Event Photography Rates

VycorVycor Registered Users Posts: 386 Major grins
edited November 14, 2011 in Mind Your Own Business
So I didn't know quite where to post this and i know its a big topic brought up a lot... but my question is this...

Im starting to get into event photography, and let me know if my rates sound fair to you guys:

Up to 2 hours: $200
Each additional hour: $125

This fee includes a CD/DVD of all photos I took.

Or they can hire me to do the printing photo finishing (small PP):

4x6 wallet: 1.49
4x6: $0.49
5x7: $2.49
8x10: $4.29
11x14 Poster: $14.99
12x18 Poster: $17.99
16x20 Poster: $18.99
30x30 Poster: $24.99

Do these rates seem fair?? I have a client that im charging $400 for 5 hours of work (client of mine) for her daughters sweet 16.

Comments

  • darkdragondarkdragon Registered Users Posts: 1,051 Major grins
    edited April 22, 2008
    Vycor wrote:
    So I didn't know quite where to post this and i know its a big topic brought up a lot... but my question is this...

    Im starting to get into event photography, and let me know if my rates sound fair to you guys:

    Up to 2 hours: $200
    Each additional hour: $125

    This fee includes a CD/DVD of all photos I took.

    Or they can hire me to do the printing photo finishing (small PP):

    4x6 wallet: 1.49
    4x6: $0.49
    5x7: $2.49
    8x10: $4.29
    11x14 Poster: $14.99
    12x18 Poster: $17.99
    16x20 Poster: $18.99
    30x30 Poster: $24.99

    Do these rates seem fair?? I have a client that im charging $400 for 5 hours of work (client of mine) for her daughters sweet 16.

    Why would they buy prints from you if you are giving all the pictures on CD for "free"? Seems to me that you shouldn't include the cd in the cost, but your hourly rate sounds pretty good.

    ne_nau.gif
    ~ Lisa
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited April 22, 2008
    No, you're waaaaay cheap
    Personally I think you're way cheap especially for NY.....let me pose question as if I am a client......You want $200 for the first 2 hours and the next 2 are costing me $250....Dude what gives?? Your initial hourly rate should be higher and it should decrease with added time as you are already there.
    At your current pricing a wedding will cost $450 for a simple 4 hour wedding....but another client is getting 5hours of work for $400 or $80/hour.......okay do you have liability insurance (if not you need it...seriously......haven't been to look at your profile to see what equipment your using but that equip. cost money to repair or replace.....{how about equipment insurance....seriously need that and homeowners will not cover you once they find you are shooting for money).......the special clothes you have to wear cost to clean, repair or replace........well over 15yrs ago I got $375 for a simple 3 hr wedding with a per hour rate of 150 for the next 2 hours and 115 for every hour after that.......what about your computer....software.....disk burner .....printer....ink....CD's/DVD's......

    I base all my events off what I charge for a wedding.....a special occasion is a ONCE in a lifetime event.......if we look at events correctly they are all ONCE IN A LIFETIME events.....today April 22,2008 will never come around again and you can never do this day over again..........

    I am not telling you to ripp off your clients.......but raise your prices so that they expect to see PRO QUALITY from you.......whether or not you call your self a pro......you are charging for services rendered os charge like a PRO and start making enuff money to buy more toys and to get you equipment repaired when the drunk friend of the someone accidentally knocks you and your camera into a wall and the lens is all tweaked and the mounts will not let loose...........if you do event photography long enuff an accident will happen.........


    a little story of almost horror that happened to me.....

    Shooting a wedding in Bella Vista Ark......soI am staying at my brothers on thirs day I take a trek out into the Ozarks and get back Friday afternoon....I notice taht my flash and some other things had been moved around.....figured it was my brother getting into the blanket storage for some reason......so I begin checking and double checking equipment everything seems great.....later I decide I want to do some bird shots but it is late afternoon and the sun is casting some dark shadows...so I hook up the flash and plug it into a Quantum battery (my brother enters the room with his grandson in his arms)...something tells me to turn my back to them as I switch the flash on.....it grenades plastic and glass go all over the wall and room......the reason he came in was to tell me his granson had been the room and had taken the battery adapter out and he put it back in....well it was a DIY adapter for some DIY battery packs I had made but I was using a newly acquired and rebuilt quantum.......if I had waited and not used the flash and it had exploded at the wedding I could have hurt a lot of people....fun part was calling the 3 stores in the area that were about to close and tell them I was coming in a Sherrifs Officer car for a new flash.....well I wound up driving over 150 to get a new flash for the wedding...older brother leaned a lesson.....do not put back to together if you aren't sure how it goes.....yeah brother paid for new flash.....and I got lucky that the new flash was a programable flash for the Nikon I was using at the time......I hate using new at the spur of the moment:D

    Equipment accident........

