rocketfeuille 0 #1 June 3, 2005 I know this question isn't related to skydiving photography, but I figured that you guys would be the most help. I've been a serious amateur for a few years, just hobbying. Well, when some friends of mine got engaged this year, I did their engagement photos. As a result, they asked me to shoot their wedding as well. I agreed to do both for free because they're good friends and I didn't know any better. The engagement photos were pretty easy, but the only other free wedding I ever shoot will be for family. Anyway, now that people have seen the pictures they got, I've had some calls from people who want to hire me for family photos and a wedding. The problem is that I don't know how much to charge. Obviously, I'm new in the business and have very little reputation built for myself, but I honestly have no idea where to start in determining rates. I'm shooting digital, by the way. Any help or advice you guys can offer would be very much appreciated. Here's a sample. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdctlc 0 #2 June 3, 2005 I dont hav a clue but I judt did a quick Jahoo search and found this site: http://www.walkaboutstudio.com/wedding/wphrate.html http://www.ctphotojournalist.com/rates/index.shtml or http://www.tomellisphoto.com/weddings.htm Hope that is a good starting point. Might be cool to poke around the sites to get an idea on the stuff others are doing, always good to pick up new tricks and ideas... Hope that helps, Scott C."He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #3 June 3, 2005 just because you're new don't undersell yourself... be open to work out a rate that works for you and your customer, but don't forget all the money on equipment, time (years) you've been playing around to get good, especially all the running around the day of as well as any & all behind the scenes work (editing/processing/etc...) that the customers don't see. If you want... sit down, write up a list & attach $ amounts to each part with an hourly rate or something just to come up with a total. I just had a friend call me. turns out the wedding is the day of my home DZ's Batavia Boogie so i can't make it, but their broke & only now are scratching for someone to do the video. Sorry, IMHO a couple hundred dollars isn't going to cover my equipment rental, or materials alone, or make me want to lug 60 pounds of gear around all day, chase wireless mics from people that are running away with them, or make me want to shoot the whole ceremony, & "the important parts of the reception." it's probably a minimum of a 10-12 hr day with almost as much editing time, plus making copies or DVD authoring. I have completely learned that lesson from my mentor... thanks tom. matt p.s. depending on what you handle post production wise or processing i can't imagine less that $750-1000 for a basic all day set with some simple prints that they can choose from & buy more in packages. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayhawkJumper 0 #4 June 4, 2005 As far as weddings, don't undersell yourself, and make all your pricing perfectly clear right away. I've gotten complaints when people think the prints should have been included in the original price so make things very clear. I'll tell you what I charge, maybe that will help you. Here's a basic idea of what I charge: Basic: $500 - wedding ceremony and wedding party portraits Deluxe - $750 - pre-wedding activities, ceremony, wedding party portraits, and reception photos. Ultimate - $1,300 - rehearsa dinner, pre-wedding, ceremony, wedding party portraits, reception, and any other photos requested. Those prices are just for shooting it, but the ultimate package comes with $300 worth of free prints. All prints are extra and sold seperately. I think I charge about $18.00 for an 8x10 and they go up or down from there. You'll probably get asked for lots of favors because when you shoot free weddings and you're good at it, everyone is your best friend. I'd say only shoot free stuff for immediate family or you'll get hit up everywhere. Good luck, have fun and take an extra everything. Literally, have two of everything, because whatever it is, if you need it, it will break at the ceremony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billo 0 #5 June 4, 2005 I'd recommend to go out to the wedding forum on photo.net for starters... http://photo.net/bboard/forum?topic_id=2021 IMO, charge what you feel your time is worth. I'm not a big fan of messing around with prints, so i don't go that route. I'd rather just charge them $800-$2000 and give them CD/DVDs of all of the photo files (after you go back over them and crop, reduce noise, adjust white balance, etc). Then your hands are wiped clean of it and you can go onto the next project. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rocketfeuille 0 #6 June 6, 2005 Thanks for the tips, everybody. Appreciate it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
