james_maher

The more nervous you are to approach someone to take their picture, the more you should do it.

Don't pose people right away. Start taking casual shots while a person is relaxed and ask them to come up with poses that they feel

comfortable in. Then work from there and take control if you need to.

James

Hi everyone,

I am currently a NY portrait and fine-art photographer as well as a web designer. I had eventually

hoped to get into commercial photography, but not this soon.

Of course, four weeks before I am scheduled to go to the ASMP strictly business 2 conference, I got my

first request from a company to do a commercial shoot for them, based upon a recommendation from

a client that I had done a website for. The problem is, I have no idea what to charge.

I'm gathering that the company does not have significant experience with photographers, and the

shoot itself seems well within my experience (I have assisted a decent amount in the past.) I will post

the requirements I was told, but before I do, they asked for a total buyout of the images. I believe that

for this I am supposed to charge 2 or 3 times the amount for the entire shoot, but I could be totally off.

Any help with even figuring out a ballpark number would help me so much. I don't want to underbid

or quote an outrageous amount. This job seems like the perfect first commercial photography job for

me, as well as I would like to be able to get further recommendations from the client that I had

recommended me.

From the e-mail:

"I am looking for a photographer for a shoot in NY. I need an estimate by Tuesday of next week so I

can get things set up. The details are below. If you have more questions let me know.

All day shoot

I will arrange for a suite at a hotel

Three shot set ups

One individual shot

Two couple shots

On white background so I can drop out subjects

You provide lighting and backdrop

Digital format

Total buyout of images provided to me on disc

If you have a stylist/makeup person please include in estimate but as a separate line item"

Thanks in advance,

James

I don't think profits have anything to do with it. Canon wants the best image stabilization

system so that they can sell the most camera systems.

The reason they have IS in their lenses is because it works significantly better. They can

tune the image stabilization for each lens specifically and it also has a positional

advantage by being in center of the lens. If you're stabilizing a camera you're going to

want to do it from the center and not from the back of the camera.

This is a big problem with the Sony DSLR's. Just as how point and shoot cameras pack as

many megapixels possible into the camera to prove how 'good' they are, Sony markets it's

Image Stabilization in the camera as an advantage, when really it's nothing of the sort. It's

meant to trick people that don't know what's going on into buying their cameras and

system. The Sony DSLR is a decent camera. But there's no reason these days to not go

with a Nikon, Canon or now Fujifilm camera. The Fujifilm's CCD does the most

unbelievable job at getting rid of noise while keeping the same image quality.