Commercial Product Shoot - Pricing Help

[DiRock]

I am a children and family portrait photographer that was asked through a friend to take pictures of their equipment and booth at a trade show several weeks ago.

They loved the pictures and called today asking for 11x14 and 16x20 prints framed for display in their office and asked for them to be delivered tomorrow, hence my need for quick help.

What markup/price should I ask for on the framed pictures. I'm charging a hourly rate for my time at the trade show, but am not sure what a business expects to pay for framed photos.

I'm not looking to gouge or give them away and am interested in a fair price.

All help is appreciated.

[HotHolly]

We usually triple the cost of the frame, plus the print price. Does that help? Where are you getting frames from on such short notice?

[DiRock]

We are just buying the frames from a craft store like Garden Ridge, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.

[HotHolly]

All of those shops often have 50% off open frames. Hobby Lobby assembles them for you while you shop. Im sure you know all this. If you want something nicer, Excel is really great and they send you the frame, glass, and mat already all set - you just insert the photo.

But, for frames, we typically triple our cost + what ever you sell the print at. That may be low. Larger sizes usually have a higher mark-up.

[DiRock]

Thanks for the quick info!!!

[HotHolly]

Sure, Diane! Nice to meet you, btw.

:o)

[DiRock]

Well, the company was very impressed with our photos from the trade show and has had me take product shots of one of their items at my studio for another framed print. Once again, they were pleased with the results and have given me several more items to photograph. While I have established a price for framed pictures, the company is now asking for the digital files for brochures and marketing along with possibly a couple of framed prints.

Since this is not my core business and I am providing this service so far only for the one company, I am not sure how to price my work. I have established an hourly rate for the photo shoot of $150 per hour, minimum of one hour but have only provided prints and no digital files to date.

I spent just under an hour for the photo shoot of the items and the company has asked for digital files for brochures / marketing purposes. What is a resonable, not outrageous rate that I could charge for the digital files? This is a small / medium size company that a good friend works for and I'm looking at a fair but reasonable rate but have no basis to compare. Any and all comments are appreciated.

[WarrenG]

Diane,

Since the images would be used for marketing purposes, it is fair to assume that they will generate revenue for your client correct? Therefore, I would license the use of the image(s) with a 12 month contract where you can stipulate the way the prints are to be used. This allows you to as much, or as little control as you like....and affords some flexibility if the relationship should ever sour for whatever reason, or if you would want to raise your licensing fees. I will not begin to speculate pricing...as I believe that you are the only one who can determine a rate that covers your overhead, labor, and provides you with some profit. Keep in mind however, that once you license the image to a commercial entity, they will want sole use of the image(s), so make sure you charge accordingly. We typically have a sliding scale based on the number of images used, the medium they will be used in, and the duration of use....but I am certainly not the guru of commercial photography either.

Hope this helps,

W

[DiRock]

WarrenG, thanks for your response but I still find myself at a loss. As I explained, this isn't and at this time I'm not planning on this being part of my standard business. Therefore, I don't even have the slightest basis for speculating pricing.

My hourly rate covers my overhead, labor and profit for the time actually spent on this shoot. I'm just trying to determine a point of comparison for image licensing since I don't have a clue what their previous photographer charged. I don't want to undercut the market so am looking to find the low end of the commercial image range. I would be happy with this as well as it will help in keeping prices at a certain level

Any additional guidance would be appreciated.

[mdh]

This is a tough one PM sent
Mike