What should I charge for photographs? Daily rate?
Running a photographic business is not easy. The glamour of photography be it documentary, fashion, advertising, architecture or…. is a myth. When you are confronted with the number of skills required to run a business you might want to run a mile. Take that age old question of ‘What should I charge?’ coming from fledgling photographers is one thing, and now, it frequently voiced by those who have been trading for a long time.
It’s difficult at times to determine what the price should be because the goalposts are being shifted all the time. New technology at a consumer level can seem cheap but once you set up in business its one thing after another to sustain yourself and to keep up with the best. Pro level technology and quality is expensive.
Professional photography has been, to some extent, devalued by the advent of digital technology. It’s a perception that will change but photograph-makers have a major task to reach that point. Someones brother, sister, husband, friend can do the photography… I was asked by a recent client if I’d take some family portraits for her. Then she said, her son’s girlfriend is going to do it, and she’ll see if the photographs are any good!
Of course, there are different ways to approach photography. And there are solutions that make things easier, but never easy. There are levels of expertise and quality to aspire to but there are many that don’t look so high.The internet is littered with bad advice for photographers!
Daily rates vary from a fee of £350 upwards, some of these photographer are studio based and so if the job requires a studio it’s part of the fee. Most photographers don’t work from a studio and therefore that becomes an additional expense. There are different ways to calculate the rate to charge apart from the going rate. If you decide to charge a basic daily rate of £350 per day and work ten days per month you’re going to gross £3,500 per month, that’s £42,000 per annum. If you take four weeks holiday then make it £38,500. Sounds like good money. You’ll may need to buy new lenses, camera body, computer hardware and software, software updates, car maintenance, insurances, accountants fee, tax bill, assistants fees, misc. things, magazines etc…. Then will it be enough? Can you ensure ten days work at that rate? Will some days earn less?
What are the photographs going to be used for? Web, print, advertising, editorial, geographical rights, exclusivity, model releases…?
DAILY
If it’s £350.00 per day, an 8 hour day, one hour for lunch if there’s time.
350 divided by 8 equals £43 per hour.
If you produce 10 photographs , that’s £35 per photograph.
How much do you charge for post-production, let’s say a flat fee of £100.
That makes it £45 per photograph to the client.
Some photographers charge the norml day rate for post-production.
Other expenses like travel costs, batteries, burning cd’s on top.
ONE HOUR
£350.00 per day divided by 8 equals £43 per hour.
Photographers charge £75-£100 to do a one hour job.
How many photographs are required?
How quickly are they required?
That could include post-production.
What are photographers charging in the marketplace? Is my experience commensurate with that kind of fee? Can I deliver a quality job at that price? Will I be losing money if I work at this rate? Do the images have a resale value to me? What kind of licence/rights am I selling?
What is the value of the photographs to the client? What will they be using the images for?
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