Photo Shoot - Help understanding rates

beya2009

Hi everyone,

Just wanted some help understanding the price structure for a photo shoot me and another person will be attending soon. I contacted a well established professional photographer and he gave me his rates.

He told me that for two people he charges €150 which include 2 finished digital files (2 photos). Each additional photo will cost €20. So basically for example, only 3 photos would mean the total cost would be €170. It seems very expensive to me but I wanted to know if that is the going rate? He told me all photos are full resolution and that I will have full copyright over them. I suppose its a high end photographer. I just would have thought €150 for two people would at least offer like 10 photos or something.

I just don't understand why its so expensive:S Ideally I wanted a good few photos like 15-20 but will only be able to afford about 10. Can someone please shed some light on this? I'm guessing when he's referring to finished photos he means he will keep taking shots until I am satisfied with it, hence a finished photo.

Thanks for your help in advance:)

Paulw

Yeah, that sounds like that going rate for photos.

You don't understand why it's expensive? You're paying for - his equipment, his time, his insurance, his taxes, his computer, his software, his accountant, his property costs, never mind his creativity and ability to take a good photo.

You can always find photographers who are cheaper and will give you more images, but you may not get the same creativity and quality.

Iancar29

Shocking prices , id do a shoot , with nearly as good results for half that price and triple the photos !

magicbastarder

are they being taken on his premises or is he travelling to take the shots?
iancar, are you taking public liability insurance, income tax, gear insurance, etc., into account for your guesstimate?

CinSoots

Iancar29 wrote: »

id do a shoot , with nearly as good results for half that price and triple the photos !

No you wouldn't.

Effects

Iancar29 wrote: »

Shocking prices , id do a shoot , with nearly as good results for half that price and triple the photos !

Sounds like you like to work for peanuts. Are you a monkey?

beya2009

Paulw wrote: »

Yeah, that sounds like that going rate for photos.

You don't understand why it's expensive? You're paying for - his equipment, his time, his insurance, his taxes, his computer, his software, his accountant, his property costs, never mind his creativity and ability to take a good photo.

You can always find photographers who are cheaper and will give you more images, but you may not get the same creativity and quality.

Ah okay fair enough. It seems like the prices are okay then and just a classic case of "you get what you pay for". I just wanted to bring it up here so I know i'm not being robbed lol

beya2009

magicbastarder wrote: »

are they being taken on his premises or is he travelling to take the shots?
iancar, are you taking public liability insurance, income tax, gear insurance, etc., into account for your guesstimate?

No the photo shoot is at the photographers premises as he has a professional set up there so we'll be driving up there.

Farmlife

Whats a high end photographer? he takes photos and charges, you need to search the market for someone your happy with that charges a fee your happy with.

ditpaintball

Its a standard enough pricing. You would want to double check on the copyright issue though. i.e. Copyright is not usually given, but instead a personal usage license for that image.

At the end of the day, the cost of photography will be subjective, depending on the photographer and the quality of their work etc. There will always be a base cost for a shoot to cover expenses. What increases the cost will depend on the actual quality of the end result, the overall experience you had and the professionalism of the photographer. It is hard to quantify that and no doubt most photographers struggle with pricing.

For comparison, you can view my rates here: www.richie.ie/bookme
Am I expensive?.... all depends on how YOU value my work and the experience I provide.

beya2009

ditpaintball wrote: »

Its a standard enough pricing. You would want to double check on the copyright issue though. i.e. Copyright is not usually given, but instead a personal usage license for that image.

At the end of the day, the cost of photography will be subjective, depending on the photographer and the quality of their work etc. There will always be a base cost for a shoot to cover expenses. What increases the cost will depend on the actual quality of the end result, the overall experience you had and the professionalism of the photographer. It is hard to quantify that and no doubt most photographers struggle with pricing.

For comparison, you can view my rates here: www.richie.ie/bookme
Am I expensive?.... all depends on how YOU value my work and the experience I provide.

Wow very impressive I must say and your only local which is great as i'm based in wexford too so its a shame I didn't find you earlier lol

It seems like you provide the complete package in terms of providing things like makeup as well which is really handy. And to answer your question; your price doesn't seem cheap to me but from your work your obviously a high end photographer so that's why. For the shoot I've booked we have to get our own makeup artist which will obviously be an extra cost to us.

ditpaintball

beya2009 wrote: »

Wow very impressive I must say and your only local which is great as i'm based in wexford too so its a shame I didn't find you earlier lol

It seems like you provide the complete package in terms of providing things like makeup as well which is really handy. And to answer your question; your price doesn't seem cheap to me but from your work your obviously a high end photographer so that's why. For the shoot I've booked we have to get our own makeup artist which will obviously be an extra cost to us.

