I've just been asked by my church to shoot the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt and do not have a clue on how to charge for this. They are going to have a realy rabbit there and want me to shoot portraits of the children with the rabbit. I was thinking of having the church tell the parents of the children that I will shoot their child with the rabbit for $25 per child and they would have to pay me on a per print basis if they wanted any prints from the shoot. I would probably give them a 4x6 included with the $25. Does this sound about right to you all?
You don't like your fellow church goers very much do you?
There are companies that will do this and print on the spot for less. Around here the get a 5x7 for $20.00.
If it were me, I would set up a spot for portraits. Charge $20 for a 5x7 and make sure they know that $5.00 goes to the church. Give my church a free CD containing all of the candids you take.
Are you and the church clear this is a paying gig? What experience do you have in this kind of event photography?
How big is your church? How do you plan to pose the children and the rabbit? If you're planning on them holding it, my bet is the rabbit will be seriously stressed after the first five kids. How do explain to the parents of child #6 and beyond that the posing partner has nutted up and spends all her time trying to escape?
$25 for a 4x6 sounds pretty steep. What will you bring to the shoot by way of professional posing, lighting and props that will make your product worth $25 more than the parents can take with their P&S? They all know you can get 4x6 prints for 19 cents at the corner CVS.
We had a church member who's an aspiring photographer attempt to take photos for a church directory. Things didn't go well at all. We haven't seen her around much lately.
Remember live animals and live children raises the trouble factor exponentially.
Doug
Edited by dmacmillan on Jan 26, 2008 at 01:15 AM GMT
I was planning on bringing my studio lights and renting a backdrop that would compliment Easter in some way. I'm wondering why $25 is so steep when people pay in excess of $150 for a sitting fee and proofs for their portraits. Again, I'm new at this and that is why I have asked the question before talking to the church about pricing.
TSparger wrote:
I was planning on bringing my studio lights and renting a backdrop that would compliment Easter in some way. I'm wondering why $25 is so steep when people pay in excess of $150 for a sitting fee and proofs for their portraits. Again, I'm new at this and that is why I have asked the question before talking to the church about pricing.
More info, please. Do people pay you "in excess of $150 for a sitting fee" or this is sitting fees you've seen others charge? Are you a full time professional, a part time professional or an enthusiast?
I'm a part time professional and have been doing portraiture and some corporate work mostly. I have indeed had people pay me $150 for my standard sitting fee, which happens to be less than what a lot of other photographers in my area charge for their sitting fees. I have never shot an "event" per se for hire so I didn't know how they were charged.
Personally, there is no way I would pay $25 for a 4x6. We get hit with kids photos from all directions ( school, hockey, soccer, dance etc... ). Starting to become a commodity and expectations are commodity pricing.
That's an excellent point, Chez. I remember how hard it was when I was a young parent.
You can't compare a portrait session to this. If you have a portrait session, you spend a lot of time getting the best shot. Something like this should take a few minutes per child and a few minutes to print. What is your hourly rate and how many kids could you photograph in that hour? You'll have to decide.
Have you ever worked with live animals before? I was a rabbit wrangler once. It's not pretty. Be sure to have a COMPLETELY fenced in area for Peter (rabbit) and at least one assistant (better to have TWO!) to handle the rabbit and the child.
Maybe instead of printing onsite, do the smugmug thing.
Also, why charge? Submit a formal bill, but write it off as a donation to the church. Make your Pastor (assuming, since you said Church, not Temple or Mosque) and your accountant happy.
I've done this exact thing; here's how I approached it, for whatever that's worth.
I do portrait work, and typically charge around 150 for a sitting fee. I've had customers from within and outside my church - it makes no difference.
I've also shot events for my church - fall festivals, egg hunts, other things. With those, I shot everyone that would sit (or stand) on the set, and didn't charge anyone for "being there" - I tried to get as many people as possible. I did basic filtering and cropping of the pictures and loaded them up onto a gallery hosted by exposure manager. I applied prices less than I typically would for prints. I also gave selected images to the church. In some cases, I actually gave a free 4x6 to every family I shot.
My thought process was that I didn't mind if I didn't make a nickel. In fact, people did buy prints, and I did OK, but that wasn't my "motivation". When I didn't give a free print to everyone I still made several 4x6's and 8x10's and gave them away. Some just because they were great shots, some because I knew the subject couldn't afford prints.
Each event lead to later portrait work and referrals, all of which I did at "regular" rates.
That's just what I did; may or may not be right for you, but I hope it helps in some way.
In any scenario, donating (x)% back to the church is a good idea.
-Andrew
So you have to kick back to the church, just like you have to kick back to the kids sports league?
I think the last client I knew of who asked for kick backs was fired, but he wanted Super Bowl tickets, not cash...
TSparger wrote:
I was planning on bringing my studio lights and renting a backdrop that would compliment Easter in some way. I'm wondering why $25 is so steep when people pay in excess of $150 for a sitting fee and proofs for their portraits. Again, I'm new at this and that is why I have asked the question before talking to the church about pricing.
This isn't a portrait sitting, this is like a "grip and grin" photo shoot. they'll step up into line, pet the rabbit or whatever, take a photo or two and run them along to your assistant with the cash box... They're there for a minute or two max. If you treat it like a portrait sitting you're not going to make money. Treat it, and price it, like going to the mall for a picture with Santa. I'd charge $25 for a SHEET, unless you you have 5x7 paper. It's not worth the hassle of printing out two people's 5x7's on one sheet, cutting them apart and keeping track of which is who's. I'm not sure about renting a backdrop though.... that might eat into your profits big time, get some seamless paper, a couple of props, and move everyone thru the process in a morning.
You don't HAVE to give any money back. I do it as a thank you for the opportunity that I would not otherwise have. Often they say no thanks keep it, but they appreciate the gesture. I think there's a pot over there that needs stirring- still got your spoon handy?
Micky Bill wrote:
So you have to kick back to the church, just like you have to kick back to the kids sports league?
I think the last client I knew of who asked for kick backs was fired, but he wanted Super Bowl tickets, not cash...
I dunno how you guys do it.
M
I give to the Church on Sundays too. Is that a bad thing?
DrewFos wrote:
You don't HAVE to give any money back. I do it as a thank you for the opportunity that I would not otherwise have. Often they say no thanks keep it, but they appreciate the gesture. I think there's a pot over there that needs stirring- still got your spoon handy?
I just would get a little frustrated if I was expected to 'give back' to the businesses that I work for, simply for the opportunity to work for them, but it seems like it is part of doing business for some segments of the industry...but totally not in others. Frankly if I had a choice I would rather discount the fees rather than paying a kickback or vendor fee or whatever it;s called. but that's just my opinion.
on site event shooting...get the photos...they are basically free for you once you are set up. Charging anything means many will walk away. Charging nothing means they will all get a photo taken. Then those who want to buy will and those who would have walked away may buy or grandma/uncle/etc may buy.
? I was a rabbit wrangler once. It's not pretty. Be sure to have a COMPLETELY fenced in area for Peter (rabbit) and at least one assistant (better to have TWO!) to handle the rabbit and the child.