okay.. so i'm meeting with a client for a clothing line, what kind of parameters should i set.. how should i charge? per item? should i do it in their store? take the products home and shoot them there?... I think what i'm asking here is.. at the initial meeting what kinds of things should i put on the table as things that i require and what i should be delivering.. I've shot products before but have just taken them home and the shoot was pretty straight forward.. i'm kind of lost here.. I told the client over the phone my day rate, and they want to know what that includes... quite frankly I don't know what to include... help please!?
You might have better luck if you ask the moderator to move this to the Pro forum. This kind of question is common over there.
For good clothing photography you'll need more lighting than just your on-camera flash, so unless the store has space for you to set up a studio you are better off taking them home.
Product photography is generally priced by the piece, which puts the onus on you to know what you're doing from the beginning, because if you waste time or are just learning, the client isn't paying for it.
You should find out how the pictures will be used and license the images accordingly. You can use FotoQuote Pro software to calculate license fees based on usage. Or you can just shoot at a flat per piece rate and give the customer an unlimited license that does not give them the copyright.
You need to find out how they want the files (JPEG, full-size TIFF, ...), how and who will be responsible for styling the clothing (to ensure that you get the "look" they want), and under what circumstances you will reshoot a piece for free. You can get into a deep hole with free reshoots if your client turns out to be unbelievably picky.
All this stuff should go into the contract. You can find sample contracts, product and model releases, and invoices in John Harrington's book "Best Business Practices for Photographers," the ASMP "Business Practices for Photographers," or Tad Crawford's book "Business and Legal Forms for Photographers"
