Figuring Hourly Rates

[d2creative]

Let's say you think your time is worth $100/hr. But you know that for every hour shooting you may have an hour or more of processing time in the "darkroom". So then do you charge your client $200/hr? Or would you not even charge by the hour?

I have a shoot coming up where the number of shots is a little up in the air. May be 4 shots, may be 5 or even 6. Shooting still life type shots of different art/crafts items in a store where we will need to arrange something pleasing and possibly set up lighting. The shots will be used open endedly for their self promo/advertising. So I'm wondering how i should quote this.

[Elsaspet]

Hi Dennis,
Something I learned from my families businesses is that you can only charge what the market allows, so you have to take that into account. Then you must also factor in your "product" within that market. And of course, you gotta eat.
For instance, if I figured in weddings at $100 bucks an hour, I would have to charge $4800 as a minimum, and then add on office supplies, album costs, etc. At my current ability, I'm obviously not gonna book at $5000 plus as a starting rate when there are better guys in town doing the same deal for less.
My advice is to see what the local guys are doing. Then check their websites and portfolios, and adjust your pricing based on what where you think you fall within in the ability area.

[d2creative]

Thanks, Cindy.
I was just using 100 as a round number. I guess my question stems from how i charge for my freelance design. I know approx how long it will take to do a job and when i quote a job at 4 hours, i know it will really take me 4 hours. But for a photographer to quote a job by the hour, I was wondering if the client will think the hourly rate is outlandish when they don't realize that even though they only saw you shooting for 2 hours, you spent another two hours working at home in front of your computer. Know what i mean?

And then the second part of my question was how to deal with not knowing exactly how many shots there will be. Not like a wedding where you are dealing with a ton of photos and you set up packages, but where you are just shooting a few. But one extra shot is adding 20% or more to the deliverables, ya know? Again, i'm used to quoting a brochure or a logo where in the end, the client is getting exactly what I quoted them for. It's not up in the air.

Thanks!

[Elsaspet]

Well the simple answer is that you educate them......
For what you are talking about, I would give them an itemized quote, listing the number of $ for shooting per hours, the estimated PS time at so many $ per hour, letting them know that the PS time could be more or less within an hour or so. Show them what the high quote would be, and then maybe pleasantly surprise them with a smaller number.
:-)

[d2creative]

Ah, cool. That's so crazy it just might work!

Thanks!

[Elsaspet]

My Pleasure! Let us know how it works out. :-)

[bondarnes]

I have an hourly photography rate and that covers my time. I have a basic processing fee for down loading the camera files and putting them on a disc. I have one commercial client that has their own designers who do the Photoshop etc. Then if I do further post processing there is a charge for that. And if the usage is significant then there would be usage charges. Post processing, location scouting, and travel is billed at half the photography rate. The if you use an assistant or two you have to charge for that.

Hypothetical situation: Client bring products to the studio at 9:30 and we begin photographing. finishing at 11:15. They just want camera jpegs on a disc
2 hrs photography @ $ X00.00 per hour $ X00.00
download to a CD with copyright form $ X0.00

Situation 2: Clients need shots of products in use at three locations for national magazine.
3 hrs. photography @ $ X00.00 $ X00.00
4 hrs. travel @ 1/2 $ X00.00 $ X00.00
2 hrs. post processing @ 1/2 $ X00.00 $ X00.00
One year exclusive national usage $ X000.00

[adirty1]

commercial is something else than weddings.
the norm is around 200 per hour for commercial work. you could go 165 if you dont want to go to high. 3 hours of shooting is a half day because that means your going to have at least an hour or more of setup and take down.
660 for half day

Anything over 6 hours is a full day. that would be 1320.
I state that after 8 hours they get 2 hours free. It makes them feel good.

anything after 10 hours we start back on half day rates. say you are 10 hours into the shoot that is the end of your a full day which is 1320 and you add 660 to that since you went over 10 hours for a total of 15 hours. that is my limit normally but there are times when it has gone past 15 hours, if that is the case than it's another day fee.

commercial clients pay for everything. you need to have that upfront and in your contract. if there is travel they pay travel time which is 50 dollars and hour from the time to start driving to the airport to the time you get to the hotel if i can get half the hour rate then i am happy but normally its 50. Room and meals are paid for of course. your day fees do not cover makeup, hair, rentals, help , lab work, retouching or location fees.


