Should I..

Kibii · Aug 18, 2016

Should I charge someone who wants me to take photos for them? Keep in mind I'm just a amateur photographer! I saw one photographer posted a screenshot of one page on web saying that amateur photographers should ask for money. And if I consider myself a photographer that I shouldn't do it for free. I just can't ask for money my best friend, but other people? Should I?

I mean, I want to charge but I don't know. I'm kinda scared if someone says something to me like my photos are not good enough for them to pay or something like that.. :/ Money would help me get new equipment also! What do you think? And how much should I charge? Per hours of per photo?

Sorry if this thread is in wrong place on forum. I'm new here

Designer · Aug 18, 2016

Welcome!

In this country, accepting money is the trigger to report your income and pay taxes on the income. I will advise you to not accept money until you have officially decided to own a business. If you really want to start a photography business, you should inquire with your government as to the legal requirements, write a business plan, and obtain professional assistance for taxes, insurance, legal forms, etc.

tirediron · Aug 18, 2016

In addition to all the government regulations, there's a whole 'nother dynamic that comes in to play when you accept money for services from friends. If they like them, great, if they don't.... well, not so great. My suggestion would be (assuming that the actual job isn't a huge one) you do it and tell the friend that if he/she is happy with it, they can buy you a nice meal or take you out for a couple of drinks.

Dave Colangelo · Aug 18, 2016

There are a few things to consider in this case, but I would say, if some one feels your work is good enough to pay you for it, then by all means go for it. If you enjoy photography why not make a business out of it!

Now ill throw some completely contradictory advice out. Deciding to do a task and excepting compensation is a complex question and in the end of the day, your choice. You should understand that when doing something like this there can be ramifications to your actions. When I take photographs (generally speaking) I take them for myself, people have approached me asking to get prints of work I have done and they have enjoyed and deals can be made around that, however I have yet to be asked to do anything up front. The issue in photography is the subjective "is it good" problem. In many other worlds outcomes are a bit more concrete (you pay for a fixed amount of good and they are delivered etc.). You must remember that in this case you are now working for someone and sometimes you will need to do what they ask. This in turn may impede your creativity a bit but they are the client and they are paying for the work this can turn people off from contract/paid work when they are first starting.

I say go for it but maybe don't charge that much money as its a first job. There is value in sacrificing a bit for the first client to build up your name and portfolio but don't give it all away for free.

Regards
Dave

Kibii · Aug 18, 2016

I take photos for myself and I post them on my Instagram and Facebook and a lot of people inbox me asking if I can take photos of, well of their pets. Because I'm mainly taking photos of pets (action, dog sports and portraits). I say yes most of the time... But when I saw that screenshot I was just curious.. Oh. And I don't want people to give me for example 50$ for photos, maybe like a 2-3$? Is that okay? And don't consider myself a professional photographer of course but lot of people ask me (from my friends to totally unknown persons) to take photos for them.. And I'm not sure should I charge or not? :/

Designer · Aug 18, 2016

Kibii said:
Oh. And I don't want people to give me for example 50$ for photos, maybe like a 2-3$? Is that okay? And don't consider myself a professional photographer of course but lot of people ask me (from my friends to totally unknown persons) to take photos for them.. And I'm not sure should I charge or not? :/

I don't know what was written in the screenshot you mentioned, but here's my advice:

$2 -3 is not enough. If you're going to charge, you should at least recoup your costs. Never give away the electronic files. If you have been doing this with the pets, you can continue to give them away for free, but when you decide to charge money, things change. Relationships change. Suddenly, you are now the "employee" in their eyes, and as such, you should do what you have agreed to do. I would tell them they will be buying prints of their choice of size, etc., but that you send the file to the printer, not them.

So find out how much it costs to print your files, add in your costs (your time, your equipment, your travel expenses, etc.) and tell your customer how much it will cost for the prints. If a print costs $7, I would tell them (my guess here) each 8x10 print costs $10 plus postage. They pay you $10 for each one they want printed, and you order from the printer. When you get the prints, verify they are good, and drop them off.

Be aware that this is not the right way to get your business organized, but it's a start, and you will see what people are willing to pay for your services. Later you will charge more but this will get you started.

Kibii · Aug 18, 2016

Designer said:
Kibii said:

Oh. And I don't want people to give me for example 50$ for photos, maybe like a 2-3$? Is that okay? And don't consider myself a professional photographer of course but lot of people ask me (from my friends to totally unknown persons) to take photos for them.. And I'm not sure should I charge or not? :/

Click to expand...

I don't know what was written in the screenshot you mentioned, but here's my advice:

$2 -3 is not enough. If you're going to charge, you should at least recoup your costs. Never give away the electronic files. If you have been doing this with the pets, you can continue to give them away for free, but when you decide to charge money, things change. Relationships change. Suddenly, you are now the "employee" in their eyes, and as such, you should do what you have agreed to do. I would tell them they will be buying prints of their choice of size, etc., but that you send the file to the printer, not them.

So find out how much it costs to print your files, add in your costs (your time, your equipment, your travel expenses, etc.) and tell your customer how much it will cost for the prints. If a print costs $7, I would tell them (my guess here) each 8x10 print costs $10 plus postage. They pay you $10 for each one they want printed, and you order from the printer. When you get the prints, verify they are good, and drop them off.

