question about photog prices.

punkfiction · August 2009

pricing. i need help. lets say i really started doing this for people - tell me if this is all too high or too low.

$100 for a shoot and a CD of all of the best edited images (but i want to know how many would be "worth it" to you)

someone on another board mentioned a maternity option to take "as you grow pics" and newborn combo. that would be $300 for 3 maternity shoots (whatever months you choose) and then a newborn shoot with the same outcome as above.

do you *need* printed images? also, the cd would have images to post on your blog/online/etc with my watermark and then un-watermarked images to print off as you wanted to.

i guess i dont ever want printed images. i mean, i do. but i have no problem doing them myself when *i* decide what sizes i want at whatever time, kwim? i dunno. help.

May524 · August 2009

I prefer the option of a CD over the printed images. Then I can make collages and different sizes of prints. That's just me though.

I like the "as you grow" pics. I looked into that for Noah but it was SO expensive.

As far as what's worth it, that would be hard to say you will get atleast X shots b/c what if the baby is cranky that day or whatever. Hmmm.

punkfiction · August 2009

May524:
I prefer the option of a CD over the printed images. Then I can make collages and different sizes of prints. That's just me though.

I like the "as you grow" pics. I looked into that for Noah but it was SO expensive.

As far as what's worth it, that would be hard to say you will get atleast X shots b/c what if the baby is cranky that day or whatever. Hmmm.

well right. i mean thats open for interpretation. for instance - a toddler at a park (without my kids LOL bc they distract) i could get about 25-30 good, edited pics. probably more, but ive never been without my kids and that adds so much stress bc im like "wait aidan... no sawyer dont eat that!" etc. now if i got less bc the kid was not happy - would that suck? would i have to say "ok bc we only got 10 - its only $50"?

kellnbri · August 2009

well when we go to Portrait Innovations we get a CD of all the pics (they usually take about a 50-100) and the pictures printed. We usually go home with 3 8x10s 9-12 5x7s and 1 or 2 10x13s and spend under a $100. Yes the images on the CD only look best printed 4x6 or smaller. But that gives you a little idea of what a studio charges. I would think you would have to figure in your travel and editing charges though.

punkfiction · August 2009

kellnbri:
well when we go to Portrait Innovations we get a CD of all the pics (they usually take about a 50-100) and the pictures printed. We usually go home with 3 8x10s 9-12 5x7s and 1 or 2 10x13s and spend under a $100. Yes the images on the CD only look best printed 4x6 or smaller. But that gives you a little idea of what a studio charges. I would think you would have to figure in your travel and editing charges though.

well, i would *take* over 100 pictures. but there's no way i'd give someone unedited pics or pics that were not the best. that always drives me nuts. lol so with PI, you get all of them? even the crap ones?

but that gives me a good frame for images. i mean i could add "and you get _____ many printed" or whatever.

teakum · August 2009

I think if the child was cranky or it started to rain you would have to offer to come back another day?!?! I know this has happened to us a few times with outdoor pictures. Also it really depends on your area. The $300 for as you grow pictures are very reasonable. I would google photographers in your area. but here are a few of my favs. https://imagesbyfaith.wordpress.com/

https://carolmcdanielphotography.blogspot.com/

kellnbri · August 2009

Punk...yes we get all the pics they take...even the bad ones.

punkfiction · August 2009

kellnbri:
Punk...yes we get all the pics they take...even the bad ones.

yeah i think thats the difference with private v chain photography. i dont know many private photogs that would give the crap pics for them to pass around, kwim? but chains have nothing to lose - the photographers picture rep is not up for grabs lol

moroccojade · August 2009

A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.

From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.

Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.

Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.

I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying.

GL!

punkfiction · August 2009

moroccojade:
A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.
From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.
Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.
Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.
I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying.

GL!

ok that makes perfect sense. and i have seen those a la carte prices. thats where the big money is. dh talked about framing and mounting too - and having it done and making the profit off the convenience.

and 15 4x6's PLUS a CD? or just the pics? is adding a cd (with my watermark on it so they won't want to print but can use for online) extra?

swtmely · August 2009

moroccojade:

A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.

From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.

Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.

Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.

I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying.

GL!

I agree with M 100%.

One other suggestion, you may charge a sitting fee ranging from $50-$200 and then sell the prints.

This is how a photographer I know does it.

GL!

moroccojade · August 2009

No CD at all as far as I know. They pick the best 15. If there are more, I'm sure they will show them to the client, and give them the option to see them in print... But I do believe that there is no CD option at all ever. I could find out the exact details if you're really interested...

Definitely do the framing/mounting, too if you can. You can really charge for that sort of thing.

punkfiction · August 2009

lol you guys are good about making money!! haha

ok so $100 with 15-20 4x6 prints.

how much extra for the CD if you want these prints online? hmm?

moroccojade · August 2009

Hey, if you're going to bother, you might as well make some decent cash. You know that a fair amount of work is involved with sessions and getting through all the shots and organizing them.

