charging for photography

Chck out prices for photographers with varied experience in your area. Prie yourself closer to the bottom of that list. Raise your prices as you go.

And, you ARE that good!

do you think I should include places like Sears for price comparison?

Or just keep it at a 'freelance' level?

( thanks. :-) )

Good question. I guess I'd check out sears, just cause, but wouldn't weight them too heavily in my consideration.

I just did a little research and there is a BIG diffrence between Sears , and freelance.


close to 100 dollars.
( in favor of freelance....)


maybe I am in the wrong field.

Hmm, shewolf, that's a thought. One of these days when you have some free time, heh, you could take a class or two, say at a junior college (?). Or research like mad. You are talented.

thank you.


I have thought of that, and I have done a little research online into classes.
I have found some pretty cheap online classes that, probally wont amount to much more then a piece of paper to mount on a wall..but that could add to my 'pricing'

I have not thought about taking a class at a community college..
that is a great idea.

What makes me feel weary about it is that my pictures come.. almost by accident.

I will have an idea for a picture in mind, but end up with something cuter.

I see the pictures FRAME in the area that I am in.
For example -
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/105265/20060501/084229.jpg

this picture I took just sunday afternoon.
I took it because I liked the wooden stairs that Jillian and Ian were sitting on. Not because of THEM.. but they made the foreground of the picture.. the stairs ended up being an added bonus to the background of the picture.

This to me seems to be .. a simple thing?

Honestly..

and that makes me feel strange about having someone offer me money to do it.

But, if that means that I have a talent.. so be it.

Time to cash in i guess..


this one actually one of the pictures someone saw that made them email me asking me to do some photos for them.
Im nervous that I wont be able to produce the same TYPES because I know Jillian well enough to be able to 'create' her mood to get what I want.

Being able to do that with a strange child.. may be difficult.

I certainly don't want to throw a wrench into the mix. However, you may want to work on the lighting a bit. Your composition is good, but lighting makes a photo. Not a criticism, just a helpful hint.

your not throwing anything.

in fact , you are proving my point.

I dont know these things. As i said, they all ( pictures ) seem to come by accident.
I feel as though I am pricing my luck above everything else.

But, when it comes to 'seeing' a picture before it is taken, I do have a real knack for that. And that works in my favor.

Such matters as not having the entire child in the photo - entering the view from the side or bottom corner - are artistic license and are what pull me in. Not every one would like such a framing, thus you do a range..

On the other hand, these people like your photos already, so there may be some room for not doing the ordinary.

I'm sure knowledge of high and low contrast, playing with color of child's eyes/one of the colors in print in the clothes and the background, depth of field, atmospherics/mood , lighting techniques - well, I am without a doubt that there is a lot to both know technically and intuit artistically and that one keeps learning for years after catching on to technique. Sadly I sold some of my how to photography books in the great books blood bath when I moved. But... my old home town had great used book stores, one with a very good section on photography. I happen to learn best by reading and then doing, somewhat more speedily than listening and doing. I guess all three, reading, listening, doing... would be what I would need.

Also, there are such things as local photo clubs - I've never been to one but I imagine them as hives of sharing knowledge along with some competitiveness.

One of the local papers here hires about 20 photographers for $200 for the day each. All the pictures you take become joint property of you and the paper, you are free to do what ever long as they get first time publish rights for the paper. This is for a special one day event - 10k race with about 50,000 plus runners.

On another front selling pictures to the state tourism commission gets between $30 and $50 per picture.

I'm giving some serious thought about doing this
http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.com/
no money in it - but I don't care to much about that

I'd suggest taking this one step at a time. Ask the people who are interested, "What do you think is a fair price?" Even if that ends up being less than what you're "worth," you're getting something invaluable -- further exposure, and if they're happy with the results, word-of-mouth advertising.

If you do all the research and charge a certain price and they say "oof, too expensive," then it's pretty much over before its begun (unless you want to go the much more expensive and time-consuming route of advertising and drumming up business for yourself cold...)

Soz makes sense. They know who you are. As you learn you can ratchet up zee money. You will need more equipment, some big expenditure, but not right away - after the classes and talking with others.

Boomer with vast experience will have stuff to say on all this, perhaps some tougher stuff. I'd like to see you venture in this direction though.

your suggestion is perfect soz.

Mostly because right now Im not essentially 'worth' more then the cost of printing a picture .

I dont have a degree, or even a certification.
I just point and shoot, and am lucky that people are interested.

Being that this is a close-nit group of women, I dont think she , or any of the others , would offer something silly like 5 dollars.
Even in my stand point... that 5 dollars would help with gas!

My mother approached me with the idea of setting up, and drumming up customers for photos. She , in fact, was the one who prompted me to start a photo album of all of the ' above average' photos I have taken.
She even went as far as to create and print up some flyers for me. hehe

Not there yet, but the more I think about it, the more I am itching to do it.
I truly DO love taking pictures.
I will need to, after a while, begin working on my skills in taking pictures of other people besides children.
A good , profitable goal would be wedding photos..
But I cant shoot for the stars yet..

Oh, husker.
I was in tears before I got halfway through that site.

It's a wonderful thing, but I could not do it. Just the thought overwhelms me. My heart breaks for those parents.

Wow, shewolf! You sure have a lot to learn about marketing creative services!!!

Nobody is going to care about degrees or certifications. All they're interested in is seeing your photographs. If they like them, you're hired. If they don't, all the credentials in the world won't matter.

Forget about racking up credentials and concentrate on putting together the best portfolio you can. You have posted wonderful shots on here, so I have no doubt you have the materials it will take.

All you need now is a bit more confidence in yourself.

Lucky for you, you came to the right place! We KNOW you're good enough to make a go at this!!!

Here's your first job offer. The next time you're in Tulsa, or the next time I'm in Austin (it is Austin, isn't it?), I want you to photograph my son. You name your price. I trust you.



One more thought: Check out quantity prices for frames in 8"x10" and larger sizes. A lot of people want to buy framed photos.

Yeah it broke my heart also - but also really dialed in my heart strings - also working on a deal to work with a hospice type situation.

God bless you for that.
You're a bigger man than most.
(literally and figuratively)