Senior and Family Pictures

[canonbraden]

Alright so I've decided that I'm gonna start doing senior and family pictures. I'm new to this, and in NO means a professional. I don't know what to charge or how many pictures to give the client. Sessions will be half an hour, 45 minutes, or 1 hour. Like I said, I'm no professional so I would like to have lower prices. I know there will be a sitting and basic editing fee.

 

[tirediron]

Okay, point #1: Charging for services = professional. Period. There's a LOT more to "doing" pictures than just setting up a facebook page and offering $150 CDs with 25 images on them.

First of all, do you have the right equipment and skill to take this on? It's one thing to do shots for family and friends, but the whole dynamic is altered a LOT when money changes hands.

Before you hang up your sign, make sure your legal ducks are in a row. Business license, insurance, tax #, contracts (reviewed by a lawyer) etc.

Once you've done that, draft a business plan; include all of your costs such as those mentioned above, equipment, travel, etc. Once you've figured out that, determined a target market and come up with an advertising plan, THEN you will know exactly how much to charge.

As for how many pictures, that's up to you. I offer up to six with my basic ($175) package and go up form there.

 

[Trever1t]

Live your dream man but realize it's a fantasy. If you are admittedly are not skilled enough to say you are Professional then why do you think you should be charging people money?

 

[orljustin]

Trollllllll...

 

[Rafterman]

Trollllllll...

Yes, because 80-posts in just 4-months clearly makes her a troll. :roll:

I'm new to this, and in NO means a professional.

Then I recommend you don't start charging people for your photos. It would be like me saying "I'm new to construction, and not a professional, but I own a hammer and some other basic tools, so I plan to start charging people for home renovations." See how wrong that sounds?

I don't know what to charge or how many pictures to give the client.

Then clearly more research is needed before you start charging people. No one here can give you a straight up "charge them this much for this many pictures" answer, because it varies from person-to-person, market-to-market, and job-to-job.

Sessions will be half an hour, 45 minutes, or 1 hour.

Is this actual time shooting, the time you are on-site (set-up, break-down, etc.) or total time including travel?

Like I said, I'm no professional so I would like to have lower prices. I know there will be a sitting and basic editing fee.

Lower than what? Again, all that depends on a variety of factors. If you incorporate and get a tax ID as suggested above, you'll be paying a LOT of money in taxes and fees, so if you don't charge enough, your "lower prices" will basically leave you working just to break even. I believe when you do something for zero monetary gain, they call it a "hobby" or "volunteering."

Just think long and hard before you dive in. Take your time and look into all that is involved with starting/running a legitimate small business in this country. I've had a DSLR for almost 3-years and have been taking pictures in one format or another for over 20, but even if I decided TODAY that I wanted to start a photography business, even part-time, I'd still be months away from making that a reality because of all the steps I would need to take first.

 

[runnah]

Live your dream man but realize it's a fantasy. If you are admittedly are not skilled enough to say you are Professional then why do you think you should be charging people money?

This.

Every professional has their doubts and that is normal, but most of the time you should have no doubt that you are going to kickass at what ever you are going to do.

 

[orljustin]

"Yes, because 80-posts in just 4-months clearly makes her a troll." Troll posts aren't limited to newbs.

"I don't know anything about shoots for money, but I'm going to start taking pictures of people and charging money."

actually, with all the similar posts here, I'd say more satire than troll.

 

[KmH]

I think 'her' is a he. I also get the impression the OP is still in high school? If so, and an un-emancipated minor, his/her parents would be legally liable.

We all have to start somewhere, but there are some basic elements needed to start any kind of a business.
Photographer skill/equipment is really not a factor. It is the buyer's responsibility to determine if the photographer's product is worth the price.
Mediocre photographers that have excellent business, marketing, and salesmanship skills can prosper while a gifted photographer that produces stunning images but that has zero business acumen can't make a dime.

Tirediron hit the biggies - business plan, legal business (local & state), business liability insurance, well written contract, accounting records, taxes (local, state (sales, unemployment, & use), federal), etc.

Utah State Tax Commission - Tax Info for Businesses
Starting a Business - Business - Utah.gov
https://secure.utah.gov/osbr-user/user/municipalities.html

FWIW - Each hour of shooting time, generally requires 3 hours of pre and post shoot work.
The time factor includes initial client contact and shoot scheduling/paperwork, pre-shoot set up/travel, the shoot itself, post shoot tear down/travel, post shoot image management/editing, more paperwork, delivery of the products the client initially paid for, sales of additional product (upselling), more paper work, etc.

More of a retail photographer's time is spent doing business tasks than doing photography tasks.

In round numbers, to sustain a photography business without additional outside income (like from a spouse, 'day job', parents) and actually make money, an average sale of about $1000 is required.

 

[Derrel]

>>>SNIP>>>Photographer skill/equipment is really not a factor. It is the buyer's responsibility to determine if the photographers product is worth the price.
Mediocre photographers that have excellent business, marketing, and salesmanship skills can prosper while a gifted photographer that produces stunning images but that has zero business acumen can't make a dime.>SNIP

KmH has made these two points many,many times here on TPF. There is plenty of room for mediocre and beginner shooters in today's world. Perhaps canonbradon (the OP) can get some really simple-simple senior shoots and some really basic family BBQ or family reunion shoots off of Craigslist or through his network of friends and family? Maybe shoot a few really simple gigs? I dunno...a friend of mine shot his first-ever paying gig with a borrowed flash and some modest equipment, and it turned out decently...he was perhaps "not ready", but he pulled it off.
I shot my first wedding in 7th grade, with a Cosmorex SE and a 58mm f/2 lens...and NOTHING else...and it was a disaster....oh, wait...I'm muddling the issues here...

