What is up with photographers? What is it that makes us so worried about our prices being known. The Internet is full of resources on how to get noticed, how to follow your creativity, guides to social networking, creating your brand, everything! And I still can’t find one good resource or how much to charge! I think this is a huge oversight by the photography community. The great mentors and the great teachers of the photo realm are really pulling the rug out from under us newbs by being vague and unclear about just how much this career choice costs and how much to charge accordingly.
N Maxwell Lander
We don’t mind telling people how much we charge. It’s not that big of a deal. Keep in mind though that photographers usually work with the client’s budget so pricing will be different per project. but most people do have a set price per hour or number of locations, etc.
yeah, i totally get the budget part, and so also acknowledge that to be a good reason to not put rate up on a site. i just think it’s interesting that when people do BTS stuff we/they never talk about budget. i feel like i’ve met a lot of photographers that struggle with budgeting/financial skills and wonder if that kind of transparency would help us all learn that kind of stuff.
The financial aspect is something so important to be a successful photographer (or anything for that matter) and it’s a wonder why people are so sketchy about it. I feel it’s always best to KNOW what you are worth, and charge that much.
I never really know how much to charge. I don’t want to put people off and at the age of 17, any more than £30 probably would. I guess it’s more or less totally based on how good you think you are though.
Luc Coiffait charges £200+: http://www.larajade.co.uk/resourcz/03photography.html
i think i would have felt similar at 17 (but alas, was on may way to becoming a database administrator…) i think it’s important to not only know how good you are, but also be really clear about mow much work/time/equipmemt goes into this work. i’ve taken on a good number of jobs that have turned into me working for a couple bucks an hour because i didn’t ever factor in photoshop time. it also only been recently that i’ve had to start thinking things like “alright, i am bringing about $10,000 worth of equipment to this shoot.. and i’m making $100? i think not”
For pricing you also have to factor in the surrounding economy. If you say lived in New York, you could charge as much as $2000 for a one hour shoot, because all of the other photographers around that area did as well, but if you lived in a town whos population is no more than a few thousand, you might have to charge as little as $50. I put all my price right out in the open so my clients know exactly what to expect of me, and so they dont end up paying more if they dont want it, triciadavidge.com, check it out. Also factoring in your equipment is a good idea. Oh and i hope you have insurance if you take that much equipment around with you. lol
yes, that’s totally true. i actually have no idea what the toronto average is. im guessing in between a small town and new york. we do really want to think we are the new york of canada (which we are sooo not).
and i have yet to find insurance for photogs in canada, but im on the hunt, yes
Haha, the businesspeople in Toronto try so hard to bustle around like they’re in New York
I agree, there should be more writing on this. It could perhaps solve the problem with many photographers undercharging (and driving over all prices down).
i feel like it would a monumental help for a lot of us! so i started a forum topic over in the business of photography group! http://shuttrr.com/groups/business-of-photography/forum/topic/money-matters/
i’m hoping more people with get involved in this discussion.