Free Session Contract or not?

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

The close friend thing is a slippery slope. Read around here and you'll see a lot of threads about folks being taken advantage of by close friends.

Did I second guess myself? You bet, and as much as I harp on it, I also made the underpricing (though not nearly as extreme) mistake.

My thoughts are; if you can deliver, then you should charge based on what you can deliver, not how long you have been delivering it. In other words, if your work is quality, then it matters very little how long you have been around.

Again, Jim, you read my mind!

It's really hard to decide what to do with friends - it completely depends on the situation and what they expect. Keep in mind, if you don't charge them now, they will most likely expect freebies in the future when you are established and taking on full-price clients (and don't have time to devote to freebies). There can be a balance, though - I have a very close friend that watches my kids quite often for me, and she wouldn't dream of charging me. She's also the type of friend I can complain to about people wanting freebies, LOL - She's a dental hygenist and I wouldn't ask her to give my kids a free cleaning! For that type of friend, I won't charge her a session fee, but she won't expect me to pay out of my pocket for prints, either. I have other more casual friends who assume that just because I'm a photographer, I won't mind taking free photos of their kids - which I gracefully back out of. Other times when I've been asked to do portraits by these casual friends/friends of friends, I've said "Sure, let me get you a copy of my price sheet," and let it go from there. They either pony up the money or let it slide.

I second guessed myself many times, and sometimes still do. I'm still fairly new in this business but have educated myself not only in the technical and artistic aspects of photography, but the business side as well. That education continues every day. I've made a lot of mistakes, and I know I'll continue to make mistakes in the future - it's called being human.

Jim's last paragraph is brilliant. It even made me feel better, as I have not been around for a very long time (although I don't tell my clients this - I let them judge me by my body of work, not by how long I've been doing it!). Some people will automatically assume that if you're new, you suck, if you've been around for years, you're a genius. They're also the ones that think "Wow, your camera takes really nice pictures!"

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by lynweber

Thanks guys for the tips I am rethinking the cost. Did you happen to look at the photo I posted on Critique Portraits? That is the one I am thinking of doing and if they want more photos then it would an additional fee.

I'll go take a look.

[candleman]

i've had more trouble with "friends" than with any one else.
you will get taken for a ride.. especiallyu once word gets around, you'll start getting calls saying"but you did it for them for free" so charge them, and dont do it without a contract+release

is $2 an hour (roughly what you'll be making at these prices) really worth being away from your kids ?

[bhursey]

I right now charge nothing for a sitting fee this might be a mistake however I have found that say I do a 1-2 hours photo shoot another say 2 hours of editing. I have found out especially with kid and family photography I get orders around 100+$ and there family and friends order also. I say right now through the end of 2009 I do not charge sitting fees. The one problem I have found is people wait some times months to order pictures. Starting in 2010 I am going to charge a 50$ sitting fee and give a 50$ coupon from zenfolio so that will give them incentive to order. I agree a contract and model release is a must.

I enjoy taking photos my business is just extra money to help my family and pay for the equipment. However I think it might be hard in the future to start charging. However given the reaction to my work I dont think it will be to much of a problem.

[jnuss]

As Susan mentioned previously, you might investigate the "portfolio" or "introductory"
rate, good for one time only. DEFINITELY include a contract spelling out where, what
you will shoot, over what time frame and how much photo editing will be performed. Several of the books mentioned have all these items outlined.

As far as rates, that depends on how much photo service you're planning to perform.
I have a photo job this weekend that only includes onsite shooting, editing, and delivery
to the client of CD's with jpeg images. All printing will be done at client's expense. I've
given him a low introductory rate with the hopes of obtaining more future business.
The quoted rate is approx 40% of what a professional photographer would charge for
the same services. On the other hand, the client realizes he's not getting professional
work. Photography is a hobby for me, not a living. btw: I have a signed contract in hand, otherwise the job would not happen. Good Luck! You'll learn a lot.

[ambbrynic]

I too have been doing portraits here & there for family & friends & then decided that I really love it & want to do it for money. I am only doing it part time right now & am not charging a whole lot to do it, but even a little bit of money makes you feel like you're not doing it for nothing. I set up a price list (again, charging a little over what I'm paying for them-about double, sometimes triple the price to pay for the print) & clearly outline the costs in the price sheet. At the top of the price sheet I put that I charge $65 for a 2 hour "senior" session & $50 for a 1 hour family session. At the bottom I state that all sitting fees are due at the time of the session & that when they place an order they have to pay at least half up front for the cost of the prints & the remainder is due when they receive them. I have put the word out to my family & friends in a nice way to let them know that I am trying to build a business & if they or anyone they know is interested in a price sheet to email or call me. I had some business cards made up with some of the pictures on it that I have taken. Also I have set up a Facebook page for my business & put the word out that way. A lot of people didn't know I was photographing until then. It has gotten me some business. But, make sure if you do that to put a copyright mark on them before you upload them to Facebook. Also check out a site called www.photoreflect.com . You can use it to display proofs for your clients & they can share them with friends, but cannot download from there. They also can place orders from you from that site. I am not making a huge amount of money, but keep my costs down by not printing proofs & just displaying them online. Also it gets my name out there & people are lured in by the great prices & then later after I have more clients then I can raise prices. Good luck with starting your business.

[lynweber]

thanksa ambbrynic. I haven't yet tackled the website thing yet I'm working on it though> Need help with this lots of it. As for a facebook did you create a seperate site from your individual one for your business? Do you mind sharing your price shet with me as an example? Thanks

[ambbrynic]

I did create a separate page for my business on Facebook, that way people could become a "fan' then I of course invited some of my friends & then they invited people, etc. It has gotten my name out there & was pretty easy to set up. Each time I do a new session I put a few pf the pics on there as sneak peek for them to look at before I get all of them uploaded to my photoreflect page. It seems to work out pretty well. I will send you a price list. I'm not sure how to upload it on here though, so I will need your email address.
Amber

[Jim Bryant]

Always get a contract signed wether it be for free or paid services for friends and customers.That way you keep your friends and customers honest!