Pricing Advice

[mattboggs10]

Um, I am sort of new to DPS, but recently I was eating dinner at a small family restruant. I happened to have my camera with me, and the owner saw me and asked if she could hire me to take some pictures for the place's new website. She asked me how much I charge and I said I didn't know, so I asked her how much she thought was fair and she didn't know either. My question is how much should I charge for this job. I am not a Pro, and I have no lighting equipment at all.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by mattboggs10

Um, I am sort of new to DPS, but recently I was eating dinner at a small family restruant. I happened to have my camera with me, and the owner saw me and asked if she could hire me to take some pictures for the place's new website. She asked me how much I charge and I said I didn't know, so I asked her how much she thought was fair and she didn't know either. My question is how much should I charge for this job. I am not a Pro, and I have no lighting equipment at all.

Um, then don't. Unless you're some sort of photo-prodigy, you're probably not prepared for taking paid work based on your brief description.

[MattG]

Trade photos for dinner(s).

[Rentham]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

Um, then don't. Unless you're some sort of photo-prodigy, you're probably not prepared for taking paid work based on your brief description.

Unless, of course, your camera "takes really nice pictures".

[kcoppock]

Originally Posted by MattG

Trade photos for dinner(s).

Heh, I like this idea.

[mattboggs10]

Maybe I underrepresented myself. What I meant by not a pro is that it is not my PROFESSION. You don't need all kinds of equipment to take good pictures, I just think people expect you to show up with lots of stuff. Therefore I will restate my question. How much should I charge for good pictures if I don't look like/claim to be a professional and if I, hypothetically speaking, take good pictures of the stuff the owner needs me to.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by mattboggs10

Maybe I underrepresented myself. What I meant by not a pro is that it is not my PROFESSION. You don't need all kinds of equipment to take good pictures, I just think people expect you to show up with lots of stuff. Therefore I will restate my question. How much should I charge for good pictures if I don't look like/claim to be a professional and if I, hypothetically speaking, take good pictures of the stuff the owner needs me to.

I think I'll stick to my original answer based on your statement that you have no lighting equipment, which is pretty much essential for this sort of thing.

That said, you could possible rent some, or even pull it off with natural light (though I doubt it).

A little more detail. If you don't claim to be a professional, should you charge? I say no. Others may disagree.

If you do charge, pricing will be determined by a LOT of factors to include the intended use, time frame, exclusivity, etc. We still need more details.

[Jim Bryant]

@Mattblogs10 --I looked at your flickR site and have to tell ya that taking pictures of people is a hell of a lot more challenging and demanding that flowers, birds and water drops on a fence.

[ajax_andy]

My advice would be to not charge a penny.

Do it for the experience and if it doesn't turn out well then you aren't in an awkward position.

Try to build up a good relationship with the restaurant during the process and in the future they might put more work your way, or recommend you to other businesses they know.

If all else fails you might just get a free meal, and you find out that you are good at this area of photography, and can use the pics to get work from other businesses in the future.

As yet i've never charged for something I haven't done before... I do the 1st one for free and then charge the next time I do it, as i'm only just starting out and view the experience as vital for the next time I might get the opportunity to do something similar. I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting money if I didn't know how good a job i could do.

[mattboggs10]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

@Mattblogs10 --I looked at your flickR site and have to tell ya that taking pictures of people is a hell of a lot more challenging and demanding that flowers, birds and water drops on a fence.

I would be mostly taking pictures of food, and the facility

And my flickr and facebook albums havent been updated in a while. I maxed out the size on both. I have been meaning to update both with only my best, but I just haven't gotten around to it.