How much to charge (family beach shoot)?

[sch1308]

I am a 17 year old that takes pictures of my boy scout troop. I was contacted by the mother of one of the boys in the troop about taking family portraits at the local beach. She said it should take less then an hour. How much should I charge and should I do it per piece or an hourly rate?

[autofocus]

Wow...where to begin. Are you sure she's even planning on paying you? How much experience do you have shooting families...? And the beach is probably one of the toughest lighting conditions you can work in...a challenge for even the more seasoned photographer. For a midday session, I would only consider doing it with an assistant, and have
scrim(s) and reflector(s) available, and probably off camera light gear. Better hope for an overcast day...have I scared you yet? If so, sorry, but that's reality

[sch1308]

I know she will pay me because she has already paid me $100 to make a slideshow of her son over the years. I am only 17 and don't have any camera gear other then my SLR, 2 lenses, and filters. its forecasted to be cloudy too.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by sch1308

I know she will pay me because she has already paid me $100 to make a slideshow of her son over the years. I am only 17 and don't have any camera gear other then my SLR, 2 lenses, and filters. its forecasted to be cloudy too.

For your sake I hope the weatherman is correct. If not, opt for early early morning, or late afternoon

[Nekrose]

Originally Posted by sch1308

I am a 17 year old that takes pictures of my boy scout troop. I was contacted by the mother of one of the boys in the troop about taking family portraits at the local beach. She said it should take less then an hour. How much should I charge and should I do it per piece or an hourly rate?

You should charge a flat rate for your session to ensure that you are getting paid for your time. Then offer prints or images at a different rate.

Beaches are very difficult, but not impossible. Make sure you have reflectors and ask a friend to tag along to carry them. They will be a life saver.

Living in Hawaii, I shoot beaches 90% of the time and it is always a new experience. Expect something to go wrong and learn from it. Do not let it get you down.

[kelvin51]

Family Beach Portraits are Fun! Shoot one hour before sunset. If possible use off camera flash but if not an on camera flash for fill will do fine. Put the sunset to their back, expose for the sunset and fill with your flash. You may have to try different angles to avoid glare on your lens but sometimes the glare really adds to the image.

Go have a blast! Charge a little more because the enviroment is really tough on your gear. DO NOT CHANGE LENSES AT THE BEACH! Never open that camera at the beach.

Other than that, get that sunset in the background and you will be a hero!

[AnneWynne]

There is an old pro on SSI who charges $100/hour session, takes his laptop, transfers the sooc images to a disc and hands it over on the spot. This is a guy who has been a photographer for 30+ years but who also has retirement income. I charge $150 and provide choice of 3 retouched images emailed to the client or delivered on disc. Additional images can be purchased for $25.

[kelvin51]

Originally Posted by AnneWynne

There is an old pro on SSI who charges $100/hour session, takes his laptop, transfers the sooc images to a disc and hands it over on the spot. This is a guy who has been a photographer for 30+ years but who also has retirement income. I charge $150 and provide choice of 3 retouched images emailed to the client or delivered on disc. Additional images can be purchased for $25.

Wow! That is way too cheap.... I no longer do beach portraits but two years ago I was charging $300 location fee with a $600 minimum ordered required. The location fee did not apply towards purchases and was not refundable and payable when the appointment is made.

Like I said earlier this enviroment is detrimental to our equipment. I was replacing cameras after only one summer of use. Full Frame Canons are not cheap.....

I did a few free sessions at first but I started out charging this fee and never changed. It's tough to go up in prices but easy to give discounts (which I don't do).

At the time, I didn't sell the disc, if I was still doing it I would probably sell the disc but not sure what I would charge.

[AnneWynne]

Originally Posted by kelvin51

Wow! That is way too cheap.... I no longer do beach portraits but two years ago I was charging $300 location fee with a $600 minimum ordered required. The location fee did not apply towards purchases and was not refundable and payable when the appointment is made.

Like I said earlier this enviroment is detrimental to our equipment. I was replacing cameras after only one summer of use. Full Frame Canons are not cheap.....

I did a few free sessions at first but I started out charging this fee and never changed. It's tough to go up in prices but easy to give discounts (which I don't do).

At the time, I didn't sell the disc, if I was still doing it I would probably sell the disc but not sure what I would charge.

I totally agree that the prices (his and mine) are too low considering what customers are getting (on location , digital images, and in my case, post processing), but this is what people are charging in this area (with a couple of rare exceptions). Families come to the beach, want some photos taken on the beach, and do their photog selections on line prior to coming.

From what I can tell, a number of local photographers are part time, retired, or have a spouse who works. They are willing and are able to charge less because they don't have the overhead and have other income they can rely on.

Unfortunately, photography pricing seems to be driven by the market price...whether it be Walmart or other local photographers setting the prices. I can stick to my preferred level of pricing and not work or price my self to be in line with other local photographers (not Walmart or the super low priced ones).

Blargh! It makes my head hurt!

[kelvin51]

If you offer a service or product that other photographers cannot compete with, you can charge your price without worry of competition. For me it was Painted Photographs through Corel Painter and also worn and torn effect. Here are a couple of samples....