Pricing for a Sweet 16 Party

MJRPHOTO

I got this email today from a parent of a football player I shot this year.

"I was wondering if you do sweet sixteen event- I'm looking for 3/4 hours just photo DVD Only No albums"

I typically have not priced up a job like this before. Looking for some price advice for this. I am thinking $900-$1000. Not sure on the # of photos to give.

Thanks in advance

Glort

MJRPHOTO wrote: »

I typically have not priced up a job like this before.

I am thinking $900-$1000. Not sure on the # of photos to give.

WOW! Are you serious?
You really never have quoted on anything like this before have you?

Sorry, not meaning to put crap on you, your priceing is not unjust, it's just completely and utterly beyond what people will pay for this type of event in my experience.

Every time over the years I have been asked about a job like this, no matter how low the price, anything above about 20 bux get a reaction like " Oh, but we only want a few snaps taken".

They will spend money on clowns and jumping castles and grog for the parents and a party dress for the stuck up princess but ask them to spend money on the photos they will have to remember it all forever, and they go into cardiac arrest.

I'm in a different part of the world but personally, I think I'd be lucky to get $250 for something like that. Don't know what the perception of the value of photography is in your area, i hope it's better than mine, but I think your a long way from what people will be prepared to pay.

It seems there is always someone who got a camera for christmas these days that will take a loss on a job and they are the " Photographers" that a lot of people in this market will go for.

Start high by all means and have a plan for a backpeddle and a second bite of the cherry. If what they are willing to pay is below what you are willing to work for, then stick to your guns and pass on the job.
You don't have to work hard in order to earn nothing.

If i could get $900 for a job like that, i'd give them all the damn photos I could take in that time or at least 1 full DVD's worth.

Good luck with it and let us know how you go.

Mark Dickinson

Glort wrote: »

WOW! Are you serious?
You really never have quoted on anything like this before have you?

Sorry, not meaning to put crap on you, your priceing is not unjust, it's just completely and utterly beyond what people will pay for this type of event in my experience.

Every time over the years I have been asked about a job like this, no matter how low the price, anything above about 20 bux get a reaction like " Oh, but we only want a few snaps taken".

They will spend money on clowns and jumping castles and grog for the parents and a party dress for the stuck up princess but ask them to spend money on the photos they will have to remember it all forever, and they go into cardiac arrest.

I'm in a different part of the world but personally, I think I'd be lucky to get $250 for something like that. Don't know what the perception of the value of photography is in your area, i hope it's better than mine, but I think your a long way from what people will be prepared to pay.

It seems there is always someone who got a camera for christmas these days that will take a loss on a job and they are the " Photographers" that a lot of people in this market will go for.

Start high by all means and have a plan for a backpeddle and a second bite of the cherry. If what they are willing to pay is below what you are willing to work for, then stick to your guns and pass on the job.
You don't have to work hard in order to earn nothing.

If i could get $900 for a job like that, i'd give them all the damn photos I could take in that time or at least 1 full DVD's worth.

Good luck with it and let us know how you go.

Glort,

I disagree, because here's what I charged for a sweet 16 party.... almost the same as my wedding packages, because it is very same in time, same output etc.

4 hours of coverage, portraits of the family, friends, etc, 1 individual session before (engagement converted), Full dvd released (table top album my cost 60.00) I did give them a discount for being on a sunday (saturday would have been full price). But my total was 1200.00 at the time. (daytona beach florida)


Where I do agree, is the comments. YES they do say we just want a few pics snapped. Then ok do that, Say hey ill come in at the time when portraits are ready for 1hr and cover it. It will be less than (x per photo) 1.00 a photo, 2.00 a photo x 100 pics is 200.00 right there for the hour

This girl in the area here that charges 3600.00 + 1200 dvd for wedddings posted a sweet 16 party and her prices are 2500.00 for sweet 16, 1200 for dvd.

Mark Dickinson

The parts of the world are correct. Ny usually no matter where its higher, weddings there are 4k, while here are 2k on average. Sydney, just like me touristy, and while on an island, cost of living is higher and there's a higher cost to everything except services.

GerryDavid

$900 does seem a bit crazy for 45 minutes, depending what they get.

