Event photography - what would you charge?

zoeblue · April 4, 2008

Hi All,

I received an inquiry the other day regarding event photography. One of my mom's co-workers wants to know how much I would charge for taking photos of her daughter's graduation ceremony (I think it's high school), and the graduation/b-day party afterwards.

I've shot a few weddings and have charged $1200 for those but am unsure how much to charge for this particular event :dunno .

Any advice would be great. Thanks!
Zoe

swintonphoto · April 4, 2008

I charge $225 an hour. It's a pretty comparable rate to the other photographers in my area. Any idea what people are charging there?

LUCKYSHOT · April 4, 2008

zoeblue wrote:

Hi All,

I received an inquiry the other day regarding event photography. One of my mom's co-workers wants to know how much I would charge for taking photos of her daughter's graduation ceremony (I think it's high school), and the graduation/b-day party afterwards.

I've shot a few weddings and have charged $1200 for those but am unsure how much to charge for this particular event .

Any advice would be great. Thanks!
Zoe

what is she asking for in terms of prints?or does she just want the digital files on disc. Are you allowed to sell the images on your site? Do they want pics of all the graduates or just a few ?A high school graduation is usually 2 hours and the party is probably 4 , an hour in between the two events and post production time this puts you in 10-12 hours invested. I live in NY and things are expensive here as I am sure they are in Southern California and beyond, So dont undercut yourself, unless you are looking for more exposure .More info needed please
All the best
Chris
www.longislandimage.com

Scott_Quier · April 4, 2008

Some things to consider:

What's your time worth, consider time shooting, time between the two events, travel time, etc
You think it's a High School graduation. Need to find out for sure what it is that you are shooting.
Then, you need to find out if you will/can get the access you need to get the photos that the client will be expecting. You don't want to deliver shots that the client could have gotten from their seat. If you can't do better than that, yo might want to decline rather then disappoint.

joshhuntnm · April 4, 2008

I don't know nothing about nothing, but I'd think if you can sell the prints online you would make a killing on that.

jonh68 · April 5, 2008

joshhuntnm wrote:

I don't know nothing about nothing, but I'd think if you can sell the prints online you would make a killing on that.

I wouldn't set my base price on selling prints for an event. I have found you will get a lot of looks but not many buys. Get the price for shooting the event and make the prints available on smugmug for purchase at default prices if you like. Something like this you probably want as little maintenance of it as possible. Figure your time and what it's worth to you, put the pictures online and be done with it.

SavedByZero · April 5, 2008

$200-$300 for five hours of shooting/travel time and burn them a CD of all JPG images taken that are acceptable (infocuse,exposure). $30 for each additional CDs if needed. It's similar to a wedding but with alot less work and NO MOTHER OF THE BRIDE in your face either.

SavedByZero · April 5, 2008

joshhuntnm wrote:

I don't know nothing about nothing, but I'd think if you can sell the prints online you would make a killing on that.

Every wanna be photographer parent is gonna be shooting pics of their own kids with new DSLR cameras and long f2.8/f4 lens (that were recommended here BTW) purchased specifically for that event. I'm betting besides the professional Grip and Grin one taken on the stage when they get the diploma no other pics will be purchased if that one. My parents didn't even buy that photo if that matters at all.

joshhuntnm · April 5, 2008

Let us know how it works out.

dadwtwins · April 5, 2008

SavedByZero wrote:

Every wanna be photographer parent is gonna be shooting pics of their own kids with new DSLR cameras and long f2.8/f4 lens (that were recommended here BTW) purchased specifically for that event. I'm betting besides the professional Grip and Grin one taken on the stage when they get the diploma no other pics will be purchased if that one. My parents didn't even buy that photo if that matters at all.

This is such a true statement. Selling prints after the fact usually is minimal to none. I would definitely charge a per hour amount and then have the option for prints as a bonous for you.

xris · April 5, 2008

There is some pretty sound advise in this thread. For my two cents though, forget the 2 - 300 dollar deal. if this is 4 to 5 hours plus post, I'd say $500.00 - $750.00 (absolute minimum) with one disk included. Personal (noncommercial) use only. No releases.

Make an on-line gallery available in case someone wants prints. This way you don't have to spend several, low profit, hours on customer service.

zoeblue · April 6, 2008

Thanks for all the great advice!

I spoke with my mom and it is a high school graduation. I'll be contacting the parent (my mom's coworker) who wants to hire me and talk with her to get more info.

Sounds like the best thing to do is charge $500 - $700 depending on what she wants.

Thanks again!

dawssvt · April 7, 2008

I would like to see what comes of this, so let us know how the deal works out for you!

anwmn1 · April 7, 2008

zoeblue wrote:

Thanks for all the great advice!

