I hear what you are saying Jim. It may sound like my business sense is screwy, but I usually think things through pretty well. Even my $100 wedding had a strategy...less than a week after posting 20 or so of the best images to Facebook (another big no-no, so I'm told), I've gotten several inquiries for performer headshots, baby photos, and another wedding (at $1000 this time). It saved me a bundle on advertising and bridal shows, and way more effective. And you know as well as I do, one job can build into 2 or 3 more...

I did a little research before agreeing to $500, and found the range to be about $500 to $5000, depending on several factors (used Getty Images as a source). They specified that it was going to be less than 1/4 page, and was going to have a graphic partially over it. So from that aspect, I didn't feel $500 was an unfair price. Plus, I was concerned about asking much more, considering they could probably find a similar photo for a similar price (you never know what alternatives they have lined up).

And thanks! To date, that has been my best water balloon shot...and it was during my first session.

And I just got a copy of the ad last night. I was in the check-out line at my local grocery store, and they had 5 of the ads behind the counter. The check-out girl was nice of enough to let me have one. I'll take a photo of it later and post it.