be stated that they only get on-line rights for the single site. If they want to print a catalog and use the images, the need to bargain with you again.

You can be as free as you want with giving them rights, but just remember you can't retract them once you sign the deal. If you give them unlimited use for $10, then that's what you are stuck with forever.

Cuervo79 · Mar 26, 2004

$20 bucks for a digital photo, hmm as markc put it, "it all depends on the work", here in guatemala I haven't charged $20 for a photo (not even 11x14 prints).

(I'm new so I don't know too much about you, or your camera) but digi photos with just the incorporated flash don't look too profesional, (unless using natural light) it would be good if you gave more details on the work the woman is looking for, and what work you are going to present her with.
(don't want to sound all grumpy and negative)

I worked with a friend on some posters were he took the photos with his "pro" sony camera (can't remember the model, the one that has the big carl zies lens on the side) and the bad thing about them was the use of the built in flash they looked totally unprofesional and also you have to be sure you get the depth of field right.
I've taken some product shots myself wuth my film slr, and the depth of field was a Biotch to get right.

On the copyrights and all that is very important, although if the woman is hiring students, if you go all "this is my contract" she might go with someone else. Just make something simple about the use of the photos you take, giving her the right to use her in her website only is a good and just take on it.
Meh I'll stop now

tr0gd0o0r · Mar 26, 2004

these shots may be work for hire or not, i'm not really sure. I know a friend of mine created a logo for her and then sold the rights. If she wants to continue this practice, it would be fine with me. I'm not too worried about keeping the rights, just as long as I can get credit for them so i can use it for a portfolio in the future.

Also, regarding the built-in flash, I have access to a studio, so that won't be a problem (finding a background to match the website on the other hand. )

Also to clear up what i meant by the charge. When I said 10-20 per image the plan is to take lots of shots at varying exposure, angles, etc and then let her choose whichever she likes the best and that price for the image she chooses.

markc · Mar 26, 2004

tr0gd0o0r said:
I'm not too worried about keeping the rights, just as long as I can get credit for them so i can use it for a portfolio in the future.

That's cool. Just make sure that's in the contract, otherwise you can't.

craig · Mar 26, 2004

I am sure that it will all work out. Keep in mind that gear should be charged for. If you have portable flashes and a muslin background etc the charge will be higher. If you are just bouncing natural light and using a Sheet the price will be lower.

Technically motorcycle gear may not be that tough. Be scared when you get into huge rugs and reflective kitchenware. It will definitely be easier having someone modeling the clothes. (maybe suggest that to her). If the merchandise has to be shot flat be prepared shoot down on it. That can get tricky. You may need a tripod that can extend to 8 feet or there abouts. Bring a level to "zero out" the camera. Find out exactly how much merch she has. You will need extra batteries and exposures if you will be shooting for 10 hours.

I find that clients can be tricky to say the least. The ol' I don't have any money ploy is the trickiest. Explain to the client that these photos are extremely important to her sales. Anything below par is not acceptable. Sometimes that can get expensive.