 

[canonbraden]

Yes, because 80-posts in just 4-months clearly makes her a troll. :roll:

Then I recommend you don't start charging people for your photos. It would be like me saying "I'm new to construction, and not a professional, but I own a hammer and some other basic tools, so I plan to start charging people for home renovations." See how wrong that sounds?

Then clearly more research is needed before you start charging people. No one here can give you a straight up "charge them this much for this many pictures" answer, because it varies from person-to-person, market-to-market, and job-to-job.

Is this actual time shooting, the time you are on-site (set-up, break-down, etc.) or total time including travel?

Lower than what? Again, all that depends on a variety of factors. If you incorporate and get a tax ID as suggested above, you'll be paying a LOT of money in taxes and fees, so if you don't charge enough, your "lower prices" will basically leave you working just to break even. I believe when you do something for zero monetary gain, they call it a "hobby" or "volunteering."

Just think long and hard before you dive in. Take your time and look into all that is involved with starting/running a legitimate small business in this country. I've had a DSLR for almost 3-years and have been taking pictures in one format or another for over 20, but even if I decided TODAY that I wanted to start a photography business, even part-time, I'd still be months away from making that a reality because of all the steps I would need to take first.

I'm not starting a business. 16 year olds don't won businesses or pay taxes..
Thank you very much for all the input though it helped a lot.

 

[canonbraden]

"Yes, because 80-posts in just 4-months clearly makes her a troll." Troll posts aren't limited to newbs.

"I don't know anything about shoots for money, but I'm going to start taking pictures of people and charging money."

actually, with all the similar posts here, I'd say more satire than troll.

How am I trolling? I have a question..

 

[canonbraden]

I think 'her' is a he. I also get the impression the OP is still in high school? If so, and an un-emancipated minor, his/her parents would be legally liable.

We all have to start somewhere, but there are some basic elements needed to start any kind of a business.
Photographer skill/equipment is really not a factor. It is the buyer's responsibility to determine if the photographer's product is worth the price.
Mediocre photographers that have excellent business, marketing, and salesmanship skills can prosper while a gifted photographer that produces stunning images but that has zero business acumen can't make a dime.

Tirediron hit the biggies - business plan, legal business (local & state), business liability insurance, well written contract, accounting records, taxes (local, state (sales, unemployment, & use), federal), etc.

Utah State Tax Commission - Tax Info for Businesses
Starting a Business - Business - Utah.gov
https://secure.utah.gov/osbr-user/user/municipalities.html

FWIW - Each hour of shooting time, generally requires 3 hours of pre and post shoot work.
The time factor includes initial client contact and shoot scheduling/paperwork, pre-shoot set up/travel, the shoot itself, post shoot tear down/travel, post shoot image management/editing, more paperwork, delivery of the products the client initially paid for, sales of additional product (upselling), more paper work, etc.

More of a retail photographer's time is spent doing business tasks than doing photography tasks.

In round numbers, to sustain a photography business without additional outside income (like from a spouse, 'day job', parents) and actually make money, an average sale of about $1000 is required.

Thank you for being cool about this. Many people have come off with a bad impression. I think you realize what I'm talking about. I'm still in highschool, I'm just doing this to pick up a few extra bucks to pay for my gas and phone and save for college. I'm still going to put hard work in this and I'm not gonna do it ONLY for money, but for more experience.

 

[canonbraden]

KmH has made these two points many,many times here on TPF. There is plenty of room for mediocre and beginner shooters in today's world. Perhaps canonbradon (the OP) can get some really simple-simple senior shoots and some really basic family BBQ or family reunion shoots off of Craigslist or through his network of friends and family? Maybe shoot a few really simple gigs? I dunno...a friend of mine shot his first-ever paying gig with a borrowed flash and some modest equipment, and it turned out decently...he was perhaps "not ready", but he pulled it off.
I shot my first wedding in 7th grade, with a Cosmorex SE and a 58mm f/2 lens...and NOTHING else...and it was a disaster....oh, wait...I'm muddling the issues here...

Exactly. I'm just trying to start off simple to get more experience, then I'll actually start doing it for the money.

 

[tirediron]

Alright so I've decided that I'm gonna start doing senior and family pictures. I'm new to this, and in NO means a professional. I don't know what to charge or how many pictures to give the client. Sessions will be half an hour, 45 minutes, or 1 hour. Like I said, I'm no professional so I would like to have lower prices. I know there will be a sitting and basic editing fee.

I'm not starting a business. 16 year olds don't won businesses or pay taxes.

Ummm... charging for services is pretty much the definition of a business. Granted, as a minor, you can probably get away with more than an adult might, that does not mean that it's right, or even legal. I would also point out that your local municipality and the IRS may or may not care about your age. In short, it's better to start off the way you mean to continue.

 

[KmH]

I'm not starting a business. 16 year olds don't won businesses or pay taxes..

Sure they do. Both Utah and the feds expect 16 year olds that earn enough income to pay income and federal social security taxes.

The same goes for state use taxes and a business collecting and forwarding state sales taxes to the state.