Thank you for your nice comments.

I provide a few packages as show on that page. My basic package is the cheaper one and does not include hair and makeup. It is a 3 hour shoot and you get 4 retouched images Printed in a 12x8 size and mounted. You also get digital versions of the images for social media etc.

With the basic package, you will have to get your own hair and make-up, but at least my base package still includes the great experience and fantastic images

One tip with regarding a makeup artist, make sure whoever you book has done makeup for a shoot before. If they use makeup with SPF in it, your face may appear to be pale due to the reflection of the lights.

Are you looking to get some fun photos done, or is it the start of a modelling portfolio?

thebaz

Iancar29 wrote: »

Shocking prices , id do a shoot , with nearly as good results for half that price and triple the photos !

and ther are people who would cut your price in half too , my motto in life is you get what you pay for, most of the time - pay peanuts , you get peanuts, unless you are extremly lucky. As Paul says , fair price , provided he is a good photographer , which can be verified by word of mouth , or portfolio check.

ScumLord

beya2009 wrote: »

I just don't understand why its so expensive:

Supply and demand would have something to do with it. If he's a well known and trusted photographer he will charge more just to weed out some of the demand.

I would have also thought that a photoshoot is at least a days work if not two with PP. How much would you get payed for a days work in any other industry?

You can charge whatever you like. If your unknown you'll probably have to come in considerably cheaper than the established guys, I'm sure after a few shots you'll get a better idea of what your actual costs are and how much you need to charge to make your money back and turn a profit.

beya2009

ditpaintball wrote: »

Thank you for your nice comments.

I provide a few packages as show on that page. My basic package is the cheaper one and does not include hair and makeup. It is a 3 hour shoot and you get 4 retouched images Printed in a 12x8 size and mounted. You also get digital versions of the images for social media etc.

With the basic package, you will have to get your own hair and make-up, but at least my base package still includes the great experience and fantastic images

One tip with regarding a makeup artist, make sure whoever you book has done makeup for a shoot before. If they use makeup with SPF in it, your face may appear to be pale due to the reflection of the lights.

Are you looking to get some fun photos done, or is it the start of a modelling portfolio?

Okay thanks for the advice, I will make sure I mention it to her. Its just a combination of some smart and causal photos I can use for my linkedin and other social media pages. I'm using a female model who is based in Dublin. I'm guessing the photos will help her portfolio though lol I already booked my appointment with the crowd from Wicklow last week so if I enjoy the experience of doing a photo shoot I will definitely contact you sometime for a shoot.

ditpaintball

beya2009 wrote: »

Okay thanks for the advice, I will make sure I mention it to her. Its just a combination of some smart and causal photos I can use for my linkedin and other social media pages. I'm using a female model who is based in Dublin. I'm guessing the photos will help her portfolio though lol I already booked my appointment with the crowd from Wicklow last week so if I enjoy the experience of doing a photo shoot I will definitely contact you sometime for a shoot.

No problem, at all.

You say that you're using a Dublin based model? Do you mean your using a Dublin based make-up artist? Either that or I am assuming your doing an alternative style shoot with another model in Red Tree studios?

beya2009

ditpaintball wrote: »

No problem, at all.

You say that you're using a Dublin based model? Do you mean your using a Dublin based make-up artist? Either that or I am assuming your doing an alternative style shoot with another model in Red Tree studios?

Yeah i'm using a Dublin based female model and she's bringing a makeup artist she has worked with that will work on both of us in the shoot. Nah I've never heard of Red Tree studios. I'm using Dermot Bryne Photography.

ditpaintball

beya2009 wrote: »

Yeah i'm using a Dublin based female model and she's bringing a makeup artist she has worked with that will work on both of us in the shoot. Nah I've never heard of Red Tree studios. I'm using Dermot Bryne Photography.

Ah right I see. Dermot is a great photographer, so you will have no problems there. Make sure to show us the results when you get them

beya2009

ditpaintball wrote: »

Ah right I see. Dermot is a great photographer, so you will have no problems there. Make sure to show us the results when you get them

Ah okay that's good to hear then as it will be money well spent lol Yeah will do:) It will be a totally new experience for me personally so its exciting.