What do i charge?

[Ashwin]

Just a few days back one of my friend approached me and asked if i want to shoot for them. He and his group of friends are coming with a website for some restarunt business and they require me to shoot some food pics to display in the website.

He said initially they cant pay much but he would display my name as the official photographer for the website.

This would be my first time doing any such assignment too and i have no idea how to charge them! I am happy that i got this opportunity so i dont want to let it go by charging too high.

I read somewhere that i can charge for my transportation too! Is that a normal practice for photographers? and one more question is can i keep the rights for all the pics that i take for them and charge them less?? What is the standard pricing for still life photographers over here? do they charge per hour or per pic?

The head of the group will approach me in a couple of days and i have no idea how to negotiate!:dunno:

 

[Ashwin]

no one is giving any advice:sweat:

 

[_espn_]

$100 per hour, no prints.

 

[Ashwin]

$100 per hour, no prints.

Thanks. What abt the rights? do they keep or i can keep them??

 

[Clown]

it's like going up to someone who has a first aid kit and asking him how much he charge for a liver transplant. nuff said.

 

[dragos]

food photography is a challenge...learn and do it well and u will be fine..

i normally charge $80/hr no prints but it is up to the individual.

 

[Ashwin]

it's like going up to someone who has a first aid kit and asking him how much he charge for a liver transplant. nuff said.

haha yea You are right, but i got to start somewhere!

 

[Ashwin]

food photography is a challenge...learn and do it well and u will be fine..

i normally charge $80/hr no prints but it is up to the individual.

Thanks. They dont need prints for now atleast cause its web based.

 

[ortega]

go by time, whole day and half day
decide for yourself how much your time is worth

btw, pros charge whole day by the thousand
so if your skills are good, don't be shy
charge enough to buy a new lens

 

[Ashwin]

go by time, whole day and half day
decide for yourself how much your time is worth

btw, pros charge whole day by the thousand
so if your skills are good, don't be shy
charge enough to buy a new lens

Hmm alrite... now i am stuck with 3 options:
1. Charge per hour
2. Charge per Pic
3. Charge per session
:think: :think: :think:

 

[ortega]

are you bringing lights?

 

[wanzw]

if you find that your shots are really good, then by all means charge at a higher price. the best thing to do is to show them ur portfolio of previous food shots. give them an impression that you are good and make their $$$ worth.

my 2cents. all the best for your shooting.

 

[wanzw]

if you find that your shots are really good, then by all means charge at a higher price. the best thing to do is to show them ur portfolio of previous food shots. give them an impression that you are good and make their $$$ worth.

my 2cents. all the best for your shooting.

 

[Ashwin]

Yea most likely i will bring lights.
I will complie a few pics i took and give them an idea...
Hopefully all goes well

 

[ortega]

if you bring lights, then you better charge accordingly

equipment - $XX
transport - $XX
assistant - $XX
CD - $X
Service - $XX

 

[Ashwin]

if you bring lights, then you better charge accordingly

equipment - $XX
transport - $XX
assistant - $XX
CD - $X
Service - $XX

Alrite.. i am getting a rough idea now!! Cool.. thanks for all your tips guys!

 

[hondasleeper]

if you find that your shots are really good, then by all means charge at a higher price. the best thing to do is to show them ur portfolio of previous food shots. give them an impression that you are good and make their $$$ worth.

my 2cents. all the best for your shooting.

You cannot possibly make up your prices as you go along.If you start doing that, it'll say alot about how you operate. Give them a price and stick to it.

Might as well tell the client, I will charge you once the project is done. It is depending if the shots are good, if they are I will be charging you more. What a load of nonsense! If that's the case, nobody will engage you to work for them. Please give valid advice and not misleading information.

To the thread starter, ask them what kind of budget they are working with, if they do have one, and try if at all possible to work with them within their budget, unless it is so ridiculously low that it isn't worth doing it. Then just be up front with them and tell them it really isn't worth your while to do it if the price is really low.

Honestly, food photography is a very different beast than product photography. There are tricks to make the food look good and if you don't know what you are doing I would suggest getting a food stylist to help you.

 

[jnet6]

it's like going up to someone who has a first aid kit and asking him how much he charge for a liver transplant. nuff said.

:thumbsup: 1....

 

[creampuff]

Do you have an idea how long the session is going to take? Get an idea what needs to be shot, shoot location and the approach of how the food is to be shot. In other words, you need to be clear with the client beforehand the job scope and how the pictures are to look.

Trust me, this is an important aspect that is so often overlooked. In food photography time is of the essence and believe me, you'll never really have enough time. So you need to be clear from the onset how you're going to execute the shot. This will help minimise disputes later.

Once you can tabulate the extent of the work, you can then itemise what is chargeable:
your time, material, manpower, transport, etc and the profit you need to make.

So many restaurant owners have little or no idea how much it costs to get that beautiful food photography they see in coffee table/cook books. I'm sure you will be shocked too. :bigeyes:

 

[Ashwin]

To the thread starter, ask them what kind of budget they are working with, if they do have one, and try if at all possible to work with them within their budget, unless it is so ridiculously low that it isn't worth doing it. Then just be up front with them and tell them it really isn't worth your while to do it if the price is really low.

Honestly, food photography is a very different beast than product photography. There are tricks to make the food look good and if you don't know what you are doing I would suggest getting a food stylist to help you.

Yea i think i will ask them to suggest whats their budget first rater then i suggest what i want. I am aware that food photography can be tricky especially if i use hot lights and stuff and i have shoot something like ice-cream which will melt by the time i am ready to click.
So that part will be challenging for me.