I've done weddings, I've done engagement sessions, I've done family portraits and I've always had the same prices and the same response from those who have paid: Great!!
I've always been introduced through friends and friends of friends etc. I've had a few contact me through my website. However, I've recently been contacted by someone through Photographers Direct. At first he asked me to quote him a price for a shoot in Oct/Nov. and those were the only details. I responded that I needed more information. What he described in the follow up email was this:
I will require
- 8 hour outdoor shoot (3 locations)
- 200 edited shots soft copy (50 chosen for high res)
- rental of 2 gown; and 1 kimono for bride and groom
- make up artist and hairstylist
- transport for the day
Please kindly quote me.
Normally, I'm OK with time. I am not 'by the hour' but by the day (As much time as needed). For an engagement session I normally offer 20 photos (Prints). This person is asking for 50 high res photos. I've been asked to find the gowns and kimonos as well as make up/hair and figure out transportation costs.
Here's where I'm OK...I know that while I normally do prints for these sessions, I'd be happy to to deliver the data only. The fact that it's 50 simply means I charge for an extra 30. Easy. Now, here's where I'm confused (At least until I get a reply from the 'I need more info' email I sent back. If it's up to me to figure out the rest of the costs, I can do so easily by going to one of the churches/bridal shops I work with and ask someone if they are interested in taking part in this shoot and providing a price list and adding this to the total package. However, from what I gather, this sounds more like a project shoot of some kind than an actual engagement session. This would require me to take on more responsibility. I'm sure I can deliver quality pictures however I'm not entirely sure how to properly price this if the project were something larger than a traditional engagement shoot...or if I should charge more since I've never been on a larger project (With a budget I would assume).
I'm still in the 'negotiation' phase and I've asked him to review my portfolio on my own website just in case. I wish I knew more DPCer's in Japan...I would love some help. I don't know where in Japan they plan to shoot...but if all works out this would be a great experience. I've already started doing some free studio portraits to get my portfolio nice a big. And who knows, the prices I quote might be unattractive to this person.
Advice? Experience? |
