How much should I charge as a amateur photographer?

Question

I’m quite new to photography, so I’m not comfortable charging too much. I certainly don’t want to overcharge anyone. I was asked to take pictures of a pregnant couple, but I have no idea what to charge. The person asking knows me through relatives and has seen my work on Facebook. I’ve done random photo sessions for friends, but that’s about it at this point.

I’ve done a ton of research and found the average asking price was $20-40 per hour, plus an addition fee for editing (about $50). Since this is my first session ever charging anyone for my work and I lack experience, I was thinking $10/hour, plus $40 for editing. Is this asking too much or too little?

Here’s my Flickr URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53392810@N03/sets/ (this might give you more of a basis to judge my work).

I would appreciate any input. Thanks!

Answer 1

Quite simply if someone wants you to take their shots then charge a proper rate for it.



Charge a fee for the session (at least 100) and then per image either as prints or on disc.

You should only ever be supplying properly finished shots so any editing should be in with the print or disc price.



If they want all the images on cd then charge at least 200 preferably 5-600 minimum which covers the lack of prints.



DO NOT devalue either your own skills or photography as a whole by giving your work for peanuts.

Answer 2

$10/hr? No way. You either have the talent to do the work or you don't. If you can't produce quality work then don't do it at any price.



Start at a minimum of $20/hour at least. Your $50 post processing is low too, IMHO. I am not sure but customers might find it more palatable if the post processing cost was figured into the cost of the DVD and/or the hour rate.



By the way, amateur photographers, by definition, do not charge anything at all. Once you accept a dime your are a pro and all that is expected of that. Including insurance. If you are doing these sessions on your property you will need liability insurance. To be safe, you should have it no matter where the session will take place.

Answer 3

First off, DO NOT call yourself an amateur photographer or no one will have faith in your abilities! The only thing that makes you an "amateur" is that you haven't yet been paid for your services (which will make you "professional"). When I got my senior pictures done, they charged $15 cash for the sitting fee, and then additional money per print, or if I wanted to buy a CD of all the digital prints (and then I could go print the photos myself for an additional fee). Look around at what the Pro's are charging, and charge $5 less!

Answer 4

Along with all the other great answers already given, you also need to keep something else in mind:



NOT EVERYONE WITH A PULSE IS A GOOD CLIENT!



There are basically 3 types of clients.



1. Those who really do not value what you do at all. ANY price is going to be too high for them. Do not waste your time on these people.



2. Those who do value what you do, but have little to no discretionary income to pay any reasonable price for it. While it is tempting to work with these people, you still end up being forced to charge a tiny amount of money. You devalue yourself and you will never have any clients better than these types.



3. Those who DO value what you do and DO have enough discretionary money to pay your price. THESE are the only people with whom you want to work. They are a much smaller piece of the pie, but by setting a price that shows what you do is an important, valuable service and art, and only working with people who accept this will establish you as a professional who does not let the customer dictate to them.



It is not at all uncommon to feel "uncomfortable" charging what you SHOULD charge. In fact, if people are not complaining about your prices, you are not charging enough!



Stick to your guns. Realize what you do has value. Any clown on any street with a DSLR can charge 10 bucks an hour. Do not associate yourself with them. Either rise totally above it, or accept no paying assignments.



steve

Answer 5

Once you're known as "cheap", you will always be looked at as a "cheap" photographer.



On the other hand, your work has to be exceptionally good. So far, and please don't take this wrongly, they are snapshots. By all means, learn how to use your camera (don't do it on your own--you'll learn bad habits that you will have to unlearn), and don't charge anything to build up your portfolio.

Answer 6

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The advanced teaching methods make it easier than ever to learn the new skills you need, whilst keeping it easy and simple for your skill-level.

Answer 7

Do not undercharge! By lowering your rates, you reduce the perceived value of ALL photographic services, making it harder for people to charge what is actually needed.



You need to think of this like a business because that's EXACTLY what it is. even if it's just a part time thing, you are charging for services rendered.



I do mainly weddings and this is a good yeardstick on how much to charge. Not everything below will apply, just take what does and doesn;t but consider carefully before you take something off the list.



++ Shoot Costs ++

What does it cost YOU to do this shoot?

-- Transportation (counting Km traveled and attributing a value to it (55cents a Km is normal, this helps cover gas and wear and tear on oyur vehicle).

-- Rental fees. (did you rent any gear for the shoot like a nice portrait lens ...)

-- Cost for the materials to hand over (prints, burnt DVD's, DVD cases, the labels for the DVD's and cases)

-- Staffing (did you have to bring an assistant? How much did you pay them).



++ Ongoing costs ++

What does it cost YOU to run your business?

-- Office supplies (paper, ink, pens)

-- Utilities (power, phone, fax, cell, internet access)

-- Promotion (business cards, funds to attend baby shows and wedding fairs, funds for facebook ads, funds for pamphlets, funds for pricelists, funds for direct mail campaigns, printing ofportfolios to show clients, web hosting, domain name registration, web design ...)

-- A fund to improve your gear. (New lenses, studio lights ...)

-- A fund to replace gear that is damaged or wears out.



++ Salary ++

How much do you think your time is worth? How much do YOU want to get paid?



To determin this, you have to take into consideration ALL the time invloved with a shoot, not just the actual shoot time. Here is a typical breakdown for a 10 hour wedding (from prep pics to end of reception).



1 hour meeting client to go over the portfolio.

1 hour meeting when client calls you back to sign

10 hour shooting the wedding.

6 hours going through the pictures to sort out the poor ones, edit some of them, backup to external HDD, backup to DVD's, make client labels, burn client DVDs, get the prints sent off and pickup the prints for the client.

1 hour meeting with the client to hand over the final product (dvd's prints ... whatever).



So a 10 hour wedding is in all actuality 19 hours of work.



++ Taxes ++

Income tax, slaes taxes ... all that jazz.

A safe amount to put aside for income tax is 44% and sales tax depends on if you are registered, if you have to register and what the tax rates are for where you live. I'll use Canada, Ontario HST (Harmonized sales Tax) of 13% for my examples below.



=== Putting it all together ===

-- Let's say it costs me 140$ in rentals.

-- I travel (in total) 180Km (meeting the client 3 times and traveling to and from the wedding and reception) at 55 cents a KM = 99$

-- Let's say i'm handing over DVD's (2) and one album (photobook). DVD's i'll cost myself at 3$ (labels, ink, wear on burner ... blah blah) and the photobook is costing me 120$ to print.

-- It;s just me at the wedding so no extra cost for an assistant.



Total SHOOT COST: 362$

Note: The shoot costs are tax deductible.



Let's say I want to pay myself around 25$ an hour.

19 hours times 25$ = 475$



Next you need money to run your business (see ongoing costs above). I'm lazy so i just add in my salary again. 475$



Income tax (44% of 475$ + 475$) = 418$



Sales Tax of 13% = 224.90$ (13% of 475+475+418+362).



Total cost to the client is 1954.90$ taxes included.



I played it a little fast and loose with the math and that amount I set aside for my business per shoot might be a bit extravagant in this example (you need to do a proper cost analysis and figure out that number, I just put in a random number for this example) but you get the gist of it.



Just keep in mind that a booth at a typical wedding show can cost 1200$ - 2400$ per SHOW my number above isnt completely crazy. I spent ober 300$ on business cards. My web hosting is very cheap at 100$ a year. My portfolio costs me 300$ to print ...



For a maternity shoot, it willbe much smaller since the time involved will be significantly less but the basic math is still valid.