20 person family shoot pricing

[movingex]

How would you guys go about pricing a large family shoot. Basically it's the grandmothers 80th BD with about 20 -25 family members each getting in a shot with the grandmother.

I estimate the time to probably be around 2 hours from start to finish. It is set to be at an outside location to be determined.

Any help appreciated. I don't really see this as a family shoot, but more as an event shoot.

The way I see it is either:

I can charge for my time and let everyone order afterwards from an online gallery.

Or I can charge for a given number of prepaid packages of prints.

Please let me know what you think. I've done events and small families but not a family shoot like this before.

[CaptainTom]

I'd charge them by their gross weight. Fifty cents a pound up to 2800 lbs and then a dime a pound over that. That way, the big people pay the most because they take up the most room in the picture. The really skinny people can just be stuffed into the cracks, and they get a real discounted deal.

or

I'd charge a set fee for the shoot, put the images on line and let them buy them directly from the site.
I use exposure manager and set my own prices and once I've uploaded the files, I just get notices from EM when people order, they ship, etc.

[ronocnikral]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

I'd charge them by their gross weight. Fifty cents a pound up to 2800 lbs and then a dime a pound over that. That way, the big people pay the most because they take up the most room in the picture. The really skinny people can just be stuffed into the cracks, and they get a real discounted deal.

+1. When it comes to reprints, we also charge by how much area a particular person takes in the final print. The don't take up as much space and since they get shortchanged in the lime light, they pay less.

[Cajungaltx]

I'm still playing with this issue - so I'll tell you what I do. My 'normal' session fee is $150. For family groups - I charge the $150 session fee - and then post the images to web for them to view if they are NOT all in the same area. I prefer to do in person proofing - but my most recent family event had 4 families, one of which was close to me. SO I posted to web for them to review.

The reality is with more people - you'll get a larger print order - if you do your job right. ;-)

[ronocnikral]

all kidding aside. I would definitely charge more than your "standard rate." True, you may get a larger print order, but you will have a ton more post work to do with a family of 20. Especially if there are kids. If there are more than 2 babies or kids, plan on doing some photoshop so all the kids look decent (e.g. they aren't dancing, picking their nose, staring at a butterfly). Adults can be just as bad adjusting their hair, men grabbing their crotches, glasses slipping off their nose, blinking etc. To get 20 stars to align in the same picture can be very difficult. At minimum, I would charge for an assitant to help organize people, jiggle keys or jump around in a clown suit for kids attention, run to adjust your lights and to fix the small details so you don't have to do otherwise in photoshop later. but, finding an assitant who knows how to do all that is difficult. This isn't someone who should be trying to take pictures also. to do a big group shot and individual shots with grandma plus whatever else they come up with off the cuff in 2 hours is doable with an assitant. just my 2 cents.

[movingex]

For getting this back on the right track.

movingex added 7 Minutes and 30 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

The reality is with more people - you'll get a larger print order - if you do your job right. ;-)

That's what I'm trying to do is get the right info to do the job right. There are family members who are coming in from out of town.
I don't really view this a a true family shoot, this is much more complex and difficult. You have several different family groups to shoot and how it will flow is unpredictable. It could go crazy with everyone wanting to try different groups/poses but not wanting to buy much after the day is done. It could go very smoothly on the other hand.

[toverman]

Your print orders can be bolstered by getting a lot of really good candid shots in addition to the posed ones. If you post them online, though, put only the very best up and edit tightly. Nobody wants to sort through hundreds of photos to find good ones. Make it easy for them to spend money with you. Definitely figure post-processing into your "time."