Anyway, I'll send her a note with a few more questions. Might be a day or so before I get back to you.

swtmely · August 2009

punkfiction:

lol you guys are good about making money!! haha

ok so $100 with 15-20 4x6 prints.

how much extra for the CD if you want these prints online? hmm?

How about signing a release if they want the CD with the prints? That way you can use the prints for marketing.

momofolivia · August 2009

for Olivia's 1-year photos, we went with a lady who charged $125 for a "sitting" fee, and then you purchased the photos from her. The prices were outrageous - $15 for a 4x6. She edited some, but we could select from all the pics she took (she took out the really obviously bad one - closed eyes, etc). You could purchase the CD, but couldn't print from it.

I called another lady here just the other day and she said she charges $200 and you get the CD with rights to print.

I am much more inclined to go with the second lady because I don't want to spend $300 on a bunch of pictures. I just want to load the pics on my computer and keep them, printing out a few. Her photos are amazing, and the quality of our first sitting = not so much.

A couple other notes: with our first lady, I found I was playing assistant, noticing the details that SHE should have noticed (like pulling DH's cell phone out of his belt for the shot). Also, I was carting around her stuff that she (generously) brought (tutu, etc). Bring a backpack or something.

Read2Me · August 2009

The photog I use charges $75 for a one and a half hour shoot plus a cd of all the edited pictures (usually about 20-25). ?I think $100 is reasonable especially since you are obviously very good!

punkfiction · August 2009

swtmely:
punkfiction:

lol you guys are good about making money!! haha

ok so $100 with 15-20 4x6 prints.

how much extra for the CD if you want these prints online? hmm?

How about signing a release if they want the CD with the prints? That way you can use the prints for marketing.

well i think that would be part of the deal LOL i mean if they wanted pics taken by me then i would have them sign a release for me to put them on my actual photo blog (not the one on here). is that what you mean? or you mean release them my pics for a price? bc then you are in the prob like jade said - where they print them all crappy and i get the name attached. but again, thats their problem i guess haha

punkfiction · August 2009

momofolivia:
for Olivia's 1-year photos, we went with a lady who charged $125 for a "sitting" fee, and then you purchased the photos from her. The prices were outrageous - $15 for a 4x6. She edited some, but we could select from all the pics she took (she took out the really obviously bad one - closed eyes, etc). You could purchase the CD, but couldn't print from it.

I called another lady here just the other day and she said she charges $200 and you get the CD with rights to print.

I am much more inclined to go with the second lady because I don't want to spend $300 on a bunch of pictures. I just want to load the pics on my computer and keep them, printing out a few. Her photos are amazing, and the quality of our first sitting = not so much.

A couple other notes: with our first lady, I found I was playing assistant, noticing the details that SHE should have noticed (like pulling DH's cell phone out of his belt for the shot). Also, I was carting around her stuff that she (generously) brought (tutu, etc). Bring a backpack or something.

lol how crappy of #1.

and thanks! great insight!

punkfiction · August 2009

Read2Me:
The photog I use charges $75 for a one and a half hour shoot plus a cd of all the edited pictures (usually about 20-25). I think $100 is reasonable especially since you are obviously very good!

thank you

Josie22 · August 2009

These are our baby pricing sets, our regular sitting fee is $50. We have a company that we contract with for our prints, and most of our business is with prints. When our clients reach $150 in prints they receive their CD. They do have an option to purchase their CD.

We have a portable studio and do sessions on site (home, park, where ever). Even when we go to a park we still bring at least one backdrop. And we come with 1-3 photographers and lighting. I also make custom compilations for each client.

When your just starting out, I think the $100 w/ a CD would be fine. That's how we started. Now we would rather have our photos printed at a place that does nothing other then print for pros. It's the best quality of paper, and printing,

punkfiction · August 2009

josie - how did you get into a deal with a printer?

and the rest sounds good. i'll have to sit down and figure this out

Josie22 · August 2009

punkfiction:
josie - how did you get into a deal with a printer?
and the rest sounds good. i'll have to sit down and figure this out

Go to Zenfolio.com. We LOVE them. Here's a link to our gallery there. It's sooo easy, and clients can have individual galleries with passwords. The amount of things that can be ordered too is crazy. Add something to the cart to scroll through my print prices and see what things that can be purchased.

(and please don't mind how outdated the gallery is, I have alot of much better photos to add.)

Dani123 · August 2009

moroccojade:

A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.

From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.

Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.

Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.

I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying. GL!

See this just seems NUTS to me! I would never pay $37 for a 5x7....I think going that route will narrow your customer pool dramatically, kwim?? I would suggest you maybe go just about the chains but DEF below the norm custom photographer or else what will make you any diff? kwim?? Like the PP said at PI, which is where we go they have that unbelievable $10 pkg for 1 pose....(doesnt include cd), once you pick 3 poses I think you get the cd free which is just all the shots they took, unedited but the resolution isnt good for anything bigger than a 4x6.....

