What to charge ???

jgoetz4 · November 14, 2007

Mornin' Folks,
It looks like I'll be shooting 'progress photos' for a very large contractor in my area. One of their superintendents was impressed by all of my 'courtesy' photos of one of his bldgs. He flat out said that my pictures were much better then his paid photographer. I've been shooting this type of photography for about 3 yrs, and photography in general since the mid 80's (I still have my working Canon AE-1 film camera) Anyway, I am not sure what to charge per hour for the edited digital files on disc, although, I was guessing around $75/hr (min 2 hrs) for about 25 shots. The sites will be within 30 mins of my house. Let me know if I'm in the ball park, or at the very least, in the parking lot.
Thank you very much & have a good day

Jim...

ArchiTexas · November 14, 2007

I was wondering why you're going to digitally edit construction progress shots? I work for an architecture firm and when we do site progress shots we are more interested in quantity, i.e. making sure most major building conditions are photographed. Why? Because you can't anticipate what part of the building, or phase of construction, may become an issue four or six months down the road. My two cents to you are to consider upping your charge and in turn providing more photos. Unless the contractor is hiring you for marketing images, I wouldn't overly concern myself w/ the usual attributes of a "good photo". Construction progress shots are usually used as backup information in case a problem arises in the future, they are also useful in determining whether sub-contractors are due their progress payments (have they done their work.) Discuss what the end use is with the Contractor and make sure you know what he's looking for - you need to know why didn't he like his previous photographer. The only post-processing I'd do is rename the files to include the shoot date at the front of the file name. (Granted, a few interior shots may be dark (if the lights aren't in yet) and may need lightening up.) Also, work out a schedule for additional shoots - since the building is under construction he will need more progress shots at critical phases.

claudermilk · November 14, 2007

For pricing I know there's a day-rate calculator on one of the professional association sites. I've forgotten what it is & a quickie Google search isn't turning it up right now. IIRC, from running my own lowball estimates of costs, that $75 sounds low.

jgoetz4 · November 14, 2007

ArchiTexas wrote:

I was wondering why you're going to digitally edit construction progress shots? I work for an architecture firm and when we do site progress shots we are more interested in quantity, i.e. making sure most major building conditions are photographed. Why? Because you can't anticipate what part of the building, or phase of construction, may become an issue four or six months down the road. My two cents to you are to consider upping your charge and in turn providing more photos. Unless the contractor is hiring you for marketing images, I wouldn't overly concern myself w/ the usual attributes of a "good photo". Construction progress shots are usually used as backup information in case a problem arises in the future, they are also useful in determining whether sub-contractors are due their progress payments (have they done their work.) Discuss what the end use is with the Contractor and make sure you know what he's looking for - you need to know why didn't he like his previous photographer. The only post-processing I'd do is rename the files to include the shoot date at the front of the file name. (Granted, a few interior shots may be dark (if the lights aren't in yet) and may need lightening up.) Also, work out a schedule for additional shoots - since the building is under construction he will need more progress shots at critical phases.

Good Morning,
Thanks for the comments. Let me explain a few things

First of all, have you ever looked at a photo album that contains pictures of bldgs ?
Being in an architectural firm I would have to say that you have. As most of those pictures go, the bldgs have some distortions, either barrelling or pincushion, perhaps some type of vignetting, issues with either shadow detail or blown highlights, lack of sharpness and possible ca. Now most people live with that; however, there is no reason for it.
There is a very large developer that I am currently working with, as an consultant inspector. This one project alone is around 4 billion dollars over the next 4-6 yrs. I have seen their 'coffee table' books that contain these exact photos, and frankly, if they were my pictures, I would be ashamed to show them like that. These were taken by a 'professional', and after looking at them, I have come to realize that my 19 yr old son could have done a much better job with just basic editing.
While yes, some of these pictures will be used for marketing purposes, why limit the editing to just those pictures. I'd rather spend additional time and have a book of pictures that are edited to the best of my ability and have people comment how well they look.
My 2 cents worth ? If people would start to re-take the interest in quality, instead of quantity, perhaps you wouldn't have to worry about issues down the road.
Have a good day

Jim...

jgoetz4 · November 14, 2007

claudermilk wrote:

For pricing I know there's a day-rate calculator on one of the professional association sites. I've forgotten what it is & a quickie Google search isn't turning it up right now. IIRC, from running my own lowball estimates of costs, that $75 sounds low.

Hey Chris,
I've done some research on the web earlier and came to the conclusion that the going rate, depending on what part of the country you're in, varies anywhere from$125-$175 per/hr, as well as, $10-$15 per disc. Some people even charge travel time. Thank you.
Have a good day

Jim...

