what's reasonable

[AbidingInHim]

Hi there
I've decided to do a little photography work on the side.

I wanted to hang a small portfolio up at church and go to peoples houses or have them come here to take casual portraits. mostly children.....I would give the a cd with the pics and a contact sheet if they are here....or jsut a cd with approxiamately 70 pics on it, however it's reasonable to say that only half would be worth getting pics printed from

i would let them choose which pics they want and get the printed or print them themselves

What would yo uconsider reasonable to pay?

 

[Southern Cross]

Much of what you can charge is based on several factors:
1. The quality of your work
2, Regional pricing
3. Client perception of your abilities and the value of your work
4. You providing prints vs. clients getting their own printing done
5. Limitations imposed by your camera systems
6. Limitations imposed by your level of knowledge and artistic vision
7. Your salesmanship skills

I'll give you good example to start with. I just contracted a shoot for a young girl that needs a starter portfolio created. If her mother would like the images on CD with a release to use them for submission to modeling agencies and her own printing needs, my fee is $500 (which is a bargain around here) and I will not guarantee the quality of prints if she does not buy them from me. If she just wants the shoot, a set of proof prints for viewing in my studio, the sitting fee is $200 of which $100 may be applied to print orders over $200. I bring in anywhere from $250 to over $1K per client (gross, before cost of prints and taxes). I know some photographers who bring in $3K orders.

However, there is a huge difference. We control the quality of the printing. Your percieved value can really take a hit if you hand a parent a CD and then they go to Walmart to get prints made with funky color shifts, etc. If you want to control the quality, I suggest you make your clients come to you for prints and use a quality lab.

I encourage you to handle the print order process if you can manage it. Photographers charge anywhere between $15 and $100 for an 8X10 - and even at $15 or $20 - or even $12 for that matter, there is profit to be made. People will often pay $10-$15 for a 5X7, $20-$25 for a good 8X10 without blinking an eye.

There are ways to set yourself up for success from the beginning. If you need detailed information, please feel free to post your questions here so others can learn, or PM me with private questions. What equipment are you shooting with?

I'm a full time professional photographer in FL, so I have a good bit of information to share on nearly all aspects of professional people photography (weddings, portraits, kids, families, etc.). There are a couple of other full time professionals that used to visit here, but I haven't seen them for a while.

Chris

 

[AbidingInHim]

Thank you southern cross I tried to rep you but this thing wont' work....that was sooo helpful I really appreciate you taking the time....I am a full time mom right now and only want to do this as a small thing, but you helped me think about when the kids are big, and I would like to do this more, i will need a good rep that won't come from wal-mart prints...plus, for many it's worth it to pay somebody else to print them out for you.

if I could ask you another question....i took my cd to one of the only 2 labs here in town to get prints to put together a small portfolio and she very quickly handed me my cd back telling me there was nothing on it....i assured her that my friend had just looked at them in her comp and they were there and the lady asked me a series of questions about the files....they were pc, windows, jpeg and then she asked me something else i had not heard of and spewed out somthing about if they were on e kind she wouldn't be able to print them.....I was irritated at the moment with her abrupteness and so didn't aske her to explain slowly she obviously decided I was an idiot b4 I walked into her store, but i felt if i have a jpeg on a cd she as a photo lab should be able to print them period, rather then this kind or that kind.....would you happen to know the differnet kind of jpegs she's talking about and is it resonable to expect a photo lab to be able to print whichever kind I bring to them....

I will stop by the other lab some time this week...but thought you might have some insight if I didn't make it tooo terribly confusing

God Bless!
Roxanna