How much should I charge?

[yvon_bourque1]

<p>I have shot the following products and submitted the results to the prospective client. The client is very satisfied and wants me to shoot all of the guitars he has for a catalog. Of course, all of the pictures in the insets are also individual pictures. For each guitar, he gets two of the guitars with background, 4 insets of his choosing and one assembly picture as shown below. For the professional photographers out there , what should I charge him? Say per guitar or for the lot.</p><div></div>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Yvon,</p>

<p>Those are fine shots and I am happy for you.</p>

<p>Your business becomes a bit more complicated now. First you should retain the rights to the photographs and grant him something like one-time commercial reproduction rights. Research this topic and how your local laws deal with it prior to any more negotiations. There are probably generic contracts you can download and modify.</p>

<p>Question: what is the client's relationship with the guitars? Retail, wholesale, manufacturer? There should be a positive relationship between the potential profit the photos help create and the fees you derive.</p>

<p>I would just sell him the lot instead of having to negotiate each add-on, you can get nickled-and-dimed to death.</p>

<p>ME</p>

[kentam]

<p>You may check Fotoquote as a reference.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>Per diem for lunch and one of the guitars. That Gibson is NICE!</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>"Say per guitar or for the lot." How about, say first the efficiency of the shot, too. For example, if you have to tear down and reset for each of the four photos because he will only a few in the catalog; that'll be an hourly fee factored into the price. If you can shoot the guitars "assembly line", at least in groups; say, you get 10 at a time, you can make shot A for all ten, then Shot B, and so on, that'll be a reduced set up fee. This set up fee would not necessarily be itemized, but it's part of your overhead.</p>

<p>If you can just put that guitar on a stand or support and make your four shots with no changes, that would be a situation where the shot for each unit would be efficient, and not a significant factor in and of itself.</p>

<p>Pattern of support and setup for the shots, when managing the subject as a group, will count. How much it counts, and maybe if it is even a factor, depends on what you've got and how you run your rig. This would be something you would have to go over in your head, in advance. It'll be one of the devils in the details.</p>

<p>Variations of this problem, I think, are what cause wedding photographers to go to "hell" instead of going to an "event" to shoot and report it.</p>

<p>Another "economizer" for yourself and the client could be "limited variety" between shots. For example, you were shooting a stack of sweaters; they were all the same, but there was a red one, a green one, etc. Since you're shooting guitars, they're probably all customized in their appearance, I take it? So, guitars of a similar shape or similar in their finishes or other light reflective qualities that might affect the positioning of the lighting or support structure would be the "limited variety." Since the shots are probably cut in post, I have no way of knowing how much this would affect you; but, I know from experience, that it could be the place where you could burn a lot of time and lose profit on the job. Someone assumes it will all be the same and it's easy, but it's not.</p>

<p>Consider "hand motions" of the process when evaluating overhead for repetitive tasks. If you're not honest with yourself about the labor cost of your overhead up front, you can make an otherwise great job miserable. Good luck with your project. The guitar photos look tip-top. J.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I have never shot a catalog, but I have had to perform other tasks like this where evaluating this kind of service overhead was a significant part of the problem. J.</p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>That's very well done Yvon. I don't intend to hijack this thread but you're doing <em><strong>exactly</strong></em> what I need some assistance with.</p>

<p>Would you care to share how you set that up? I'm working on my web site photos (early romantic guitars, 19th century) and have been taking shots of my instruments during the building process and as they are finished.</p>

<p>I've been using a two AF540FGZ strobe set-up with umbrellas but I'm having issues with hot spots (damn guitar curves). I'm thinking I might have to invest in a softbox. Is that what you are using there? The shadow and light in the upper bout f hole looks like you have a light lower left or is that bounce/reflected light?</p>

<p>Any hints would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Sorry, I cannot tell you how much to charge for the photos (plenty, those are worth it for sure) but I can give you a pretty good idea as to how much for the guitar.</p>

[htarragon]

<p>If you want anything other than quotes for brochures from Fotoquote you have to purchase it - about $135.</p>

<p>Howard</p>

[jtk]

<p>Price has to do with the client's capabilities and your local reality. If you're in a big city someone will have a studio with a permanent background sweep and conveniently set-up studio lighting allowing him to do the whole job effortlessly for his day rate (what is that locally? A day could be $500, could be $5000.</p>

<p>I think you should ask prominent studio photographers in your general region what they'd charge and adjust from there...or charge the same amount if your client will bite. Don't give your client a bargain just because you're new at this.</p>

<p>For your guitar lighting I'd suggest wall- bouncing rather than umbrellas or soft boxes except for the innards of guitars under assembly...and you might wall bounce even then if you're after something naturalistic rather than studio-looking. </p>

[jtk]

<p>btw, that's a NICE shot.</p>

[johnmarsden]

<p> Its easier to price than you think.</p>

<p > Estimate (fully) how long you think this job will take to shoot, and post process.</p>

<p >Pick an hourly rate that is reasonable to you. (say $75 – $100 per hour) then one times the other.</p>

<p > (If doing lots I'd guess between 200 – 400 completed composite as your base fee – ie include the main shot and choice of insert shots – then allow client to select and then you to make up finished composite.)</p>

<p > Now if you are a real business you double this to give you a fee to cover your time and wear and tear / overhead etc. ('double base fee'). So 400 – 800 per composite .</p>

<p >The more guitars the less per guitar will cost. I suspect you can knock off 8 shots of a guitar per half hour and about half an hour per guitar post processing. Couple of hours set up (1 before and 1 after) (Will they throw in someone to help with unpacking, polishing and packing the guitars)</p>

<p >If you have no real overhead, then your minimum is just your hourly fee. Also what is the least you would do it for based on these hours? Yes you enjoy photography but its even more fun when you get paid to do it.</p>

<p > As a start present your client with the double base fee, they may accept this – if they then look or sound like they just sucked on a lemon ask them what they think is fair.</p>

<p > As for the usage – keep usage rights for yourself but if they pay you significant money they should have none transferable usage right as much as they want – after all how are you going to monitor it?</p>

<p > The figures I have suggested can be out by a factor of 5 either way – but you must select a figure you are happy with and see how they react.</p>

<p > Also do they have the ability to pay you in kind!!! Then everyone wins.</p>

<p > PS</p>

<p >If they cannot afford your fee, then they cannot afford to have decent photos taken. You pictures are excellent pro level.</p>

[revolver]

<p>Since that isnt a Gibson or Epiphone charge him double! lol</p>