I think the Maternity Stages shoot is very cool and the $300 seems reasonable I guess.... IDK, when ever I think custom private photography I always think BIG BUCKS, itd be nice if you could provide the QUALITY for a very reasonable price and then the QUANTITY of customer could get so great you wont need the high prices....you know?

punkfiction · August 2009

Dani123:
moroccojade:

A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.

From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.

Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.

Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.

I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying. GL!

See this just seems NUTS to me! I would never pay $37 for a 5x7....I think going that route will narrow your customer pool dramatically, kwim?? I would suggest you maybe go just about the chains but DEF below the norm custom photographer or else what will make you any diff? kwim?? Like the PP said at PI, which is where we go they have that unbelievable $10 pkg for 1 pose....(doesnt include cd), once you pick 3 poses I think you get the cd free which is just all the shots they took, unedited but the resolution isnt good for anything bigger than a 4x6.....

I think the Maternity Stages shoot is very cool and the $300 seems reasonable I guess.... IDK, when ever I think custom private photography I always think BIG BUCKS, itd be nice if you could provide the QUALITY for a very reasonable price and then the QUANTITY of customer could get so great you wont need the high prices....you know?

right understand that. but its a lot of work to do a high number of people for cheap cheap prices as opposed to an average amount of people for average prices. i dont want to be the cheapest, but for sure not the most expensive.

JillAly · August 2009

And of course you'll give a nestie discount, right? LOL.

In my area, the sitting fee alone is usually around $300 plus the prints or CD that you can purchase separately. I'm coming to Texas to see you if you charge $100. Wow!!!

Josie22 · August 2009

Dani123:
moroccojade:

A friend of mine has a photo business that is exploding.

From what I've learned from her, you are at a point where you need to make a big decision. You can do the shoots and hand over the CDs, and that's that.

Or, you can go big time and get all the printing done yourself. NO CDs involved at all.

Once you give a CD out, people can go to Walmart (or wherever) and get really crappy prints made. And your name will be behind them. But if you control the printing, you can get them done properly. And the'll be top notch. Always.

I know she's currently charging $100 for an hour long session -- with that you get 15 printed 4X6 photos. Of course, they're going to be gorgeous, and they'll want to order a whole bunch of bigger ones a la carte -- and that's where you make your money. I think she charges $37 for one 5X7 or something. And people are buying. GL!

See this just seems NUTS to me! I would never pay $37 for a 5x7....I think going that route will narrow your customer pool dramatically, kwim?? I would suggest you maybe go just about the chains but DEF below the norm custom photographer or else what will make you any diff? kwim?? Like the PP said at PI, which is where we go they have that unbelievable $10 pkg for 1 pose....(doesnt include cd), once you pick 3 poses I think you get the cd free which is just all the shots they took, unedited but the resolution isnt good for anything bigger than a 4x6.....

I think the Maternity Stages shoot is very cool and the $300 seems reasonable I guess.... IDK, when ever I think custom private photography I always think BIG BUCKS, itd be nice if you could provide the QUALITY for a very reasonable price and then the QUANTITY of customer could get so great you wont need the high prices....you know?

This is what I think, We charge $6.99 for a 4x6 and an 8x10 is $10.99

punkfiction · August 2009

JillAly:
And of course you'll give a nestie discount, right? LOL.

In my area, the sitting fee alone is usually around $300 plus the prints or CD that you can purchase separately. I'm coming to Texas to see you if you charge $100. Wow!!!

haha yeah. nestie discount

moroccojade · August 2009

Just heard back.

She never ever ever gives CDs. She will release just one dig file now and then (at a cost) if they want to make Xmas cards, for example, and really don't want to use their printing services.

She's just amidst bumping her prices for the hourly session. She's been at it a while now, and now has a wicked portfolio - so that makes sense.

GL! I hope things take off for you.

Pesky · August 2009

The high-end photog I used with DD was $500 for a shoot and all high-res images on a CD. She also had the option of getting prints through her but I preferred getting the rights to the pics themselves. The new photog we are trying is $75 for a sitting fee up to a certain # of people (6, I think) and that included 2 hrs of shoot time. $200 for the images. We can order prints a la carte as well.

punkfiction · August 2009

moroccojade:
Just heard back.
She never ever ever gives CDs. She will release just one dig file now and then (at a cost) if they want to make Xmas cards, for example, and really don't want to use their printing services.
She's just amidst bumping her prices for the hourly session. She's been at it a while now, and now has a wicked portfolio - so that makes sense.
GL! I hope things take off for you.

that is totally interesting! lol thanks so much for asking!

marriedchick06 · August 2009

I also like the option of a cd. Honestly I don't use a photographer if I can't purchase a cd for a reasonable price. I just did a shoot and got the cd for $70. Now a photographer that took C's newborn pics charged $300 for the cd, can we say OUCH!

On any cd I have purchased there were no pics with watermarks, just pictures to print or post online, whatever my choice was.

I think the maternity option is good. Also the local photographer I use does something for babys...newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year...I don't remember her cost though, somewhere around 250=$300.

Want a personalized experience?

question about photog prices.

Re: question about photog prices.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards