How much should I charge? Nightclub Gig

[Myk Jones]

Hi all, big fan of this site. I've run into a bit of problem hope anyone can offer some advice. I've recently been asked if i would shoot photos on a weekly basis for a nightclub where i'm from. I didn't offer a fee cause i'm not sure what to charge, I would be there from 11pm to 2-3am (3-4 hours). I've normally done this when hired for a one off event. I normally shoot a few hundred photos so after the night the next day i usually sort out the best shots do some minor retouching and post processing b4 uploading to clients website. I'm a graphic artist as well and really take my time making sure i only put up good shots. Promoters are notoriously cheap and would no sooner be happy with polaroids. For the one off events i've generally charge $300-400 but not sure what to charge for a weekly gig. Now searching thru craigslist i've seen offers of a $100 dollars a night by the clubs which i find too cheap given the work i do after. Some advice please.

[gturner]

booze for nothing and the chicks for free (apologies to Dire Straits)

If you have good work, that gives you an edge over others, then charge what it is worth. Not sure what hourly rates over midnight are ($50.hr at least would seem reasonable), but don't see it as something to do whilst out on the town.

[Myk Jones]

after thinkin it over i felt the same about charging $50 an hour. The booze and chicks don't matter me none (36 wife & kid, been there, done that... alot!! haha). It's really i guess comes down to time management the next day. Looking over & workin on images. But thanks!!

[gturner]

What does a well tipped barman make?
I really don't have a better answer. If you images can make the place look awesome, the owners are going to me making $50 a second in there

[Jonbar18]

Where`s Jim? He`s got the price for any situation.
I would say more than $50 an hour, as that is only $150 for a three hour job, plus all the time invested in sorting and editing. I`d say about $250-$300 for a 3-4 hour night

[Myk Jones]

It's racking my brain @Jonbar18 as $250-300 is what i'd normally charge for a one time event. A weekly gig (so far every friday) is sort of a give an take, steady for x amount of weeks they'll use me and a balance price for both parties. I'll go high and see what they haggle me down too. At the end of the day i don't want to sacrifice my name for the $$. I feel your work is only perceived by what your pricing it at...

In NYC photographers at these events are a dime a dozen. Half of them just fall into just doin it without any direction. I've seen some walk around with point & shoots, slr's with onboard flashes. I shoot sometimes with a gary fong lightsphere off camera with ebay triggers on my trusty 40d (my street workhorse).

Some of my work:

[OsmosisStudios]

My rates for one-off events is $60 an hour for the event, $75 an hour for editing and delivery. Delivery is a CD of images, with a extra price for higher res images. Clubs also have the option to buy individual images at full-res at $100 a piece.

I did a regular gig for a while this summer: $50 an hour for on-site time, $50 an hour for editing and delivery. Specified res was 1200px x 800px for use in web. I got a bonus at the end of the 5 nights coverage.

[Myk Jones]

So after all the nonsense the promoter offered me $100 for the night plus editing & posting to his site. I explained to him the work involved and the lowest i could do it for would be $250 he held firm to his offer and acted like he was doin me the favor. I shook his hand and walked off with my integrity intact. Live and learn my friends.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Myk Jones

So after all the nonsense the promoter offered me $100 for the night plus editing & posting to his site. I explained to him the work involved and the lowest i could do it for would be $250 he held firm to his offer and acted like he was doin me the favor. I shook his hand and walked off with my integrity intact. Live and learn my friends.

You'll see this often, and frankly your work deserves more. A lot of people assume that taking nightclub photos is deadpan work, but it's more then most expect.

[funcrunch]

Originally Posted by Myk Jones

So after all the nonsense the promoter offered me $100 for the night plus editing & posting to his site. I explained to him the work involved and the lowest i could do it for would be $250 he held firm to his offer and acted like he was doin me the favor. I shook his hand and walked off with my integrity intact. Live and learn my friends.

Good for you. I'm really good at shooting in low light without flash, and used to do shoots on spec at these kinds of events with the promise that I would get orders, only to be shafted later when all the performers I approached claimed to have no money. Then the organizer of one such event relented and paid me $50, I said I'd have the photos processed in a week (normally I have a faster turnaround but I was leaving town on vacation the day following), and he said is there any way you can have them up faster next time. I said seriously, you expect a two-day turnaround on a $50 shoot (I got no orders on this one either by the way). Stick to your guns or you'll go broke.