ArchiTexas · November 14, 2007

jgoetz4 wrote:

My 2 cents worth ? If people would start to re-take the interest in quality, instead of quantity, perhaps you wouldn't have to worry about issues down the road.
Have a good day
Jim...

Jgoetz4, I agree w/ you sentiments regarding quality.

What threw me off was your use of the term "progress shots". To me that term refers to construction progress shots, but apparently thats not what you meant. In the case of construction progress shots the objective is documentation, they tend to look almost forensic. Yes, some construction shots are used for marketing and need to look great, but the majority of those images are used, essentially, as legal documents: visual records of the work at a given point in time. As documents of record the qualities that make them good are different than what I look for in a good landscape or portrait shot. Similarly, the qualities I look for in a legal document, like a contract, are different from what I would call good "literature" in a novel.

Construction progress shots need a high level of detail, complete coverage of the work (much more than 25 shots), and the ability to see the sequencing of the materials (what sits behind what). These images are used to ensure quality in the construction of the building, which is the whole point of photographing it's construction in the first place. Three quarters of the shots we archive show details like caulking around a plumbing vent, the installation of a piece of flashing, etc. It sounds like that's NOT what your client wants and I misunderstood your assignment.

Regarding beautiful shots of architecture, yes I've seen them. And yes, when we need them we don't goof around: we hire professional architectural photographers for our marketing materials, awards submittals, and for use in publications. The goal of those photo shoots, however, is significantly different from what I was describing. It sounds like your client is looking for good shots of their work to showcase their abilities, and not the "progress shots" I discussed. Even more reason to go higher than $75!

I wish you the best on your assignment, and I admire your integrity.:D

jgoetz4 · November 14, 2007

ArchiTexas wrote:

Jgoetz4, I agree w/ you sentiments regarding quality.

What threw me off was your use of the term "progress shots". To me that term refers to construction progress shots, but apparently thats not what you meant. In the case of construction progress shots the objective is documentation, they tend to look almost forensic. Yes, some construction shots are used for marketing and need to look great, but the majority of those images are used, essentially, as legal documents: visual records of the work at a given point in time. As documents of record the qualities that make them good are different than what I look for in a good landscape or portrait shot. Similarly, the qualities I look for in a legal document, like a contract, are different from what I would call good "literature" in a novel.

Construction progress shots need a high level of detail, complete coverage of the work (much more than 25 shots), and the ability to see the sequencing of the materials (what sits behind what). These images are used to ensure quality in the construction of the building, which is the whole point of photographing it's construction in the first place. Three quarters of the shots we archive show details like caulking around a plumbing vent, the installation of a piece of flashing, etc. It sounds like that's NOT what your client wants and I misunderstood your assignment.

Regarding beautiful shots of architecture, yes I've seen them. And yes, when we need them we don't goof around: we hire professional architectural photographers for our marketing materials, awards submittals, and for use in publications. The goal of those photo shoots, however, is significantly different from what I was describing. It sounds like your client is looking for good shots of their work to showcase their abilities, and not the "progress shots" I discussed. Even more reason to go higher than $75!

I wish you the best on your assignment, and I admire your integrity.:D

Thank you very much. Now you know where I am coming from

Have a good day

Jim...

claudermilk · November 15, 2007

jgoetz4 wrote:

Hey Chris,
I've done some research on the web earlier and came to the conclusion that the going rate, depending on what part of the country you're in, varies anywhere from$125-$175 per/hr, as well as, $10-$15 per disc. Some people even charge travel time. Thank you.
Have a good day
Jim...

I found another place with that rate caluclator last night. I finally loaded up PhotoByte and discovered it had the very same calculator buried within it. On initial glance it looks to be a pretty good app for managing a photo business. At the very least, there's a good selection of release forms included.

jgoetz4 · November 15, 2007

claudermilk wrote:

I found another place with that rate caluclator last night. I finally loaded up PhotoByte and discovered it had the very same calculator buried within it. On initial glance it looks to be a pretty good app for managing a photo business. At the very least, there's a good selection of release forms included.

Thank you

Very useful information I'm sure.
Have a good day

Jim...

claudermilk · November 16, 2007

AHA!! Here's the site I was thinking of (thanks Andy--an old post with a link cropped up): http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/cdb/

swintonphoto · November 17, 2007

I charge $225 an hour.

jgoetz4 · November 17, 2007

swintonphoto wrote:

I charge $225 an hour.

Mornin' Jonathan,
Thank you for the information. Since I'll be working part time, with no real overhead expenses, other then transportation & taxes, my new client will be very happy with my $125/hr instead of the $185/hr he is, or was, paying.
Have a good day

Jim...

What to charge ???

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