How much to charge for Horse Photos?

[First Light]

A friend of mine owns a horse ranch. She has a herd of horses, and she breeds, etc. She has asked me to come out to her ranch and photograph her horses, which I am more than happy to do. She wants to pay me, of course, but I have NO IDEA what to charge her. To complicate the matter, she lives 2 hours away in Texas. Any thoughts? Has anyone done anything like this?

[3bayjunkie]

I would charge the same I charge for people portraits

[mshockley]

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

I would charge the same I charge for people portraits

Agreed and take into account the driving distance also.

[BuddhaPi]

drive time or mileage (both ways) regular fees + processing ect...

[scootermcq]

Charge by the pound?

[First Light]

Originally Posted by scootermcq

Charge by the pound?

Ha, Ha!! She also happens to be my boss for my J.O.B. If I charged by the pound, I'd never have to work again! LOL!

Okay, just to clarify here: I'm truly a hobby photographer, so I haven't done any people portrait sessions. So I agree, but I still don''t know how much to charge.

[3bayjunkie]

$25 - $30 location fee + milage (not sure what to charge for that) And I'd charge about $25 -$30 per hour also as a starting out photographer.

[Jim Bryant]

Think about this: you'd spend more than $25-$30 in gas to get there and back.
Besides pictures of her horse, she'd want a bunch with her and the horse, and kids with the horse and god knows who else with the horse.

Charge her $200.00 plus mileage (IRS rate).

[Ambrosia76]

See me I am a complete Horse Nut and would drive out there and take all the pics for free if she would let me ride one of the horses for a little while...

[jcspenny]

Is she looking for pictures for personal use, or to advertise her sales/studs? Either way, I would Google equine photographers in your area to get an idea what the going rate is. I'd say the $200 + mileage that Jim suggested sounds about right.

Speaking from experience, horse people love their animals and are usually willing to pay good money for quality pictures of their horse. We're used to throwing away perfectly good money on much more useless things for our horses, I wouldn't bat an eye at paying hundreds of dollars for pictures.