how much to charge...

[aureliaaurita]

after posting a blog of images I took of a friend and her horse I have been approached by other people asking if I would do a similar set for them and their equine friend.

here see:

http://alicemouse.wordpress.com/2009/08 … nd-bumble/

they weren't intended as anything particularly serious but people seem to like them and girls and their ponys (being one myself) it seems to appeal to.

anyway, they have effectively sent me 'how much' e-mails and I don't know what to say as I have never thought about asking for money for anything before, I do it for the enjoyment and love producing things for friends. I am doing another free one on Sunday for another friend.

however, for people I don't or barely know it is a big ask

I spend about 5 hours at the yard, time travelling outside of that (one lady lives in Birmingham which is about 4 hours round trip from London...I don't mind train travel but still it's my time)

then another 5 hours or so going through the images ect.- I am a bit slow in this respect

so it's a good long day's work

if I were to charge £20 an hour, which sounds reasonable on the face of it, that would be £200 for the day including consultation, time spent at the yard itself shooting, post processing and dispatch of a high resolution cd.

do you think people are going to balk at that amount?

also, what do you guys do about travel expenses on a paid shoot?

train tickets can be pretty hefty.

 

[antiquark]

if I were to charge £20 an hour, which sounds reasonable on the face of it, that would be £200 for the day including consultation, time spent at the yard itself shooting, post processing and dispatch of a high resolution cd

Sounds reasonable to me!

People will balk, but that's because they don't know what it's actually worth. Lots of people think it should be free because they can take the same pictures with their cell phone camera. 🙂

You can also factor the train tickets into the price.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Charge LOTS.

The more you charge, the more seriously people take you.

People take me more seriously at £1000/day than at £100/day.

Then give a big discount for the work you like doing...

(Incidentally, nice pics, and congratulations, but the rear views of either horses or riding breeches are NOT flattering -- I'd edit 'em out.)

Cheers,

R.

 

[aureliaaurita]

lol jodhpurs do that, it can't be helped

do you think I might get away with more then?

I don't want to feel cheeky or pressured but I want to feel it's worth my time and effort.

 

[Roger Hicks]

lol jodhpurs do that, it can't be helped

do you think I might get away with more then?

I don't want to feel cheeky or pressured but I want to feel it's worth my time and effort.

I thought jodhpurs had even baggier tops, and that these were therefore breeches. So much for my knowledge of horsemanship.

Yes: I'd say you tell them you charge £400 or £500 a day, but that because you're dealing with friends and friends-of-friends, you'll give 'em 50% reduction. That way, you aren't putting your prices when you, er, put up your prices, for people you don't actually know. You're merely charging your full rate.

And I mean it about the higher prices. If you're cheap, they think they can argue. If you're expensive, they assume you know what you're doing. After all, it looks as if you do. Only you know whether or not that's true...

Establish clearly what's included: X prints at Y size, or a book of X pages (chargeable on top of your day rate, if appopriate), after which the prices go up.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Here in the U.S. $150 an hour is not unreasonable, plus ALL out of pocket including meals and lodging, transportation, etc. If it's relatively nearby and you drive you can charge mileage, parking, tolls, etc.

Of course you charge for film (if you use it), processing, and prints. Travel time is usually billed at half price. Don't forget to charge for computer time!

Essentially you want to itemize everthing you can think of. You can always offer to throw something in for free.

 

[easyrider]

Some suggestions

Some suggestions

You have an excellent eye. These are excellent.

Here is a scale from the NUJ (National Union of Journalists--UK):

http://www.londonfreelance.org/feesguide/phprorat.html


The above may be helpful but other than that, i suggest that you approach it like any other business startup.

Establish a per diem rate for the shoot. I think the equivalent of $500 per day is not out of line. Forget hourly rates.

I suggest that you include the editing time. As you do more, you will shoot less and make the picks faster.


To that you add travel time and costs-- gasoline or mileage. If you are shooting more than one client, you can divide the travel costs among them.

Then it will depend on how they want the final product delivered. On a CD or DVD, add the costs of the media. Obviously, prints are an additional charge. if you send them to a lab, mark them up by a third.

If you pursue this, you are starting a small business. Approach it that way.

People spend a small fortune on their horses and riding. They like to show it off, Don't be shy about charging.

Also check what other photographers in your area are charging for event coverage.

Good luck!

 

[Paddy C]

I've never worked with a photographer (I'm a graphic designer so I hire pros from time to time) who charged by the hour. Always days and half days and all additional costs (processing, assistants, travel, etc.).

I don't know what you should charge, but, from my experience as a freelancer, don't charge too little. You're far better off asking a fair value for your work. If people don't like the price they can find someone else.

As someone else mentioned, think of the money these people spend on their horses, etc. These people should most definitely not be crying poor.

 

[sevo]

do you think I might get away with more then?

Absolutely. If they consider a initial offer of 500 too much, ask your horsey acquaintances how much the vet, smith or horse trainer would charge for ten hours of their service. At 20 quid, you'd price qualified self-employed work with expensive tools below the gross wages of a stable hand.

Sevo