How much should I charge for a children's birthday party?

Hello,

I received a photography gig photographying a child's birthday

party. The client wants to try me out and the job could lead to a

permeneant position. I am a photography student and I'm just

beginning in event photography. What would be a reasanable price to

charge for the test? and for subsquent parties? The function is an

hour and a half. I have estimated that I will probably use 2-3

rolls of film (each at $5 for Kodak Portrait), and development and

printing is another $12. So, I rounded supplies off to $50. Would

$250 be a reasonable price to charge for the test? Am I selling

myself short, or is that too much as an intial fee? What should I

charge in the future. Thank You...I would appreciate any

information.

First time with potential?

 

I'd do it for materials only and would do my very best.

IMO

 

1. You are figuring film literally by the penny, what about gas to get to the film store and gas to and from the lab and your time. If you are going to figure the costs of materials you need to add in the cost of the expenses for you to go back and forth for the materials.

 

2. Always be weary of clients that promise you this or that if you work out, like permenant positions, referrals, etc...Believe it when you see it.

 

3. I view each job and price accordingly and have no absolute "set" prices...but that is the way I like to do it. Each job has its own set of factors and since I do not do jobs for an "hourly" my prices are determined by all the variables regarding the job.

 

In this case I do think that $250 is reasonable and I would not call it a "test." Usually "test" shoots are for free and you are indicating here that you are going to charge...You might as well call it a job.

And also IMO it is never a good idea to do any jobs for free, or for cost, ever.

Could lead to a permenent position doing what? Don't understand the connection.....Also, since you are struggling with the price, it doesn't sound like you have the job yet. Is this a photographer's kid that is having a birthday party and wants a chance to see your images before hiring you as an assistant? Within this context, you may be asking how much you should ask for instead of how much to charge....within this context, I might offer you $50 and provide you with film/processing. If it is actually a test, I'd give you the film/processing.

Yea,

Take that permanent position thing with a grain of salt. Sounds more like they don?t want to bother with the photos and more importantly want to be in every shot. If it's your first time then I'd be careful asking for too much. I think $100 for your time plus the cost of film and processing. Even better just have charge them a flat $100 and hand them the rolls of film and be done with it. Good luck.

$12 for each roll printed + $15 for film = $51. your supposed to round things off in the upward direction. and what if you shoot 5 rolls?

oops Melissa, typo I meant to say I do not think $250 is UNreasonable. oops.

Doh! I ment charge a flat fee of $150

I still don't understand if this is a small house party and they just want you to fire off a roll to see what/how you do or is it a get-together where they rented a room at a banquet hall and there will be 100 guests, on the other hand a "cotillion" is another birthday event that is more like a wedding than a birthday party.....need lots more info please.

On first reading, this sounds a bit like a con job: "Hey, I'm going to give you a chance to photograph my child's birthday party and IF you do a good job, there will be big opportunities in your future (so, you'll work real cheap).

 

More information is needed. I read it again, and we don't know who this guy is. How did you meet him, who is he, and what did he promise? What are his requirements and did he make any offer of prices and such in writing? What is a "permanent position?" Permanent for what?

 

Can you give us more information?

 

It sounds like he is calling the shots on this. You need to be more aggressive and say "No" if need be.

I'd also suggest that some of the uncertainty in what to ask/charge comes from not knowing what "they" want or expect. Do they really just want 3 rolls and 1 or 2 sets of 4x6s? There is a big gap between the cost of 3 rolls and developing, maybe $50 or so depending on sources, etc., and $250. Can you adequately "defend" that price?

Melissa:

 

You say that you received a gig, and then you want to know how much to charge. Did you give your customer any indication of prices?

 

If I were approaching a student to see how they handled a test shoot, I would balk at paying $160/hr.

 

How much to charge? None of us can really answer that. How much do you want the job? How much is it worth to you to add to your portfolio and for the experience? How much is your free time worth if you didn't take the job?

 

If you haven't mentioned price before now, I would be surprised if your potential customer is thinking of much more than $10-15/hr plus supplies.

 

 

Eric

Really Jamie? I shot my first 4 weddings almost free (less materials) without question. Two months later i had a small portfolio and some experience. How much is that worth to you? I kindly disagree with your logic - i find vaule in opportunity.

Sorry Jaimie.....i spelled your name incorrectly.

Jammey I too value opportunity and have done many freebees and in my experience it has proved to be not the best road I could have traveled. Charge something, even if it is only a bit over cost. If photographers charge by the hour then they will always remain a "photographer for hire." I believe you have to charge by the job and by the value of photography and completely get out of the mindset of charging by the hour. IMO that is a very small way to think.

I didn't say anything about charging by the hour - never done it and would never do it. However, when folks start out, they should feel lucky to have opportunities in which they can work for free to build. I would never take a chance on a monumental moment with a beginner. However, i'd let them work along side my hired pro for free if they would like to do so.

Jammey I know you did not say anything about charging by the hour...I was just stating that in general regarding other responses here but did not clarify that. I just segwayed into it, but I really was not thinking you said anything about that, just in general commenting.

Thank you for all of your comments! After reading the posts I realized that some additional details about my situation would have been helpful. The birthday parties which I was suppose to photography (an arrangement which has since been cancelled) was an hour and half birthday party hosted at a professional children?s discotheque. The owner, who I have been corresponding with about the job, in her initial job post asked for an experienced, energetic photography student for Oct 2th and Oct 16th. After sending my resume with a cover letter, she responded by saying she would definitely like to work with me and we would speak later. She also said that she forgot to ask in the initial post for a price quote, and with the knowledge that this job could lead to a permanent photography position with her party organization, how much would I charge for her to ?try me out? at her daughter?s birthday party, and how much would I charge in the future for other clients. I stated from the beginning, in both my cover letter and resume, that I mainly work in black and white but would be willing to do color. I finally decided to charge her only $100 and which is nothing considering that it included supplies, prints, and between going to the location and shooting at the event would take almost 4 hours of my time. Some how, after I responded with a price, she then said that she had assumed everyone works in digital and that she would put of trying me on another occasion since I was unable to do digital. I did not know how to price because, she was not clear about her expectations or what she was looking for in the job post nor subsequent emails. I appreciate the opportunity she was giving me, but I do not want to be taken for granted nor used. She asked for my services, I did not search her out. Furthermore, when we briefly discussed digital photography she mentioned doing the imaging herself?I definitely could not have handed over ownership of my pictures to someone for free, let alone for any other reason. I have definitely learned a lesson from this, but it still seems that in the future I would have to decide pricing based on the full context of each situation. thanks again!! -Melissa

Do you plan to turn over all prints with the $250.00 payment? Get the money for your supplies and time up front if this guy is cheap cause they will never pay if you give them the photos. Then I would proof them up Possession is 9/10 of the game. It's your job to get some "Oh My God!" photos then make some profit on the reprints. Good luck get some good shots!