retouching and lab work are other charges. I charge 35 and hour for PS work and commercial now adays they want the raw files so there really isnt any PS work except for the smaller companies than you charge for lab time again it's 35 and hour...

basicly break is all down from time, travel, extras (hair make up, location fees...etc) and make up your bid for the client. always try to go over just alittle so if something does happen it's in the budget. Nothing makes that client happier when you tell him the shoot didnt cost 2250 it was only 1650. dont for get usage for the images that is separate charges. that is where you could make twice your day fee and in two months the client can call you back up and want to re do his usage fees and you just made another 2k.

hope this helps. it's totally up to you how you want to go. just make sure it's written out and everyone signs off on it. Don't sell your self to cheap either.

good luck
dirty

[d2creative]

Thanks for all the great info! Huge help!

[Wes]

I've learned a few things from this thread, but I ask that you please bear with a few questions from this newbie to the business....

Forget commercial stuff and forget weddings for the moment. What if you're just doing stuff like Senior photos, engagement shots, or family portraits? Is there a good formula to calculate your pricing? For example..

Sitting fee = $xxxx
Reduced hourly rate = $xxxxx
Reduced rate prints = $xxxx

OR

Sitting fee = $xxxxx
Higher hourly rate = $xxxxx (provide digital images, client handles printing)

OR

Sitting fee = $xxxxx
Higher per print pricing = $xxxxx
No hourly rate

I hope I'm making sense. Thoughts?

(this stuff gives me a headache)

[mdurisseau]

Great information here...might qualify as a sticky...

[adirty1]

[QUOTE=xmenporsche]I've learned a few things from this thread, but I ask that you please bear with a few questions from this newbie to the business....


Location portraits are 175 just like my head shots and model looks. You will get 2 8x10's or 4 5x7s with your sitting. I charge very close to my hourly fee. Then prints are priced not out of the world but a normal price for a professional work I would like them to get at least a 16x20 because you see that from across the room. The 8x10 the only time you will see that is when you dust it off. I want people to enjoy the image so i try educate them on a large print by showing it projected.

Let's face it portraits are fun and easy compared to a lot of other things we do. I let the family change too. It probably takes me 2 hours on location but it was fun and not stressful except for those certain clients that make it stressful. we all have them and we just deal with them.

the short is to look at it like an hourly gig and give them something with it like prints and then price your prints like the works they are dont short your self and others. I dont do 4x6's any more because i dont believe it's a professional format. I spray and mount 5x7's and up every time no asking i just do it because that is the way it's been done. but i do charge for it...

hope that helps some

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by adirty1

Location portraits are 175 just like my head shots and model looks. You will get 2 8x10's or 4 5x7s with your sitting.

Are you giving them one image for that 175? How many shots do you typically pop off before calling it done? Do you let the client choose which image goes to final?

[adirty1]

Originally Posted by d2creative

Are you giving them one image for that 175? How many shots do you typically pop off before calling it done? Do you let the client choose which image goes to final?

I will give them two (2) 8x10's for that price. I probably shoot about 50 images for a normal family sitting. then in about a week or so i have them come back and take look at the images projected on the wall. give them some wine, beer, water, whatever they want. I try to make it an experience.not out to get them loaded just to relax and have a good time. the daddy is always the one that is not really happy to be there so when he has cold brew his tude changes. I also do albums. I have prices for that too that is per image 20 dollars.

If your worried about calling it done that all goes to what your selling and how your selling it. If you want to sell albums and all that you need more images and some changes but then dont sweet the setting fees cuz they are going to buy. a few years back one would shoot 10 images for 65 dollar sitting fee and then sell the family one or two images but you would do that in 5 sizes. you made the money from having high volume but you still charged enough to make a living.

[Steelsun]

You also have to consider what is fair to the client if you are going to start charging an hourly fee for post processing.

I.e.: If you did everything perfect in the sitting and no post processing is needed (I know, rare), then why should you charge extra because you screwed up white balance, etc and had to correct it.
And in a related idea: If it takes you 60 minutes to post process a set of images, and you charge $100 an hour for that, yet Joe Photo is real good at PP and it only takes him 15 minutes to do the same work, but he charge $150/hr, who is the better deal?

It's a conundrum every service/labor based company must face.
The admin/post-process time must be figured into your rates/quotes initially in order to not be deceptive and to be fair to the client and yourself.