Event Photography and Sales

[Scooter Pie]

Hey folks,

Just needing some advice.

So my dad is one of the leaders in a community board/organization. I've shot a group photo of them and they loved it - all clamoring they want a copy, send one to me etc etc. It was a paid gig..and i sent a copy to the member of org. that paid me...if he chooses to send it to other members thats no biggie for me because it was a quick "1,2,3" kinda deal.

Recently they asked me to function as photographer for a pretty large annual dance they have every year. They've briefly mentioned they'd want copies of the photos on cd's, somewhere where they can also view them online and one or two asked if they could have prints blown up etc.

now, my dad warned me "although these men are pillars of the community, they're still slick!" meaning - I give one of them a cd, he makes copies and distributes them to the rest of the member.

So, do i charge a hefty upfront fee and make it all inclusive? or do i charge per hour and cd's, prints etc are extra...also take a tally of how many cds to make and charge per head up front?

Also, if you know of any program i can get to make my cd's burn proof...would be much obliged

Thanks!

Scooter Pie

[Sweetlifephoto]

If they insist on getting the disks, then you need to build that into the price of your offering and assume you will get NO sales from prints. The easiest way to do it is to include it in your overall fee. If you give them a break on the digital image costs and also offer prints for sale thinking you will make that back in print sales you probably won't. Once the digital files are out there you can kiss most of your additional revenue goodbye in this type of situation. Get the money up front.

[Scooter Pie]

ahh thanks thanks!

Now i gotta figure out how much to charge!

[Sweetlifephoto]

That can definitely be the hardest part. I think the simplest approach for a one-off event like this is to figure out the amount of time you will put in both during the event and after the shoot, come up with an hourly rate that would make it worthwhile to you and multiply.

[Scooter Pie]

Would it be cheating if i sourced how much other photographers in the general area are charging per hour for an event?

[Sweetlifephoto]

Originally Posted by Scooter Pie

Would it be cheating if i sourced how much other photographers in the general area are charging per hour for an event?

No that is called research Just make sure it is enough to justify the time spent n your own mind or you will resent the work you have to do once the shoot is over.

[Biomech]

Would it be cheating if i sourced how much other photographers in the general area are charging per hour for an event?

OK I'm not "in the area", but when I shoot grad balls and print on the spot I typically make £800-£1,000. Like sweetchuck said, as soon as the CD goes out no one is going to buy prints. Perhaps that's a good starting point? $1250-$1550