Product Photography Question

[AKhoxie907]

I'm taking pictures of shoes for a girl's website. I ended up with four final images that she posted on her website. I have no idea what I should charge her or what the going rate is on these types of images. I didnt give her any physical copies of the photos, just e-mailed the product so she can upload it to her website. I am supposed to photograph two more pairs of shoes soon and present her with a price. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

-Brandon

[BigFuzzy]

You're kind of in a tough negotiating position now that she already has the images aren't you?

I'll leave some of the pros here who know better about selling their images in this way speak up, all I can add is that in the future, I'd never give up product before agreeing to a price.

She has the images, you gave them to her, what's to keep her from saying, "no thanks" to your price? Do you have a contract to back up your asking her to remove the images if she doesn't want to pay. Just my .02.

[BK553]

Usually you do this before you do the work AND deliver the images....Sounds like you probably shouldn't be charging too much, decide if your going to charge by the hour or by the image. Pick a number and tell her. If it's too high, she'll say no. If it's right (or low of course), she'll say yes. Good luck

[lonni]

A lot of people here will tell youto sell them at high prices, thats fine but you will find you will price yourself out of the market, and your client probably wont understand why.

I usually sell a license for my photos, with limited usage laid out, including what the images can be used for, that they are not to be sold on, used on postcards etc, and not to be sold on with teh business if it is sold.

Prices differ depending on use, a small web quality is the cheapest, i then do medium print quality and large print quality, soemtimes i get asked for extra large print, but not that often. Location and style of the images impacts the price. Mostly i do basic white BG catalogue stuff, but also small set ups to show dinner sets etc, larger editorial style to show teh usage of the product attracts a higher shooting fee, but soemtimes i keep the fee low and make the money back in the licensing.

Keep in mind i am a graphic designer and usually will be selling them teh leaflets etc that the images are printed on, and i am in a smallish country town in Australia when you see the prices.

Small web - $40
medium print - $60
Large print - $80

for catalogue orders, i am typically selling upwards of 50 images and sometimes into the 150's, so i work out an over all price, usually about $800, since i already have the shooting fee, and they are usually web quality or small print.

I have done product photography for about 10 years now and find that this works best, licensing means i keep the rights to the images and my customer gets an affordable product, which means they always coem back.

HTH

[BK553]

Lonni's answer was much more helpful than mine. One thing I can say is that part of negotiation is knowing your audience. A small business owner cannot afford to pay what a fortune 500 company with a 20mil ad budget can. You want to make money, but not "price yourself out of the market" as Lonni said.

[lonni]

Originally Posted by BK553

Lonni's answer was much more helpful than mine. One thing I can say is that part of negotiation is knowing your audience. A small business owner cannot afford to pay what a fortune 500 company with a 20mil ad budget can. You want to make money, but not "price yourself out of the market" as Lonni said.

I must admit that is the most important thing, and i am guilty of dropping the prices for new small businesses adn jacking them up for large mutinationals and goverment jobs.

What i dont make on teh first job i make up for in repeat sales, they coem back every quarter. Im not bragging here but i dont even advertise anymore, my regular customers keep me busy. Although i am trying to get into new fields where i can use my images in my portfolio, the products i photograph are of a sensitive nature.

[AKhoxie907]

Thanks for all the advice. She is a friend and i have known her for a long time, so i was just trying to get the average going price and then give her a discount off of that. She is just starting out her business, so i didnt want to over charge her. Thanks again for all the advice!

-Brandon