Shooting weddings for another photographer, what do u charge them??

[jessica_dixon]

<p>Hello everyone. I was asked by another photographer if I would be willing to shoot a few weddings for him. I

guess he had several double bookings. I will basically be doing all the foot work, shooting the days event. But in the

end, all i have to do is turn in my shots and he will take care of all the post wedding work. He asked me to let

him know my price, but Im kinda not sure what to charge him... I normally charge $150 per hr to clients, and thats

without prints, albums, etc.<br>

Its not like ill be assisting or be a 2nd shooter, so i need opinions by other photogs. Thanks!!</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>Part of the answer depends on the amount that he is charging the clients - if he is charging them $1,000.00 then it makes no sense for you to try and charge him $1,250. </p>

<p>So what you and he need to figure out is what is he charging, how many hours of editing is he planning, how little (or much) can you charge him and still make money? </p>

<p>Another factor is where are you located and what is your skill level? I've seen photographers pay anywhere from $25 - 100.00 per hour - depending again on all the factors I've listed. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[jessica_dixon]

<p>Thats a good point, I was wondering what he charges to help me decide. I actually pay my assistant/2nd shooter $20 per hour. I was leaning towards $50 an hr but not so sure, Ill ask and see what he offers.</p>

[bobcossar]

<p>Doesn't make sense to me that you would do the exact same work for a client for 150/hr, and do the same for someone else for 50/hr.<br>

On that basis maybe I could get my wedding covered by your second shooter, and only pay 20/hr.....Makes no sense.</p>

<p>Charge the full 150/hr and include the processing that you normally would do........Why would you not??</p>

<p>A wee bit puzzled....Robert</p>

[jessica_dixon]

<p>hmmm... another good point. thanks</p>

[picturesque]

<p>You could also try to find out the going rate for photographers who shoot for studios in your area. The reason you would not charge $150 per hour is because you did not do any of the marketing to get the customers, or the communications up to this point. You will also not be doing the processing and further communications.</p>

<p>Without knowing the going rate of others in your area doing similar work, I'd probably be looking at a lesser amount than $150, but more than half that.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>I agree more with Robert’s point of view, though not 100%. <br>

I think it is far less relevant what he is charging the Clients and more relevant what you charge yours.<br>

But more relevant than both - is what day is the booking and what likelihood you have to get a booking direct to you.<br>

For example if it is very likely that you are compromising your own business’s booking by committing to the other photographer – then you must charge full fare. On the other hand if it is next Saturday and you are doing nothing then $50.00 per hour is a truckload more than zip.</p>

<p>Notwithstanding these facts: I suspect that you have lost the leverage in the discourse by not answering at the time of inquiry as to being available (or not) and with a direct and firm price “take it or leave it”, answer – so the real question is: will you make preparations for the next enquiry of this kind?</p>

<p>WW </p>

[chris_linscott3]

<p>Hi Jessica,<br>

I would add that it largely depends on your relationship with the person/business you are potentially working with. I shoot five or six weddings a season for a local studio and get between $1,200 to $1,500 to shoot the wedding and hand off the raw files. Generally, these are packages that range from $2,500 to $3,500. That being said, I have worked with these folks for some time and they know that I will shoot the wedding as if it were my own, treat their clients professionally and come back with images that live up to their studios reputation. Hopefully this gentleman knows of your work and is asking you because he feels you would represent his studio in a positive manner. If that is the case then I would say don't be afraid to ask for what you are worth.</p>

<p>cheers,</p>

[Jerry_]

<p>Whatever you decide to do, get an agreement in writing, with the *other* photographer and you both signing on the dotted lines. One area of interest might be liability: what happens if you suffer a mishap, and someone bumps or splashes a soda or beer on your camera? Little things like that would not be good for a verbal agreement....</p>

<p> </p>

[savagesax]

If it helps we pay $250 for the receptions. Most always my photo partner Craig or myself shoot the formals.

 

If we are really overbooked we pay a pro thats at our level in photography, $500. We do the post editing.

[xiao_xiao3]

<p>If we are really overbooked we pay a pro thats at our level in photography, $500. We do the post editing. </p>

Oh, I think this is reasonable!

[mariosforsos]

<p>I have another question: have you ever worked with this person before? Are you confident that their post processing will do justice to your images? I'm only asking because I've seen pretty decent images being completely ruined by crappy post processing...</p>

<p>Otherwise, I agree with Nadine: you'd charge something close to your normal rate, but not the full rate as you did not do any of the presales and you won't be doing any of the post-pampering...;-) For me, 75-100 sounds more than reasonable.</p>

[john_h.1]

<p>Agree with William who agrees with much of Robert.</p>

[zack_zoll]

<p>If you trust this other person to do a good job with the post work, I think it's totally reasonable to charge the pro less than the client. For starters, I tend to spend between 1-2 hours of editing for every hour of shooting I do. That means that for me at least, handing my images off to another person would mean that I only do 1/2 the amount of work - and not even the boring half. Of course you still need to drive and your equipment can still get banged up so you wouldn't charge exactly half, but charging far less than what a client would be billed for is reasonable.</p>

<p>The other thing to consider is that if you and this other pro work well together, this person can feed you much more work than most any satisfied client could. Is it worth getting paid less if you're going to have more work than you would otherwise?</p>

<p>It seems like the OP has already taken this into consideration ... I'm really just posting it for the people that didn't seem to understand why he wouldn't charge full price.</p>

[ted_suss]

<p>The studio is looking to have you photograph several weddings for them. No bride and groom are in this situation, so this becomes a "wholesale" type of pricing. I think the $500 range is OK. As for being concerned about booking yourself up and not being available for one of your own clients, that's the risk you take, but what you're being offered is a sure thing. Try it for this season and see how it goes.</p>