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What is the going rate ?

pianoman
Posted 19/07/2011 - 10:17 Link
I am getting a little trickle of work comming in recently shooting the making of a pop video did the first last week with 2 more to do,also have a couple of other jobs come in including a family shoot at thier home 3 children and mum and dad and I suspect a few others but I have no real idea what to charge as this is,well more of a surpise than anything else.
Had a look on the web cant get any real indication but as a general rule is there a going rate ?
I use this term as the guy who is using me for the video is paying the going rate !
Any advice would be very welcome

Thanks for any advice
All the best

David
jps
Posted 22/07/2011 - 00:12 Link
Hi David,

This is a near impossible question to answer, and the "going rate" will depend on who's anawering the question.

For instance, an amateur might quote a low price or do the work for free in order to get a foot in the door or get some portfolio pictures, whereas a professional will have insurance, equipment, tax and NI, plus various other overheads to factor in. But a professional should be able to guarantee that clients get the pictures they want, and will therefore command a higher fee.

Another thing to consider is what exactly it is that you're charging for. Is it an attendance fee for taking the photos (e.g. £100 or £500 a day) with the pics then sold on a per image basis, or are you simply selling the images themselves? If so, are you providing prints or framed images (in which case you have to factor this into your prices) or are you providing the pictures on CD (in which case you may want to make clear the copyright issues & warn against unauthorised printing or web use)?

Obviously all this depends on the pricing structure that you decide upon, and/or what you want to do in the future, but it's worth considering where you want to situate yourself in the market (which is exactly what you are doing as soon as you decide to charge for your services).

Best of luck with the shoots, & I hope you get the pricing right.

Jonathan
Don
Posted 22/07/2011 - 00:33 Link
well for weddings it was three thousand, but over three years seems to have dropped to three hundred in my local area. lol!

there are two issues:
1) write a business plan. This will allow you to accurately account for all the costs associated with being in business, including paying yourself a wage and replacing worn out equipment, and you then take the cost of being business and divide it by the number of hours you intend to work then mark up a modest profit.

2) now look at what your competitors are charging. If they didn't do the business plan, and aren't charging appropriately, and are doing the "I'll work for free, or pocket change, or table scraps, now, build a reputation, then charge a fortune later" business plan, the the market in your area if F'duprealgood cause there'll be other along with the same plan and the consumers will suddenly start thinking offereing you a doggie bag IS THE GOING RATE.

weird but it happens.
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
bretti_kivi
Posted 22/07/2011 - 07:28 Link
I'm thinking that a crappy rate for an afternoon's shoot is around €150 and a decent one is about double that. I'm pretty sure the company is paying day-rates of around €500 here...

Bret
my pics: link
my kit: K3, K5, K-01, DA 18-55, D-FA50 macro, Siggy 30/1.4, 100-300/f4, 70-200/2.8, Samsung 12-24/f4, Tamron 17-50, and lots of other bits.
pianoman
Posted 22/07/2011 - 09:13 Link
Thanks Don and Bret very grateful for your help and lots to think about I am just in the process of arranging basics like insurance etc and have carried out a limited trawl of what the going rate is and decided nothing at the moment so a lot more homework and work out some pricing structure to fit what requirements are of the individual.
I will start modest and let the market dictate, and hope that it will evolve to something.
Thanks again I appreciate you both taking the time and for you input
All the best

David

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