Product Work

[Aska]

Hi,

I was recently offered a job to photograph products for a clothing store, so mainly shoes, shirts, sweaters, jeans. Since this will be an ongoing job as they get new things in all the time, Im not sure about how to set up a price. Is it better to work per hour or per session and how much is reasonable to ask for? I have not worked with products but Ive done my research and I'm sensing there will be a lot of time spent on just set-up. Any ideas for pricing rates?? Any tips will help! Thanks

 

[Sideburns]

full-time job kinda deal isn't it? So I'd say you could even be salaried...
Depends on how large the business is...if they have work for you all the time you could be put on their payroll with a yearly salary.

But you could also just charge per hour (with a minimum of so many hours) or something...

 

[Aska]

Its for a small independent store. Would you be able to suggest a pricing range per hour?

 

[holga girl]

Its for a small independent store. Would you be able to suggest a pricing range per hour?

for me this would depend on a lot of factors. are they providing the equipment and the place to shoot it? will each shoot require to to set up and break down the equipmentn or is there a space to leave it set up? do you have to do editing?

for most things my rate is $150 an hour, though i have dropped to as little as $50 an hour depending on how 'low maintenance' the job is and if i know i can get at least 3 hours out of it.

i will tell you this though, my husband is a graphic designer. when he was first getting started he got hooked up with a trophy house to shoot trophies and lay them out on a price flyer. since he was new to freelance, it was a small business and he didn't want to loose the job, he undercut himself at $25 an hour.

this worked out great for the first few flyers, but then the business wanted more and more of them, with greater detail which required more work. although this added work generated more hours, they were hours he was not able to spend on higher paying jobs. in short, with this particular business he had trouble raising his rate for them to his normal rate and eventually they parted ways.

had he set his price at what he was truly worth in the beginning, he may have had a life long client since the client would not have felt that jimmy was unnecessarily raising his rates. not sure if this situation is similar to yours at all, but i know it was helpful to me when it came time for me to set my price guidelines!

 

[Jeff Colburn]

The problem with billing by the hour is that the better you get, the faster you get, and the faster you get, the less you make. I would suggest charging by the job, and if the parameters of the job change down the road, then so does your pricing.

Have Fun,
Jeff

 

[craig]

Hard to say with so few details. Spill all the info on gear, location, time frame and final output.

Love & Bass

 

[Aska]

Basically, the shooting is done at my home. Someone drives over the clothing, shoes etc... and when Im done they come and pick it up so its quite convenient. I actually did the first shoot yesterday and it took me quite some time to set up and get the lighting right etc... but now that I know the basic set up and it will take me less time to shoot so maybe by hour isnt the best way to go. I was thinking per category pricing, Im still not quite sure.. :~

 

[craig]

Sounds like you are on your way to a good gig!!! If the merchandise is moving through fairly fast then a per shot deal may be the route to take. If you have to battle every shot then a per hour basis should be considered. Also be sure to include post processing.

Love & Bass