Photography - How much would you pay?

[matt]

The other "photography" thread prompted me...

Product photography is a business opportunity I've considered. I would be interested to know how much businesses would be prepared to pay to get someone to provide a portfolio of shots (i.e. what is the break-even point when DIY is not commercially sensible). For ease let's say on a per job (e.g. one fitted kitchen).

 

[petermillard]

Matt.

I think you might get more meaningful responses if you say where you are in the country; no point in someone 'down south' being prepared to pay a few hundred quid (say) if you're in Scotland, is there??

Just a thought. Pete.

 

[matt]

Matt.

I think you might get more meaningful responses if you say where you are in the country; no point in someone 'down south' being prepared to pay a few hundred quid (say) if you're in Scotland, is there??

Just a thought. Pete.

I understand what you're saying but location may not be a limiting factor.

 

[big soft moose]

I can't help from a customers point of view, but when I've done freelance photography in the past my basic rate (as a starting point for quotes) was about £200 per day - not forgetting that time spent post processing etc has to be taken into consideration as well as the actual shoot.

the price would include a cd of shots, but prints (or portfolios etc) were extra

Location was not an obstacle for me but I would have expected the client to pay travel on top of the fee (or factored this in if they wanted a basic quote)

That said I didnt do product photography per se - most of the work I did was "lifestyle" shots of peoples kids, pets, cars etc .

 

[matt]

Thanks, Moose. Useful input.

 

[Calpol]

I would've though what you charge as a furniture maker is much the same as a photographer would, so say £25 an hour or thereabouts. Post processing would I suppose depend on each job but I'd imagine a kitchen shoot wouldn't take very long...

Calum

 

[petermillard]

I understand what you're saying but location may not be a limiting factor.

Well, unless you're desperate for the business I'd imagine it would be; for example...

I would've though what you charge as a furniture maker is much the same as a photographer would, so say £25 an hour or thereabouts...

Where I live, they charge a lot more than that, but would you be prepared to travel one end of the country to the other for it?

Personally, I think most businesses are pretty price-sensitive when it comes to their own self-promotion (especially one-man bands) and as soon as the costs get towards the "flipping heck, I can buy a camera for that...!" range, then the whole 'business opportunity' starts to unravel somewhat.

Of course, I'm not forgetting that what businesses say they're prepared to pay and what you're trying to sell them are two different things, but I guess the question is how much is your time worth to sell the difference between those two positions i.e. is it business that's even worth chasing?

Cheers, Pete

 

[matt]

I understand what you're saying but location may not be a limiting factor.

Well, unless you're desperate for the business I'd imagine it would be; for example...

I'm not ungrateful for your interest and input but the business model is not really the focus of my thread. Suffice to say, location is covered, as is variance in market rates, demographics, etc.

I'm as interested in what someone would consider an acceptable rate in Scotland as I am in Cornwall (and all the places in between).

 

[big soft moose]

Personally, I think most businesses are pretty price-sensitive when it comes to their own self-promotion (especially one-man bands) and as soon as the costs get towards the "flipping heck, I can buy a camera for that...!" range, then the whole 'business opportunity' starts to unravel somewhat.

two points tho

a) buying a camera makes you a competent photographer in the same way that buying a saw makes you a competent cabinetmaker - ie its the first step but not the whole journey, and while anyone can take snaps it takes skill and experience to take publicity level shots

and

b) its not just a case of buying the camera its also about the cost of the time to use it - if you are a cabinet maker with say a base rate of £30ph for your jobs then every hour spent taking photos and faffing about post processing etc is costing you £30 as you are not spending it in productive work for clients. Therefore unless you are severely under occupied and have oodles of free time anyway it makes more comercial sense to pay someone else £25 ph to do it for you .

 

[petermillard]

Suffice to say, location is covered, as is variance in market rates, demographics, etc.

I'm as interested in what someone would consider an acceptable rate in Scotland as I am in Cornwall (and all the places in between).

Hokay, no worries; not my intention to hijack the thread or come across as negative - I guess I'm just as interested in the business model as I am in the responses, and I look forward to hearing more.

@BSM - Totally agree with you on both points, but just because you and I both know and understand this, it doesn't mean that the (potential) customers won't think this way. Your first point is one of the reasons I stepped away from professional photography after 20-odd years in the business - I just became tired of going back to basics and trying to educate customers to take it seriously when everybody with a cheap digital camera seemed to be calling themselves a photographer and charging peanuts for their time.

Cheers, Pete

 

[kmcleod]

Pete,

Good website, clear, concise, and tells potential customers exactly what they need to know,,,

 

[Mike.C]

Personally, I think most businesses are pretty price-sensitive when it comes to their own self-promotion (especially one-man bands) and as soon as the costs get towards the "flipping heck, I can buy a camera for that...!" range, then the whole 'business opportunity' starts to unravel somewhat.

two points tho

a) buying a camera makes you a competent photographer in the same way that buying a saw makes you a competent cabinetmaker - ie its the first step but not the whole journey, and while anyone can take snaps it takes skill and experience to take publicity level shots

and

b) its not just a case of buying the camera its also about the cost of the time to use it - if you are a cabinet maker with say a base rate of £30ph for your jobs then every hour spent taking photos and faffing about post processing etc is costing you £30 as you are not spending it in productive work for clients. Therefore unless you are severely under occupied and have oodles of free time anyway it makes more commercial sense to pay someone else £25 ph to do it for you .

I have got a fairly good camera, but I cannot take a decent photo to save my life. https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/head ... 42756.html

See what I mean :roll: So if I was a pro Woodie and my business was doing well, then yes I would hire an expert.

Cheers

Mike