Ive seen it recommend before to charge what you would normally charge for a wedding, after all its on a day that wedding is usually on, and can take as much time to process. If you book one of these then you could be loosing out on a full paying wedding.

But if all they want is minimal coverage and a few pictures, maybe do it as a regular family portrait and give them what the normal package entails.

Myself, I would try to convince them to get a press printed book with the pictures in it, a nice presentation that will last years. And give them a discount on duplicate books for the grandparents, but still at a profit.

happysmileylady

Are we talking 45 minutes (ie 3/4th of an hour, which is how I read it at first) or are we talking 3 to 4 hours? That makes a big difference.

If we were talking about 45 minutes, I would probably charge $250 for the whole thing, the time spent (I am assuming we are trying to squeeze in A LOT of stuff in 45 min) there, as well as the images on disk.

If we are talking about 3 to 4 hours, I would probably go more like $400 to $500 for everything, maybe as high as $600. That's a little more on par with wedding type of pricing so I would recommend leaning closer to whatever you would charge for a wedding with a disk.

MJRPHOTO

Gerry,
It is not for 3/4 of an hour but 3 or 4 hours. I have some other friends that have told me it should be in the $1200 range. Here in the NY area in the last 10 years it is not unheard of a $20000 sweet 16 party. Not sure If that is true in the last year with the economy the way it is. No one said that she just wants a few photos.

I responded to her email. I told her that My base price for the 3 hour session would be $600. I would edit all photos taken and post to my web site for review. I would include up to 50 images on the DVD for this price. I added that the 4th hour would be an additional $200 and I would include an additional 15 images on the DVD.

Her response to my email was this:
"Thank you for the reply still shopping any reason only 50 when a lot is being shot during the time allowence?"

My response:
You can purchase as many additional photos as you would like. Each additional photo is $10. The 50 is what is included in the base price.

We will see how this goes.

Glort,
I typically enjoy your posts and find them in line with what I find here doing a similar type of shooting on spec.

GerryDavid

That makes more sense, I was thinking 45 min was a short coverage for a party.

Sweet 16 is not to far off from senior portraits, be sure to market that possibility. Perhaps get a mini session with the birthday boy ahead of time to make up some rep cards to be given as party favors. its an added expense but its cheap advertising.

MJRPHOTO

Here is what I found at a local photographer for there sweet sixteen party:

Princess Package - $395.99
Package Includes:
FULL ceremony/event coverage up to 4 hours - This covers entire sweet 16 from Arrival of Special young lady to end of Candle Ceremony!
Family Portraits within venue ( Immediate Family Only )
1/One Professional Event Photographer (Artistic, Traditional and/or Photojournalistic Style)
ALL photos uploaded to Proof Site for client Viewing & Approval
ALL photos uploaded to Pixel Frame Studios Print site for Photo Print Purchasing
Unlimited Quantity of photos During event coverage time


Royalty package - $799.00
FULL ceremony/event coverage up to 4 hours -This covers entire sweet 16; from Arrival of Special young lady to end of Candle Ceremony!
Family Portraits within venue ( Immediate Family Only )
Professional Portraits of Sweet 16 girl inside Venue with professional Lighting Equipment!
2/Two Professional Event Photographers (Multiple Camera Angles, Artistic, Traditional and/or Photojournalistic Style)
ALL photos uploaded to Proof Site for client Viewing & Approval
ALL photos uploaded to Pixel Frame Studios Print site for Photo Print Purchasing
Continuous Photo Shooting During Event Coverage times (approx 100-150/hr)
Includes 82 Photo Sleeve Photo Album

Nether one of there packages includes a DVD of images. Not sure what size the photos are in the second package

Glort

Hmm,

Looking at the other shooters inclusinons, I think I don't properly understand what a " Sweet 16" is in the US?
Never heard of an arrival or Ceremony for any birthday here so obviously there's a lot more to it than what I understood.
Would you typically get this sort of money for any other birthday or is this the exceptionaly important one that would have more spent on it normally?

21'st's are the big birthday here and a really upmarlet one would be in a hall or reception venue but still the only "ceremony" as such would be the cake cutting and sculling of a yard of beer if it was a bloke.

In the end, it all comes down to what $$ people will pay.

Let us know how you go with it.