OT: Question on Event Photography Pricing

[Rob The Waste]

It's a question I've mulled over with respect to other things. Jack of all trades, master of none. Whether it's rebuilding alternators, assembling computers, various car repairs, whatever. If you sell yourself short, you run the risk of doing it on an ongoing basis where the time you put into it isn't worth the money you get paid. Think hard.

 

[bmattock]

I don't see how you can be locked into a price with this type of shoot. Your profit is in the volume of prints purchased. I don't think most people would expect you to do an 8X10 portrait for $10 because you did their kid's first communion photo for $10.

You could be right, it is just a concern.

Another thing to consider are the celebrations after the first communions. Just find a family that can afford your normal hourly rate and go to their house after church.

I'm trying to be delicate here. Think 'migrant workers' and 'Catholic' and consider that we have a lot of tobacco growing around here. House? Not so much. Truck. Tar-paper shack? Rented from backy growers for the season. When I say poor, I mean poor. Also, no English. My spanish is eh...basic.

Collecting the money and placing the orders can be a PITA, so let your church do it for you. They can print up order forms, set a deadline for payment and collect the money. I would offer the church a cut of the sale for doing this. If they like this idea, they might agree to the current price schedule. I didn't see wallet prints on the schedule. Forget about 8x12s.

These were the sizes my contact gave me. I asked about wallets, he said they don't want any. Also this is through a certain outreach community, not the church itself. The church itself won't get involved.

The current photographer is probably burned out for the last reason you mentioned, she has to waste a whole day for a 2 hour shoot. Maybe she's well established and can turn down work but she doesn't want to tell the church that she's too busy.

Just my 2¢ worth.

R.J.

I sincerely appreciate the advice, and thanks! I am taking this all in and trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. Not just in terms of profit, I mean period.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

The fee structure, free photography and money from prints, is very common over here.

There's no big set up because every portrait is the same. It's sort of like Henry Ford made cars. Have the films developed and printed to say 4x6 in a lab. I guess there's about only one roll or two so no great expense.

And the contact at the church is right, if you are part of the community you should join all aspects of that community. A church isn't just about once a week on a Sunday.

You should make a small amount of money and make a lot of people very happy. Maybe working with friends and neighbors will get you more photography work or dinner invitations or maybe not. Maybe when your truck needs a repair or your computer needs an upgrade some parent will do it for friends rate not commercial price.

I'd say do it.

 

[wlewisiii]

And the contact at the church is right, if you are part of the community you should join all aspects of that community. A church isn't just about once a week on a Sunday.

Eh, literally only so far as you can throw them...

I've stayed out of this because even though my mother was Roman with a 30 year break in service (yes, I do understand where I get that metaphore. If you understand it and still question it, may the good lord have mercy upon you) the closest I have ever come to Rome is via Canterbury... I am an Anglican and I am always suspicious of any appeal to authority - and even more so when that authority has a real reason to avoid paying me my appropriate cost...

Bill, never take anything I have to say about your church either too seriously or personally. It is, for me, never either. I just can't take them seriously enough for that moment to be real. At the very least, this will be the case until they accept Archbishop Oscar Romero as a "witness" to the faith that was defined by the apostles long before Nicea...

Kyrie Eleison.

William

 

[PeterL]

As others have suggested before, I also feel that the main cost is not in the shoot or the materials, but in the time invested in preparing, post-paring (photoshopping to get something like RJBender posted and getting the prints), then trying to get those prints sold & the money actually in your hand.

I shot a friend's wedding and convinced a few other friends to invest in me and in a high quality hand-made leather book for presenting the wedding album. What I didn't factor in was the time it would cost me. I'm guessing afterwards it was somewehere around 100 hours. I was happy with the result, so where my friends, and the experience is great, but the next event, I'll be charging per hour.

If you can make sure that 1) all prints are pre-ordered and cashed in by the church (people will have a harder time to say no to the church if they already ordered), and 2) your work is limited, then I'd say: go for it.


Peter.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

A wedding is maybe 50 different photographs and a lot of time organising people.

A first communion is one photograph repeated 50 times.

Take a helper to get the kids lined up and push them in front of your lens one every ten seconds.