Setting Prices

How do you set prices? Setting prices is one of the most complicated part of the business of being a photographer. You only have 3 choices:

1. Charge for your time: either on an hourly basis, half day rate, the photo session...
2. Charge for the deliverables: either for the prints, the CD, the album...
3. Charge for your rights: either as royalty managed, royalty free by charging for reproduction...

You can even make a mix of these 3 ways. Portrait studios charge for the photo session, then they charge for the prints.

Charging for time is the easiest to understand and set: I want to make $75 per hour or I don't have the choice the standard editorial half-day rate is $250. In my opinion, charging by the hour is the worst way you, as a photographer, can earn a living. When charging for your time, you can only charge for the time that you are with the customer. It's very difficult to charge for the post processing, the customer doesn't see you working, so it doesn't exist. Disney sell their "amateur photographers" at $150 per half-hour. Details are at: Photo Pass. These are not professional photographers and there is no post processing, you can either get the prints from their "1 hour photo" or get a CD for doing your own prints.

Charging for the deliverables is how most "private photographers" charge. We, and I include myself, sell prints from a very good lab and make them as large as possible with enough of a margin to "earn a living".

Charging for your rights is what photographers do when they shoot for stock or for publication, but that's only if it wasn't a "for-hire" photo shoot. When shooting for stock, it's very rare that you control your prices, the photo agency decides for you. You only get a commission of the sale price set by the photo agency.