I spoke with my mom and it is a high school graduation. I'll be contacting the parent (my mom's coworker) who wants to hire me and talk with her to get more info.

Sounds like the best thing to do is charge $500 - $700 depending on what she wants.

Thanks again!

Couple things some of which was already mentioned.

1. What exactly will you be shooting? If it is only one kid during the graduation adn then the time after- than $500 might be a bit much for the parents.

2. How good are you? How much do you feel you are worth shooting per hour? What would you charge per hour shooting portraits?

3. How much is your down time worth? You may have a couple hours of no shooting or very limited shooting- is this the same price as if you were shooting non stop?

4. Is this a one time shoot or does it have the possibility to lead to more? If there is possibility this could lead to more shoots and more money you might want to be a little more flexible with your rate if there is down time.

SavedByZero · April 8, 2008

I guess I just live in a different world and can't imagine that some one would be willing to pay $600 for a photographer to shoot pics at their kids HS graduation and the party afterwards??

I'm trying to figure if taking an alternate route to work to reduce my pay tolls by $3 a day is worth the extra 15 mins the detour adds on. But I guess there are people who can pay the $600 for that along with filling up their Caddy Escalade SUVs at nearly $90 a tankfull and not worry aboot it either.

I for one would love if she gets the job and what reaction if any they have to the quoted price.

claudermilk · April 8, 2008

Some people just live in a different world. Example: the local paper had n article on the Vegas luxury home market--anything $1M+ & older than your typical car isn't moving as it isn't fancy or new enough (good grief, the granite tub surround is tile, not slab, can't have that! Too downmarket. Only ONE fridge? Can't live without two!

).

xris · April 9, 2008

Photography costs money. And it's a skilled craft. You are not digging ditches here.

People's time costs money. If you piece your self out at $10.00/hr, that's what they'll pay. And you'll be looking for toll money forever. Worse, (and something it took me a while to figure out) the folks that think $250.00 and hour is about right will never even look at you. They want to tell their friends they dropped $1,500 bucks to have the party photographed.

I've been paid $500.00 to shoot a 2 hr party many times. It's considered cheap, in fact.

Compare: A plumber is going to charge $150.00 bucks just to come to your house. Then another $85 - $150.00/hr after that. No customer service, no disk or prints!

The neighbors just had a tree removed from their front lawn. Three guys and a truck. Three hours. $2,800.00!! And that was the LOWEST of 5 quotes!!

glhphotos · April 10, 2008

Depends on what you are looking for. I work with three non-profit groups. From two I would not accept anything even if offered (NILMDTS and Hospice Care) the third I could ask to be paid however I am volunteering my services rather than giving them a financial donation (which I have done previously). My thinking is that I will meet and photograph a number of people at their events. I will get noticed as the "photographer of record" and anyone who wants to see their photos will have to visit my web site and will therefore also see the other services I provide. While I am not new to photography I am new to the business of photography so I am looking at this as one way to increase the number of contacts and potential clients that I would not otherwise have access to. If I am happy with the images I get I hope to sell some of them to the organization for use in their headquarter's office where everyone who comes in will see them. I see this as a relatively inexpensive way to market my skills and to increase the size and variety of my portfolio. I also get to take part of it off my taxes. As a bonus the organization is one that I think is doing good work anyway.

Dizzle · April 10, 2008

glhphotos wrote:

Depends on what you are looking for. I work with three non-profit groups. From two I would not accept anything even if offered (NILMDTS and Hospice Care) the third I could ask to be paid however I am volunteering my services rather than giving them a financial donation (which I have done previously). My thinking is that I will meet and photograph a number of people at their events. I will get noticed as the "photographer of record" and anyone who wants to see their photos will have to visit my web site and will therefore also see the other services I provide. While I am not new to photography I am new to the business of photography so I am looking at this as one way to increase the number of contacts and potential clients that I would not otherwise have access to. If I am happy with the images I get I hope to sell some of them to the organization for use in their headquarter's office where everyone who comes in will see them. I see this as a relatively inexpensive way to market my skills and to increase the size and variety of my portfolio. I also get to take part of it off my taxes. As a bonus the organization is one that I think is doing good work anyway.

Not pertinent to the conversation, but God bless you for working with NILMDTS!

xris · April 10, 2008

glhphotos wrote:

Depends on what you are looking for...I am looking at this as one way to increase the number of contacts and potential clients that I would not otherwise have access to....

Very cool attitude!

I was once doing a similar thing when I felt a tap on my elbow. Some guy who was impressed watching me shoot and wanted to talk.

