Getting Pricing In Line

I have been slowly entering into the commercial/editorial world this pat

year, as my business expands and evolves. The question I have is regarding my

prices. I am located in a small town (6,000), with 2 cities within 30 minutes

with combined population of 350,000+. I have been setting my current work at

the rate of $245.00/hr, $450.00/1/2 day, $800.00/day, which includes usage/post

processing/occasional assistant. To keep it simple for client I thought it

simple to give the one price, as opposed to going the x#$ for this, x#$ for

that, etc route which makes sense to a photographer, but not some clients. Last

year I did a multi-day job (20 full days) for a tourism organization and was

happy with the $16,000 paycheck, and the job continues, but I want to get my

pricing in line before getting in too deep. I just got a sample request:

Tuesday March 25 ? photo shoot in Sarnia from 2:30-5:30 pm ? to include one

large interior group shot ? board members and several interior and exterior

shots of the facility.

Wednesday March 26 ? photo shoot in Chatham from 3-5 pm ? same as above

**complete usage for all images

I realize the request is a little vague, and I would request more details from

the client before the final pricing, but would my noted pricing be a good

marketbase, or am I low-balling. This is a timely situation, so any help would

be greatly appreciated:-)

Sean

Hi Sean,

You were probably asked for the quote because a) they like your work, and b) your price point. I would suggest leaving your charges where they are, but look at getting compensated for your travel time. Where are you coming from? London? Windsor? And shooting in Sarnia and Chatham? As you state, you're paid nicely for your work, but the travel involved in your example deserves to be compensated as well. Just my 2 cents.

Ian

$800 a day, even in a small market, is very low. Add in usage, assistant, and post and you're screwing yourself. If you are a capable commercial shooter, $1200 a day is a minimum that you should charge. Of course assistant and post production (at least $50 an hour) should be in addition to that. Usage is iffy. For low-level corporate stuff, like this sounds like, they probably won't use the pictures for any big budget use, so perhaps include it. BUT- you at least need to find out what the usage is before you just go giving it away. I'd charge travel at 1/2 my day rate plus expenses. I would also have a 1/2 day minimum for any job. The per hour thing is amateurish.

FWIW.

David