Pricing for Photo Shoot & CD

Calm Light Photos

If there is already a thread that addresses this question, I beg your pardon for asking again! I did look around first before creating this new thread...

Anyway, I'm taking pictures for a couple who are eloping. It will only be the two of them, plus Justice of the Peace. They only need me for an hour. I told them it would cost $150 plus the price of what ever pictures they wanted printed through Smug Mug. They like the $150 price, but they would like a CD of all the pictures, too. Now, of course, with a CD they can print as many pictures as they want and do whatever they want with it. What would be a fair price that included the CD?

Thanks for any input...much appreciated!!

urbanaries

Calm Light Photos wrote:

If there is already a thread that addresses this question, I beg your pardon for asking again! I did look around first before creating this new thread...

Anyway, I'm taking pictures for a couple who are eloping. It will only be the two of them, plus Justice of the Peace. They only need me for an hour. I told them it would cost $150 plus the price of what ever pictures they wanted printed through Smug Mug. They like the $150 price, but they would like a CD of all the pictures, too. Now, of course, with a CD they can print as many pictures as they want and do whatever they want with it. What would be a fair price that included the CD?

Thanks for any input...much appreciated!!

For weddings I charge $600 for the disc of all images. For portrait sessions (which may be more appropriate for this given the timeframe) is $275.

This may seem high, but given I spend 12-14 hours for an hour of actual "shooting time".... downloading, editing, uploading, plus my business overhead and creative services, plus the fact that i'm handing them the negatives preventing any print sales, I feel this is a fair amount.

I would be very surprised if ANY wedding shoot was contained within 60 minutes, FWIW. They'll want more shots than just the ceremony, no matter how short that is....right?

fstopFitzgerald

Darlene:
I was recently approached by a couple that was already married, but they wanted "engagement" photos. I always charge $150.00 per hour, which they accepted...in fact they tipped me some more. They inquired about a DVD of all the shots, and I told them $500.00 for the disk.
They thought the price was fair, but that was nealy a month ago, and I have neither print orders, nor request for DVD.
I am tracking usage of their gallery on Google Analytics and they are VERY BUSY looking at least. Hope this helps your decision!

Couple Gallery here:
Michael
www.neffworks.com

urbanaries

fstopFitzgerald wrote:

Darlene:
I was recently approached by a couple that was already married, but they wanted "engagement" photos. I always charge $150.00 per hour, which they accepted...in fact they tipped me some more. They inquired about a DVD of all the shots, and I told them $500.00 for the disk.
They thought the price was fair, but that was nealy a month ago, and I have neither print orders, nor request for DVD.
I am tracking usage of their gallery on Google Analytics and they are VERY BUSY looking at least. Hope this helps your decision!

Couple Gallery here:
Michael
www.neffworks.com

Hate to derail this thread, but you posted the gallery for critique...

my personal opinion (take it for what you paid for it )
1. There are some really gorgeous shots in there, but they are BURIED. 192 shots is way overwhelming to go through. As the photographer, you are hired for not only your expertise behind the camera, but the evaluation of the art as its presented to the client. I bet if I culled this down to 30 shots, it could really blow someone's pants off.
2. While the sharpness, colors are nice, some feel like very good quality "Snapshots." Part of the reason is that most of these appear to be shot with a aperture of f10 - f13. Isolating the subject(s) can really make a difference.
3. Some of the flash shadows are pretty harsh (like the trees)
4. More than a few they are squinting into the sun (put the sun behind them and use flash, just a thought)

All of that said, there are some very, very nice shots and I'd be happy to give more specific critique in the gallery but I hesitate as it is probably "live" to the client.

And last but certainly not least...don't feel bad that they haven't ordered. I have a very very very hard time selling photos online. You're doing the right thing by watermarking and right-click protecting. Even still, I've found time limits are the only way to accomplish this, because people (as you are experiencing) love sitting and looking at them on the 'puter, but don't necessarily dust off that plastic and order some.

I'm getting (personally) very tired of hearing myself whine about clients not ordering pics, but I seriously think the online model is not doing anyone justice. I think in person ordering sessions with experienced salespeople is honestly the only way to go. I just haven't made the time and space commitment yet. In the meantime, I think I may bump my session price up to include a CD because I can't afford to come away from sessions with only a sitting fee.

