Food Photography? wat is the charge?

[Incastasman]

Hi Guys, my friend ask me to help on taking some photos of thier food & im not sure how should i charge?? per dish? or per shoot? they r using it for thier menu..can any kind people here give me some advice..me normally jus do event & weddings only..

Thanks so much in advance

[hanqiang1011]

Originally Posted by Incastasman Hi Guys, my friend ask me to help on taking some photos of thier food & im not sure how should i charge?? per dish? or per shoot? they r using it for thier menu..can any kind people here give me some advice..me normally jus do event & weddings only.. Thanks so much in advance

Charge by per dish, usually comes along with several angles and post editing. If you are required to do addition stuffs such as printing onto signboards, advertising poster, charge extra...

Charging by hour can be beneficial to you, or against you. Imagine you got a job for 3 hours, to shoot 10 dishes, you think you can do it? Never charge by hour...

[bowwow]

3hrs to shoot 10 dishes is not impossible.

my advice, look at the menu list of items to shoot and roughly estimate how long the job is gonna take you and go from there. planning out your shoot will make your life a whole lot easier.

[Incastasman]

Originally Posted by hanqiang1011 Charge by per dish, usually comes along with several angles and post editing. If you are required to do addition stuffs such as printing onto signboards, advertising poster, charge extra... Charging by hour can be beneficial to you, or against you. Imagine you got a job for 3 hours, to shoot 10 dishes, you think you can do it? Never charge by hour...

Thanks man!! ya..i dun think i will charge by hrs..hmm maybe by per dish wif 3 angle i guess. let say $35 per dish??

[Incastasman]

Originally Posted by bowwow 3hrs to shoot 10 dishes is not impossible. my advice, look at the menu list of items to shoot and roughly estimate how long the job is gonna take you and go from there. planning out your shoot will make your life a whole lot easier.

Thanks Bowwow..u got de point there, i willl charge by per dish i guess..there is many dish inde menu, think i gotta sit down & plan wif the cook..its my fren family stall which sell most of cantones zhi cai..

[bowwow]

no problem. the last time i shot a zhi char kinda of thing it took me about 2 hours to complete almost 30 dishes. not the kind of food i usually shoot but it was interesting.

oh! and dun forget to charge a service fee on top of your per-shot rate. just a suggestion.

[Zohan]

Originally Posted by hanqiang1011 Charge by per dish, usually comes along with several angles and post editing. If you are required to do addition stuffs such as printing onto signboards, advertising poster, charge extra... Charging by hour can be beneficial to you, or against you. Imagine you got a job for 3 hours, to shoot 10 dishes, you think you can do it? Never charge by hour...

On the contrary, once you have done enough food photography and have figured out how long it takes for you to light a dish, you can go by a per hour charge. It works especially if you really like food photography and end up shooting for hotels and large restaurants. This works well when you have strobe/hotlights set up.

For example, if your client only has 2-3 dishes for the shoot, it will be unwise charging on a per dish charge.

Z

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Incastasman Hi Guys, my friend ask me to help on taking some photos of thier food & im not sure how should i charge?? per dish? or per shoot? they r using it for thier menu..can any kind people here give me some advice..me normally jus do event & weddings only.. Thanks so much in advance

To shoot food propery and to ensure the best quality of work will involve a lot of work, the use of many specialist tricks to make the food more appealing and a raft of advanced studio lighting techniques. As a general rule I won't even touch a food job for under 2K AUD per day (that's around 300 SGD per hour).

[cabbySHE]

if there is no art director or graphic artist around to oversee the shoot, charge by shot, if there is, charge by time.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by bowwow 3hrs to shoot 10 dishes is not impossible. my advice, look at the menu list of items to shoot and roughly estimate how long the job is gonna take you and go from there. planning out your shoot will make your life a whole lot easier.

3 hours to shoot 10 dishes is impossible if you are going to do a good job of it.

You've obviously never shot food professionally and to a high standard. A typical dish will take 1-2 hours to shoot if you are doing it properly and will require at least 2 assistants.

Quality food photography involves a lot of advanced lighting techniques using either HMI or other constant light sources, as well as a good working knowledge of the use of specialist food enhancing tricks such as glycerine, ethyl-glycol, steam making techniques (sorry those are a trade secret) etc. As for cost, a well done shot will cost at least 500-1K SGD

[hanqiang1011]

Originally Posted by Zohan On the contrary, once you have done enough food photography and have figured out how long it takes for you to light a dish, you can go by a per hour charge. It works especially if you really like food photography and end up shooting for hotels and large restaurants. This works well when you have strobe/hotlights set up. For example, if your client only has 2-3 dishes for the shoot, it will be unwise charging on a per dish charge. Z

I am quite proficient in food photography, but I will still go by per dish but I tend to shoot more than 3 different shots for my client. But I will gauge, once enough I will move on.

I did say charge by hour can be benefical to you, in this case, you are right, 2 or 3 dishes kind of job charge by hour.

Regards

[hanqiang1011]

Originally Posted by Ian 3 hours to shoot 10 dishes is impossible if you are going to do a good job of it. You've obviously never shot food professionally and to a high standard. A typical dish will take 1-2 hours to shoot if you are doing it properly and will require at least 2 assistants. Quality food photography involves a lot of advanced lighting techniques using either HMI or other constant light sources, as well as a good working knowledge of the use of specialist food enhancing tricks such as glycerine, ethyl-glycol, steam making techniques (sorry those are a trade secret) etc. As for cost, a well done shot will cost at least 500-1K SGD

White glue to create the flow of of milk... Dry ice for smoke... etc etc

[Incastasman]

Originally Posted by bowwow no problem. the last time i shot a zhi char kinda of thing it took me about 2 hours to complete almost 30 dishes. not the kind of food i usually shoot but it was interesting. oh! and dun forget to charge a service fee on top of your per-shot rate. just a suggestion.

Thanks again Bowwow.. yes! its sometin like dat.. hmmm should be abt 20-25 dish i guess..

u r right! i was thinkin should i charge service for dis..but she is my old friend, so i will not charge her much..some more later part gotta do de menu for them oso..

Thanks for ur advice!! hmm can u pm me abt how much should i charge per dish?

[Incastasman]

Originally Posted by cabbySHE if there is no art director or graphic artist around to oversee the shoot, charge by shot, if there is, charge by time.

Haha i was thinking of dat too..ya.. they wont have.. they jus wanna change menu & de pics of de food as then old pic not very nice & dark dark de..

[Incastasman]

Originally Posted by Ian 3 hours to shoot 10 dishes is impossible if you are going to do a good job of it. You've obviously never shot food professionally and to a high standard. A typical dish will take 1-2 hours to shoot if you are doing it properly and will require at least 2 assistants. Quality food photography involves a lot of advanced lighting techniques using either HMI or other constant light sources, as well as a good working knowledge of the use of specialist food enhancing tricks such as glycerine, ethyl-glycol, steam making techniques (sorry those are a trade secret) etc. As for cost, a well done shot will cost at least 500-1K SGD

wow.. u r a pro in this line..hehe i jus wanna help my friend