Be aware that this is not the right way to get your business organized, but it's a start, and you will see what people are willing to pay for your services. Later you will charge more but this will get you started.

Thanks for the info! That's what I'm looking for! Many of people who I photographed told me to send them photos via e-mail.. I also post process photos after and it takes time.. and they are all like "can't you send me now?"... So with that comes another question, for how long should they wait for their photos?

vintagesnaps · Aug 18, 2016

That sounds like you're doing a good bit of work for free. If they aren't paying for it then why do you need a timeframe for them to get their pictures? Seems like that should get done when/if you have time - they aren't paying for it so they should wait til you have time to do it. Seems like they're taking advantage of you being nice enough to give them photos, but they probably aren't thinking about the time and work involved especially if a number of people are all asking for photos.

I think it can be OK to take some photos for family or a friend, but people asking online and thru social media goes way beyond that. You'll probably need to find out where you live what would be involved in photography being done as a small business. If you decide not to do this as a business you probably need to find a way to let people know your photos are just for display and you aren't available to do photos for other people.

Specializing in pet photography might be a possibility for you. If you decide to start charging look up other photographers in your area and get an idea how much they charge so you're within range of the going rate. A couple of dollars or so seems way too low for the amount of time it takes.

Get informed about what you'll need to do if you start charging to develop this into a business. Decide if it seems workable or if you just want this to stay a hobby.

Dave442 · Aug 18, 2016

You don't want the work that will come with doing photos for $2-$3.
First they will want the photos the same day, then they will want to change something, and it goes on and on.

Designer laid it out. What I would do is take your costs and multiply that by 3 to get to a print value that will filter out those looking to take advantage of your time.

Designer · Aug 18, 2016

Kibii said:
.. how long should they wait for their photos?

How long until you finish them? You should never hand over unedited files. No files ever, and unedited is understood.

So let's say you agree to spend two hours taking photos, and you expect ten good shots to show them. You will spend about two hours selecting ten good shots and editing them, so now you're up to a total of four hours and you haven't received any money yet. See now why most photographers demand a sitting fee?

So let's say you've got ten good shots to show them, with minimal editing. (straighten, crop, WB, and sharpening) So they buy say five, pay you $50, and you send those five files to your printer. You've got 4 hours and $28 invested, so that is $24 "profit", which isn't really much profit, but it's a start. Besides, in the business world that would not be your actual profit anyway because I didn't subtract your rent, legal fees, insurance, taxes, travel expenses, etc. so you're lucky to see any money at all.

But hey! You've now got one paying customer! Let's hope they tell five more people about your wonderful service and affordable prices!

dpolston · Aug 18, 2016

Kibii said:
Should I charge someone who wants me to take photos for them? Keep in mind I'm just a amateur photographer! I saw one photographer posted a screenshot of one page on web saying that amateur photographers should ask for money. And if I consider myself a photographer that I shouldn't do it for free. I just can't ask for money my best friend, but other people? Should I?

I mean, I want to charge but I don't know. I'm kinda scared if someone says something to me like my photos are not good enough for them to pay or something like that.. :/ Money would help me get new equipment also! What do you think? And how much should I charge? Per hours of per photo?

Sorry if this thread is in wrong place on forum. I'm new here

I haven't been here in years and you're the first post I've seen.

I'd say yes! Charge them. What is your time worth? If you expect to eat lunch, do you expect to pay for your meal? Even being an amateur, you are providing a service they request. I don't expect that you should charge $500 an hour, but make it relent to your time. Is $15.00 an hour fair to you? $25?

Don't do it for free. Put some worth on yourself.

table1349 · Aug 18, 2016

Kibii said:
Should I charge someone who wants me to take photos for them?

If you are asking this question then the answer is no.

What is the tax situation where you live in regards to being paid for this. Have you consulted your tax professional in regards to making money from your hobby?

What is the state of your current Insurance? Is your gear insured, are you insured as a business, do you carry insurance if some one either two legged or 4 legged gets injured? Home owners insurance doesn't cover running a business, you, or your gear nor will it provide liability insurance.

What legal council have you spoken to? Have you drawn up and had your contract reviewed by council?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you were prepared to charge these are the kinds of questions you would have answers for.

Kibii · Aug 19, 2016

Thanks for replying everyone! So I know that I shouldn't charge if I don't have open business, that's illegal... But I hope in future I'll open my own business and maybe become a professional canine photographer so I can actually have price list... For now, I'll just take photos for myself

I think that's how I should do..

Designer · Aug 19, 2016

Kibii said:
So I know that I shouldn't charge if I don't have open business, that's illegal...

Depending on your local laws it may or may not actually be illegal. I think any of us will counsel you to talk with your local authorities to find out for sure. Same for tax reporting.

In my country, we could start up a new business, file the proper form for reporting business income and still pay less in taxes than before because we can deduct business-related expenses from the income, thereby reducing the total tax liability.

This works for a couple of years until either you make enough to pay tax or the IRS performs an audit on your tax return at which point you might have to pay additional tax and perhaps penalties. So that is why you need to talk to a professional tax attorney or certified public accountant. The fee involved in getting their best advice is far less than any potential penalties you might have to pay later.