I'm working really really hard to get my photography stuff going...I need some opinions from other people. Please help.
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What do you think is a fair price for a sitting?
Individual
Family
Extended family
Baby
I'm not sure how to adjust the prices...$20, $50 , $100? Less? more?
A sitting would usually be about an hour and would include a disk with all edited full resolution images with full right to reproduce all images.
Along with that, would you prefer the disk or a package with prints?
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I'm thinking of doing a $20 special for a mini sitting for a baby blessing...probably 30 min . Would anyone take advantage of that?
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Whats a fair price for a wedding?
I was thinking of doing it by the hour with a two hour min.($75 hr?)
Would you pay extra for separate bridal and engagement sittings?($50?)
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Would you prefer indoor or outdoor pictures? I'm trying to decide if I should invest in my indoor studio or if I should just focus on outdoor photos.
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I'm also looking for some people to take pictures of to build my portfolio. I need one of each of the following:
Baby
family & siblings
maternity
engagement
I'll do it for $15 to cover my time and gas if needed since it's building my portfolio. I'll include the pictures on a disk.
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I'm also looking for another wedding to do. I'll do the reception and mini bridal sitting in town for $50. ($100 out of town at a temple to cover gas and time)
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I can't offer these prices for long as I need to make back the money I'm putting into it. I'll be making a website soon showing the pictures and products I'll be offering.
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The last thing I'm trying to decide is this:
Should I invest in a semi professional camera? I would have to charge more money for the sittings, but the quality would be really good. The camera I have now is decent, but it's entry level for digital SLR.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
10 comments:
Brooke,
One suggestion I might offer is to look at some websites of established photographers to see what they are charging. Then you can come down from there based upon your experience, equipment, etc.
I would recommend the best camera you can afford.
I would think that if you do good work (which everything I've seen so far is great), you can get away with charging a higher fare. Pictures are priceless in my book!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
I do not know what to tell you. I just bought a special with photogenix that was 3 settings with a free 8x10 at each setting for $45.00, but once you get in there they take a bunch of pictures and ofcourse you can not settle for just the 8x10. I ended up spending $200 on Saidey's one year pictures. I know another place here does not do a setting fee, but they charge $15 for each sheet, so by the time we did an 8x10 for each of the girls and family, wallets, and the two girls together we were into it $105. Good Luck!!
I agree. Invest in the best camera you can afford, and then you can charge more. I don't really know anything about prices myself, but you could look at websites as previously mentioned and maybe even contact the photographers to see how much experience they have, what kind of camera they use, etc. I like outdoor shots, personally.
I just paid $50 for my non-professional but talented photographer cousin to take our family photos. It took about an hour (I'll put some on my blog once I get the CD).
Oh, I do like the CD idea where people can get their own prints instead of doing packages.
I like the baby blessing special and would take advantage of it.
I have no idea a fair price for a wedding. sorry! My uncle did ours for free as a gift (you can check out his website at www.bkbarnes.com.
I wish I lived closer so I could take advantage of your portfolio building!
Here's my thoughts Brooke. I would definately invest in a really good camera. I'm sure it will pay for itself in the end. Also, more people like doing outside shots that I've found because they can pick the location and what type of pictures they want. Inside it's limited. I like outdoor ones better myself.
Here are 3 websites of professional's in Utah:
http://www.raquelallenphotography.com/
http://www.jessicawhitephoto.com/
http://www.amybennion.com/
I think I gave you these before. Raquel did my sister's engagement/family pictures and Amy Bennion did ours in Utah last week. I was very impressed. For all 3 families in the pics w/ whatever pics we wanted her to take we paid #361. That was a $300 basic package w/ $2 each additional person over 6 and then we paid $10 for 2 extra discs of pics. We also will get 1 11X4, 2 8X10's and 3 5X7's with the package I think.
When I got my wedding pictures done 13 years ago we paid $400 for a package. He did a bridal/engagement sitting at one time and then came to the temple and the reception hall as well. I got a large picture of the bridal sitting in a beautiful frame along w/ a book of wedding pics, but no cd. I had to order all my own prints. AARGH!!!
Remember, Amy told me that because you're in Cali you can get away with charging more, but she did suggest to keep it lower at first until you feel comfortable with your photography. I think the prices you put on your post are fair, but I would charge a little more than just covering your expenses. I mean you do want to make a little $ at it, right. If I think of anything more I'll let you know.
Hey Brooke-
A friend out here did our pictures last fall for $50 for the sitting fee and gave us the disk with all pictures on it and with printing rights. She also edited some for free. A LOT of people out here took advantage of that and I think that's a good deal to get you started. It will really build up your portfolio.
Also, I like your outdoor pictures better. You can invest in a studio, but I think if I were you, I would wait to do that once you build more of a name for yourself since your outdoor ones look so great.
I think that you should definetly upgrade your camera, but I think you should wait. Seeing as you just got it 6 months ago, I would see what else you can do with it and try to get your money out of it before you decide to move past it. I think for now, you should invest in some lenses (those make more of a difference so I hear) and some photo editing software. If you already have it, invest some time into it. Cause that makes all the difference too.
Did you already do a wedding? I thought I recalled you said something about doing a wedding. If you did it already, how did it go? If it went well, I think you should base prices off of that.
I also feel really strongly about having a good website. A good website makes ALL the difference. I hate it when I go to a photographers website and it's either not good, or too hard to navigate.
Basing your prices off other photographers is a good idea, but you have to keep in mind how long those photographers have been doing it. If they've been doing it longer, they are going to charge more.
If you are going to do outside pics think about the lighting equipment you'll need and other stuff. Amy Bennion had her camera on a tripod part of the time w/ a cord and push button to take the pics so she could move around. That came in handy when she took our pics because she was trying desperately to get Jacob to smile with her feather duster. She also had the small tool she used to measure light around our faces and she had a big flash thing mounted to her camera that she could move around. Don't know if you know about any of those things.
I wouldn't have a clue, but I think you do great pictures.
I don't know much about photography and prices, but I'm interseted in helping you build your portfolio. I was just talking to my Mom the other day and was telling her that we need I need to get a family picture done. The last one we took Gracie was 9 months old, now she is 3 and we now have Sara-Jane who is almost 2. So Portfolio or not I would love for you to take our family pictures.
The lady that did our wedding pics I think charged $75 for each of the engagements and bridals, and then $250 for the wedding. She doesn't have a business or anything, just kinda does it as a side job. I think she told me once that she would charge $65 for family pictures outside somewhere. I do like her pics though. Hopefully that helps a little!!!
I know my friend that does pics charges about $150 for family pics. She did ours for free but she lets people keep the cd too so they can print their own. It's supper nice to have the cd cuz you can order what you want when you want nad you don't have to worry about stupid copyright laws and if the photographer ends up dying later on and you want pics you can't get them cuz he's gone. THat's what has happened to my parents. They didn't get many wedding pics and now they want them but the photographer has past on and so they can't get permission to copy. Outside photos are always fun but indoor one are nice too. My cousing does photography. You can check out the website at kcportraits.com. Good luck!
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