Unsure of price for mural

soylentgreen · May 22, 2007

Hello, everyone. I am quite new to the professional side of photography (avid amatuer for 2 years) and would appreciate any help you can part with in regards to an upcoming job I have. I am a graphic designer/ illustrator by trade and have been asked to photograph some computer hardware for three large murals in a distributor's showroom. Each wall will cover approximately 96"Hx160" wide. They would like large blow up photos to cover the entire expanse of the three walls and would only need me to photograph the equipment in a "macro" sort of style. Showing cropped-in close ups of components, network nodes, circuit boards, that sort of thing. The images will most likely be printed on a 54" vinyl printer to adhere to foamboard or the like and than slapped on the wall. How would one go about pricing for something like this? I am use to the standard fees of illustration and graphic design, where I charge hourly or by piece. I will also need to quote them for use if the images on website, catalogue, promotional items, etc. that they will probably use for marketing and advertising also. I figure it shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours to shoot what I need if that's a help. Thanks for your help.

tr0gd0o0r · May 23, 2007

I have no idea about the pricing on this, but the first thing that pops into my head is that those prints are really big. What type of camera are you going to be using? Are you sure it will be able to print that large?

Jeff Canes · May 23, 2007

You will need to get good close-ups of the items in the camera. Also shooting in RAW mode will help. Then upsize files in PS’s RAW editor. As far as the camera I’m guessing 8mpix would be the minimal. And you most have good lens

Heavy cropping in PS will not work for this because you will see a lot of noise.

Size only affects the cost or markup of the print. Your time shooting and editing should be about the same

soylentgreen · May 23, 2007

Thanks for the advice. I have a Canon 20D. I have a EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro lens along with a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS & EF 24-70 f/2.8 L. I have been able to print up to 36" wide with my photos at pretty good resolution. The client isn't looking for a photo print sort of finish so I am not too concerned about that aspect, since this will be a mural and viewed from a distance. The print shop does have a fractal program to enlarge if need be. My main concern was lighting which I have resolved with a 580EX II and a 430EX slave. Kind of cramped quarters to shoot some of the mainframe computers and servers so no umbrellas or soft boxes. I figure I could just price this as finished prints and than limited rights to use them for web & marketing material.

Alpha · May 23, 2007

I wouldn't shoot something that large with any camera smaller than an 8x10.

Jeff Canes · May 24, 2007

Absolutely agree that the viewing distance and fractal program will help with the noise. But I would think about getting full size test strips made with and without the fractal program for customer to review first. Will the print shop be handling assembly and installation?

soylentgreen · May 26, 2007

Yeah, I will definitely have a full scale mock up to check image quality before production. The viewing distance will be from at least 6-10 feet away, so crystal, tack sharp is not hyper-critical.