    As I was leaving a wedding I had my gear all stacked and ready to be loaded into my vehicle...but somehow my strobes (studio strobes) did not fit back into their case.....with the stands and extension cords....I had 1 that was sitting on top of the case.....it was 3 flights of stairs to the ground floor and someone somehow sent that strobe thru the bannister and to the ground floor....spiral stairs so the strobe went directly to the first floor.....I tossed the strobe and later found out that it could have been rebuilt for less than 1/2 of what a new one cost (ok it did not cost me ....insurance paid for it )...later found out it as a toddler that had slid it across the floor off the stair case and he just barely got caught by a shoulder hitting the banister upright and that was all the kept the child from certain death......
    now I use an assistant to make sure things don't happen........

    There are so many incidentals to consider if you do it carefully....I think you will want no less than $1K for a 4 hour event and that is considered cheap by some.........

    Not trying to scare or overwhelm you but I did not consider a lot of theses things my FIRST TIME around in business and could not for the life of me figure out why I was not making any real money.....my gross looked great but after everything was paid I was without any thing to show for my endeavors.............Oh yeah and my homeowners Insurance dropped coverage on all my equipment after I saw my agent at a wedding and he was told "of course we are paying him........" Insurance companies do not take into account the definition of a PRO....to make at least one half your income from photography......nope if you get paid for 1 job you're a PRO and they want to charge you PRO rates:D

    Sorry this is so long.....hope it helps
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • VycorVycor Registered Users Posts: 386 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2008
    It helps

    I work fulltime as an IT mamanger, so i didn't wanna go nuts with the photography side jobs. I've only shot one other event, a bar mitzvah for a co-workers family. And then a client of mine asked about a sweet 16 party.

    So i had to come up with some standard rates and then give them a discount.

    So... the insurance... maybe i should do that. Because I shoot news photography, which is more dangerous then weddings/events. Im out there running around from scene to scene taking photos. In the rain, in the mud, at crime scenes/fires/accidents. A lot can happen.

    Any thoughts on who I talk to regarding various insurances for my equipment since im making $$ (and paying taxes at the end of hte year) at some things

    I don't do weddings, i won't. Too important a day for someone and im just not up to that level. Im still learning as far as event photography goes. I have some decent equipment, i still owe myself personally about $4,000 that i laid out for equipment thats not paid off yet.

    I see what your saying regarding $200 for first 2 hours, then higher for other hours. How bout these rates:

    $300 for first 2 hours, each additional is $125 (2 hour minimum obviously).
    Then include the rates for the photos. If they want to buy the photos from me on a CD/DVD rather then paying for my processing, then say... $75 for the CD/DVD of all the images?

    Or should I do set rates, like 1-250 images = $50, 250-500 images = $75??
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2008
    Gonna refer you to this event photgraphy thread.....over HERE


    PPA has some great benefits and also insurance available to its members....I am not yet a member but looking at them real hard.......also check companies offering commerical insurance for rates......if we were in the UK or Europe we would have all kinds of Photogography Insurance companies to pick from.....the US is lacking in some areas for sure......
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • lisabevvlisabevv Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
    edited November 13, 2011
    Art Scott wrote: »
    Personally I think you're way cheap especially for NY.....let me pose question as if I am a client......You want $200 for the first 2 hours and the next 2 are costing me $250....Dude what gives?? Your initial hourly rate should be higher and it should decrease with added time as you are already there.
    At your current pricing a wedding will cost $450 for a simple 4 hour wedding....but another client is getting 5hours of work for $400 or $80/hour.......okay do you have liability insurance (if not you need it...seriously......haven't been to look at your profile to see what equipment your using but that equip. cost money to repair or replace.....{how about equipment insurance....seriously need that and homeowners will not cover you once they find you are shooting for money).......the special clothes you have to wear cost to clean, repair or replace........well over 15yrs ago I got $375 for a simple 3 hr wedding with a per hour rate of 150 for the next 2 hours and 115 for every hour after that.......what about your computer....software.....disk burner .....printer....ink....CD's/DVD's......

    I base all my events off what I charge for a wedding.....a special occasion is a ONCE in a lifetime event.......if we look at events correctly they are all ONCE IN A LIFETIME events.....today April 22,2008 will never come around again and you can never do this day over again..........

    I am not telling you to ripp off your clients.......but raise your prices so that they expect to see PRO QUALITY from you.......whether or not you call your self a pro......you are charging for services rendered os charge like a PRO and start making enuff money to buy more toys and to get you equipment repaired when the drunk friend of the someone accidentally knocks you and your camera into a wall and the lens is all tweaked and the mounts will not let loose...........if you do event photography long enuff an accident will happen.........


    a little story of almost horror that happened to me.....

