Pricing for Portrait Shoots

[tylerwind]

I had never done any portraits but then a couple of my friends saw my

landscape work and asked if I would take some engagement pictures for the

newspaper. Those turned out well and so then another recently engaged couple

that I'm friends with saw those and asked me to do theirs. After doing the

second set, my friend's roommate (who is also recently engaged) asked about

getting me to do hers.

 

At this point I'm cutting the charity work (especially since I'm starting to

get acquaintances and not best friends) and want to start charging so I need

some suggestions on price. All my shoots so far have been outside near sunset

at the beach or a park. The last 2 times I've snapped about 350 pictures over

an hour (I shoot a lot to give myself a chance to screw up a few and also be

able to get better smiles and poses).

 

How should I work my fees for future work? Do most people charge a "sitting

fee" and then charge extra for prints or per digital file? I realize I'm

probably not as good as the professional portrait photographers (at least not

yet) so I want my rates to be reasonable. I'd appreciate some suggestions.

Thanks for all the help!

[Charles_Webster]

Yes, most pro's charge a fee for the session, then charge for prints. You might also charge extra for rights to use the pix in the newspaper or on a web site.

 

How much you charge can vary widely, depending on location. I hear of sitting fees ranging from $75 to $300 for a 1-hour session around my area (SF Bay Area).

 

For friends you might consider waiving or discounting the session fee, but charging full tilt for prints.

 

I never do anything for free, I do give discounts to friends and organizations I support. I always write a contract that specifies full price, then I apply the discount, so they see the retail price and the value of the job.

 

But always get a signed contract and model releases, it makes things so much easier if something goes wrong later, and sooner or later it will (Murphy's law).

 

<Chas>

[tylerwind]

Thanks for the info--yes, I did do the last 2 shoots for free but to be honest, they were both very, very close friends and furthermore, they were my very first portraits so I had no idea what kind of results I'd get (it turns out that everyone says they are better than their hired professionals--I even went to print a couple at Wal-Mart and they wouldn't give me the prints because they thought there were professional pictures that I had copied! I explained to them that I AM the professional that took them and so I could print them) At any rate, I will not be doing anymore completely free unless the model is in my family! On that note, I have a couple quick follow-ups:

 

1) Let's say I charge $75 for a sitting fee. What is a reasonable price to charge for prints and/or copies of the digital files?

 

2) I have read a lot about model releases--basically, you have to have the permission of your "model" in order to use the picture. So, this leads me to this question--who has rights to the picture if there is no model release? If I don't have a release, I can't use the picture and they don't own the copyright so they can't use the picture. Is it just a dead picture that you can't do anything with? I FULLY realize this is a VERY involved topic, as I've read previous threads about it. But, I would appreciate a 2 or 3 sentence into to model releases, if someone doesn't mind.

 

Thanks for all the help!

[beth_dill]

1. At least double your cost and be fair about it...if you are still going to take your prints to wal-mart where you can get an 8x10 for about a buck, don't charge $25 an 8x10, professional printers that charge you at least $10 go ahead. If people are telling you that you are better than professionals they've had previously, don't be afraid to make a profit.

 

2. http://www.danheller.com/model-release.html#1

 

try that site...I haven't read the whole thing, but seems to be pretty informative. It also has information on print pricing and such if you look in the menu on the left.

 

Hope that helps!

[john_davids]

Try printing at some place other than walmart, you will get treated like a pro or atleast given some proffesional-like treatment. Mpix, west coast color, even adorama, will give you nicer results than walmart if you do even basic color profiling/even adjusting your monitor correctly for brightness. Walmarts prints tend to be have a lower dynamic range, i think they pump your contrast as part of their auto adjustment.

[yinkamd]

Costco does GREAT prints. They are also cheap. Just make sure you get it in the correct color space.

 

Best wishes

 

Yinka

[mkowalski]

Here is a link that I use for printing called Photopipe. You download the ROES software and then upload the images to

them that you want printed. They are extremely fast and great quality with all kinds of options. Low prices too so you have

plenty of room for setting your price.<br><br>

 

http://www.myphotopipe.com/index.php