I ended up as official photographer to Prince Philip, The President of China, several Prime Ministers of Canada, the Governor of New York, and many other such folks -- for full pay!!

It was the start of something very good.

Sure hope it works for you too....

SavedByZero · April 23, 2008

zoeblue wrote:

Thanks for all the great advice!

I spoke with my mom and it is a high school graduation. I'll be contacting the parent (my mom's coworker) who wants to hire me and talk with her to get more info.

Sounds like the best thing to do is charge $500 - $700 depending on what she wants.

Thanks again!

Updates??

Vycor · April 24, 2008

Yeah howd you make out...

Im shooting a sweet 16 in august for a client of mines daughter (double sweet 16 party actually 2 girls, friends).

Im charging her $400 for 5 hours of work. I feel this is a bit low after pricing it for her, but i told her a rate and im not one to back out on my rates.

Plus its also someone that I know and don't wanna overcharge. I don't do this for a living, and enjoy it. Ive shot only 1 event before. Im doing it more to get some practice and have some fun. After talking with some others i decided to make my official rate $300 for 2 hours of work and then $125/hour after that. A CD/DVD of all photos is $35 (and they have the option of ordering them from me via my online site)

Hope that helps you, im still learning this pricing as well.

xris · April 24, 2008

Vycor wrote:

... After talking with some others i decided to make my official rate $300 for 2 hours of work and then $125/hour after that. A CD/DVD of all photos is $35 (and they have the option of ordering them from me via my online site)...

Sounds very reasonable.

Cason · April 30, 2008

Vycor wrote:

A CD/DVD of all photos is $35

Full res with post processing? Or, straight from the camera?

anwmn1 · April 30, 2008

xris wrote:

Sounds very reasonable.

I recently did an event for $100 an hour and CD is additional $80. Large jpg after edit. Wanted the job to help get my name out there - wanted to make some money rather see it go to someone else

Already getting good feedback and was asked to send in a quote for the next event

xris · April 30, 2008

anwmn1 wrote:

I recently did an event for $100 an hour and CD is additional $80. Large jpg after edit. Wanted the job to help get my name out there - wanted to make some money rather see it go to someone else

Already getting good feedback and was asked to send in a quote for the next event

Way to go!!

clap

davidlphoto · May 31, 2011

New Thread
I don't mean to get this thread off track, but can anyone tell me how you post a new thread on this site?

Dan7312 · May 31, 2011

ON the pages the lists the all threads for a topic, just below the banner that says "You! FAQ Shooters..." is a "New Thread" button. You have to be logged in for this button to appear.

davidlphoto wrote: »

I don't mean to get this thread off track, but can anyone tell me how you post a new thread on this site?

Glort · June 1, 2011

davidlphoto wrote: »

I don't mean to get this thread off track,

Given the last post was 3 years ago, probably not a lot of chance of that!

dspoon2 · April 29, 2012

Casono party photography
I have been asked by a friend who owns a sucessful casino party business (corporate, private, fund raisers etc) if they could post me as an approved vendor on their website to photograph their events...most done at hotels, country clubs etc.). I currently sell my landscapes,florals etc on my photo hosting website and do some art arts/crafts shows where all of my images have a pre-set price based on my unit costs for processing, time etc. I am very comfortable with these selling prices but have no clue as to what to charge for "on site" work.
My next move is to have my friend speak with some of his clients and get their input on what they might expect in the way of packages, options etc. My first thought was to charge a flat "service fee" just to show up prepared to shoot then upload the best of the photos to my website for ease of ordering but having read another post here, I'm thinking there might be more attractive options for the client. I would sure appreciate any thoughts and direction you can offer. Many thanks

whoknows · August 30, 2012

After browsing through some of the comments there is one that stands out. If you don’t get the passing of the deploma, no other photos will matter.
Take loads and loads of pictures.

As for all your asked to do and how much to charge: You are going to be working all day. Look at it this way. Do you want to get paid $10.00? Consider all that you
are going to have to do. Before the grad, during and after. In total about 6-7 hours. Then the time at home going through all the photos. Depending on how fussy you are
this could take another 6 hours. Then if you do any editing, depending on how many photos you are giving the parents, this to could add up to quite a few hours. Personally,
and I’m just starting out. I wouldn’t do this for less then $500.00 for the first 4 hours. After that a set price per hour, an amount that is resonable. And this is only because she
is a friend. If she was a client off the street then I would charge 650.00 for the first 4 hours, after that it would be 125.00 an hour. You’re going to have a long day, and a lot of
work a head of you.

Enjoy, take loads of pictures.

Event photography - what would you charge?

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