What to charge my client?

<p>I have a major electricity company in Jamaica asking me to take some technical photos for them. I am strictly an amateur, but a professional friend of mine referred them to me because they needed someone with long glass to take detailed photos of wind turbines. I am looking at about 6 hours of travel time and 2 hours of work. Would 500-600 dollars be a reasonable charge? They offered me 200 but that seemed awfully lowball to me based off the distance I would be driving and I told them I would not do the job for that. They are waiting for my counter offer. <br>

My justifications are as follows:<br>

8 hours of my time <br>

Price of gas in Jamaica (8 dollars a gallon). Based off the distance I'd be driving I am guessing I would spend about 60-70 dollars on gas.<br>

High risk location (poor security)<br>

The fact no other local photographer has a Canon 600mm lens and a teleconverter.<br>

Thanks for any input!</p>

<p>Two immediate thoughts:</p>

<p>- What does your professional friend say? If he's local, he should have a good perspective on what this company should be willing to pay.</p>

<p>- The $200 does seem low given all that is involved. If you are looking to build a photo business then you might consider settling for less than you think it's worth in order to get experience and possible additional work and referrals from this company. </p>