    Shooting a wedding in Bella Vista Ark......soI am staying at my brothers on thirs day I take a trek out into the Ozarks and get back Friday afternoon....I notice taht my flash and some other things had been moved around.....figured it was my brother getting into the blanket storage for some reason......so I begin checking and double checking equipment everything seems great.....later I decide I want to do some bird shots but it is late afternoon and the sun is casting some dark shadows...so I hook up the flash and plug it into a Quantum battery (my brother enters the room with his grandson in his arms)...something tells me to turn my back to them as I switch the flash on.....it grenades plastic and glass go all over the wall and room......the reason he came in was to tell me his granson had been the room and had taken the battery adapter out and he put it back in....well it was a DIY adapter for some DIY battery packs I had made but I was using a newly acquired and rebuilt quantum.......if I had waited and not used the flash and it had exploded at the wedding I could have hurt a lot of people....fun part was calling the 3 stores in the area that were about to close and tell them I was coming in a Sherrifs Officer car for a new flash.....well I wound up driving over 150 to get a new flash for the wedding...older brother leaned a lesson.....do not put back to together if you aren't sure how it goes.....yeah brother paid for new flash.....and I got lucky that the new flash was a programable flash for the Nikon I was using at the time......I hate using new at the spur of the moment:D

    Equipment accident........

    As I was leaving a wedding I had my gear all stacked and ready to be loaded into my vehicle...but somehow my strobes (studio strobes) did not fit back into their case.....with the stands and extension cords....I had 1 that was sitting on top of the case.....it was 3 flights of stairs to the ground floor and someone somehow sent that strobe thru the bannister and to the ground floor....spiral stairs so the strobe went directly to the first floor.....I tossed the strobe and later found out that it could have been rebuilt for less than 1/2 of what a new one cost (ok it did not cost me ....insurance paid for it )...later found out it as a toddler that had slid it across the floor off the stair case and he just barely got caught by a shoulder hitting the banister upright and that was all the kept the child from certain death......
    now I use an assistant to make sure things don't happen........

    There are so many incidentals to consider if you do it carefully....I think you will want no less than $1K for a 4 hour event and that is considered cheap by some.........

    Not trying to scare or overwhelm you but I did not consider a lot of theses things my FIRST TIME around in business and could not for the life of me figure out why I was not making any real money.....my gross looked great but after everything was paid I was without any thing to show for my endeavors.............Oh yeah and my homeowners Insurance dropped coverage on all my equipment after I saw my agent at a wedding and he was told "of course we are paying him........" Insurance companies do not take into account the definition of a PRO....to make at least one half your income from photography......nope if you get paid for 1 job you're a PRO and they want to charge you PRO rates:D

    Sorry this is so long.....hope it helps




    Thank you for this post very informative
  • GlortGlort Registered Users Posts: 1,015 Major grins
    edited November 14, 2011
    Vycor wrote: »
    Up to 2 hours: $200
    Each additional hour: $125

    This fee includes a CD/DVD of all photos I took.

    Or they can hire me to do the printing photo finishing (small PP):

    4x6 wallet: 1.49
    4x6: $0.49
    5x7: $2.49
    8x10: $4.29
    11x14 Poster: $14.99
    12x18 Poster: $17.99
    16x20 Poster: $18.99
    30x30 Poster: $24.99

    Do these rates seem fair?? I have a client that im charging $400 for 5 hours of work (client of mine) for her daughters sweet 16.

    .49C for a 6x4?? Why don't you just give them away and be done with it? Hardly seems like charging for in the first place or worth your effort walking out the door.
    At these prices you are just bastardising and undermining the profitability and credibility of the industry.

    If your worried your new to the game and can't charge a reasonable fee like other shooters, forget about going into this till you can.
    Your clients will forever remember crappy work but never remember the price.
    If your work is up to speed, then there is no reason not to charge a price that does not insult the time, investment and skill you are putting into this is there?

    As a guide, $30 for an 8x10(12) seems to be a common price point. I charge $15-20 for a 5x7 depending on the event.
    Frankly I have no idea why people do 6x4's, to me it is a completely amateur size and looks that way. If you want to offer it, charge the same as a 5x7. If people question it, tell them that your camera shoots much higher res than that and minitureisation is a costly process. they only want a 6x4 because they think its cheaper so they can pay less. You are there to earn money, not do charity work for those that can afford to pay. If you do want to do charity work, that's fine, but go find worthy recipiants of your time and skills.
    I have a charity I donate my efforts to and it's very rewarding.

    As for your hourly rates, I'd suggest $200 per hour is a lot closer to the mark and it should be a 2 Hour MINIMUM plus travel if the job is outside 30-to 60 min from you.

    I understand you are new to this and may not have much idea of going rates but all I can say is I'd be completely embarrassed to ask for such a piddling amount for my work and feel like I was coming across as desperate or something.
    I'm pretty sure that such low rates will kill any chance of decent work as people will automaticaly assume that either your work is crap or that there is something you're not telling them .Either way, Being too cheap is possibly more detrimental than being to expensive.
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