/rant!

fstopFitzgerald

urbanaries wrote:

Hate to derail this thread, but you posted the gallery for critique...

my personal opinion (take it for what you paid for it )
1. There are some really gorgeous shots in there, but they are BURIED. 192 shots is way overwhelming to go through. As the photographer, you are hired for not only your expertise behind the camera, but the evaluation of the art as its presented to the client. I bet if I culled this down to 30 shots, it could really blow someone's pants off.
2. While the sharpness, colors are nice, some feel like very good quality "Snapshots." Part of the reason is that most of these appear to be shot with a aperture of f10 - f13. Isolating the subject(s) can really make a difference.
3. Some of the flash shadows are pretty harsh (like the trees)
4. More than a few they are squinting into the sun (put the sun behind them and use flash, just a thought)

All of that said, there are some very, very nice shots and I'd be happy to give more specific critique in the gallery but I hesitate as it is probably "live" to the client.

And last but certainly not least...don't feel bad that they haven't ordered. I have a very very very hard time selling photos online. You're doing the right thing by watermarking and right-click protecting. Even still, I've found time limits are the only way to accomplish this, because people (as you are experiencing) love sitting and looking at them on the 'puter, but don't necessarily dust off that plastic and order some.

I'm getting (personally) very tired of hearing myself whine about clients not ordering pics, but I seriously think the online model is not doing anyone justice. I think in person ordering sessions with experienced salespeople is honestly the only way to go. I just haven't made the time and space commitment yet. In the meantime, I think I may bump my session price up to include a CD because I can't afford to come away from sessions with only a sitting fee.

/rant!

Lynn:
Thanks for the critique...as much as I hate to admit it about the sheer numbers of prints I have up there...you are right. It's overwhelming for the customer. I just have a very hard time making decisions about prints that I cut and as a result, the customer maybe missing a "look" that characterizes the person perfectly. I hate to play GOD...and my wife keeps telling me "that's what people are paying you for!"
Your comments RE: DOF and f. stops was good too and after I had a look at your stuff (NICE!) I like what you do isolating the subject, framing and use of funky angles.
Appreciate the honesty...sorry to get off subject too
Michael
www.neffworks.com

urbanaries

fstopFitzgerald wrote:

Lynn:
Thanks for the critique...as much as I hate to admit it about the sheer numbers of prints I have up there...you are right. It's overwhelming for the customer. I just have a very hard time making decisions about prints that I cut and as a result, the customer maybe missing a "look" that characterizes the person perfectly. I hate to play GOD...and my wife keeps telling me "that's what people are paying you for!"
Your comments RE: DOF and f. stops was good too and after I had a look at your stuff (NICE!) I like what you do isolating the subject, framing and use of funky angles.
Appreciate the honesty...sorry to get off subject too
Michael
www.neffworks.com

You're very welcome....listen to your wife, she sounds like a smart lady. Do you call her Zelda? :tuesday

Snowgirl

Curious. What quality of images do you put on the CD? Suitable for sharing on the web? Or edited and good enough for printing?

I'd lean toward the former.

dangin

Snowgirl wrote:

Curious. What quality of images do you put on the CD? Suitable for sharing on the web? Or edited and good enough for printing?

I'd lean toward the former.

i personally limit them to about 2200 pixels on the longside @ 300dpi and 95% quality. this should be more than sufficient for the client to print an 8x10 but it would be a stretch for them to do say a 24" or 30" print. my wedding packages all include a disc with the images on them along with a signed limited reproduction release that outlines what they can and can't do with the images. throughout the wedding photography process, especially during the frontend of booking, i make the client aware of the fact they're getting "print-resolution" copies of the images and the images are for personal use only.

i'd have to agree with taking this gig on as more of a portrait or engagement session than labeling it as an actual wedding. if you would normally charge $150 for the hour, charge $200 instead and give them the disc. not given the disc, this couple is not likely to purchase a great number of prints on the backend anyway. make the sale based on the premise you're a photographer first and a salesperson later.