gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

You'll be competing with everyone else who will be taking their own pictures. Not likely to generate much demand. Pricing could be to just cover your travel expenses, for starters, or for free. Maybe pass around a price sheet for those who don't have their own pics. Maybe suggest a price range after they see a contact sheet, depending on how much they like the photo.

13oct1931 Loc: Lebanon, Indiana

I am the "official unofficial fotografer for my wife's annual family reunion. I have yet to have anyone volunteer 1 red cent. I used to send pix to every one; now I don't. They get what they pay for.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

First, yes, it is outside, BUT, all the faces have to look good. You need to find an area when EVERYONE in the shot will be in open shade, AND, you should practice using fill flash to assure ALL faces will be clear.
Second, pricing is up to you, this could help build your business (if this is what you want). So make sure you find out what the cost of the prints are ahead so you will not lose money. I used to triple the cost of the prints to resale. For shooting, I would go with anywhere from $50.00 to $150.00 for shooting the shot. But keep in mind, IF YOU CAN'T DELIVER QUALITY EXCELLENTLY CLEAN PRINTS WITH EVERYONE EXPOSED WELL, DON'T DO IT. NEVER DO A JOB YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T DELIVER. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

Silverman Loc: Michigan

Yes, Practice and more Practice will certainly be a MUST. You may also consider "Off Camera Flash", with a reliable Trigger & Receiver set. You will have much better created image results. Also be sure to have plenty of Batteries, for both your Camera and your Flash & accessories. What Lens will you use? A 50mm 1.8g prime, A 28 or 35mm 1.8g prime, A Zoom lens. Will these Lens be matching manufacturer's lens, Sony, Cannon, Nikon?
These are just a few things to consider, Pricing will be your decision, but do not to high, remember you mentioned you are a NEWBIE, so you must take that into consideration too. Keep track and Cover your costs then add a fair & reasonable amount. I know there will be others providing very good advice, this is just my opinions on your future Photo assignment.

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

I wouldn't charge even if it isn't family. You should use the opportunity to gain experience in exposure, composition, and post processing. You will make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. If you do the job for free and you make mistakes, you won't get a lot of bad press, but if you ask for payment and you screw up, you will get ruin your chance for opportunities in the future. I would photograph such events for free for the experience until I was completely satisfied with the results and confident I could maintain product quality.

If you think shooting outside will be easy, you are very badly mistaken.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

#1, is it you or another paid shooter?
#2 how much Post Process are you planning on?

If it's family and they are not planning on paying someone else I'd donate the shooting, it is for family

I would probably figure a rate for post process if it's more than minimal, again I'd keep it minimal so no $$

Prints, depends on how you are doing it, I think I'd ask about 15/20% over actual cost, just to make sure I don't lose any money on the transactions, BTW if you are collecting money get it in advance, even from family!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

If it isn't family DO NOT DO IT FOR FREE!, figure an hourly rate, remember even burger flippers want $15 an hour!

When I shot weddings and parties it was all flash, even outdoors, it's the only light you really control, Think bounce and diffused, Lumiquest, my choice or Rogue, if I couldn't use Lumiquest I'd try Rogue, I really like the look of their light bender, practice shooting outside with a model or two, wife, kids etc. get comfortable, keep your subjects away from walls behind them, shadows you know, Bob.

robertsmom2

If I was shooting for a friend, I charged for the cost of the film and the processing. If they chose to add a "tip", it was welcome since I would spend literally all day with them, not just a few hours.
Since this is your first shoot, I'd do it for a minimal charge.

robertsmom2

Agree with the step ladder idea! Works great! Or shoot from any upper position where people have to look up, wave, raise a glass, etc.
Bounce flash is always good or cover flash with something to soften it.

halraiser

One thing to consider is what people will be at the reunion. I think I've read that Blacks tend to be more likely than other groups to have family reunions. Nothing against them, but they can present a technical problem. If some are wearing very light colors, or if there are light colors in the background, it can exceed the dynamic range of the camera. I learned this the hard way when we took a black friend to Mt Hood in the snow and I got some images of her. Ugly! Either the background was totally blown, or she was just a black blob.

Should your customers be black, try to convince them to avoid light colored clothing and backgrounds. You can also try the high dynamic range on your camera, but that requires that the subjects remain still, not likely to happen if there are small children there.

Good luck.

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

Don't forget that folks will be using their cell phones to shoot pictures and may not want to spend money on them. If you do this I hope you'll give us a report!

Maik723

What a strange coincidence. I encounter the same technical difficulty when I photograph white people when they are wearing dark colored clothing and/or against dark backgrounds. Although, I've read they are not inclined to have family reunions, no offense, I often photograph them at Soccer games and the sort and the faces were usually blown-out (ghostly) or too pinkish, requiring extensive post corrective enhancements.

Carmine Loc: Westport, CT

If this is your first gig without having worked as an assistant or second shooter. Be warned, Working as a pro comes with a lot of responsibility. Have at least one back up for every piece of equipment you intend to use. As for the business part of the deal... Firstly, get paid just to be there and shoot. Don't forget to figure in editing time. Then: Plan A: Include in your price a CD for every sub-set family head and sell additional CD's by the piece for those that want them. To attest to the quality of your efforts, you can upload a gallery of all the photos - but with a very obvious water mark across each image (Light Room does this easily) Someone will always try to rip you off.
Plan B: Upload your processed images to a professional site you can direct your reunion members to, to view and order prints, cups, hats, etc. You set the retail prices. The site tells you their costs and you can create a price list so you can figure in your profit per print, etc. They take the orders, make prints, etc. and send you a check when it's all over. The devil's in the details.

iosa Loc: Fairbanks, AK

You should try to find out about venue and time of day as soon as possible so you can make plans around the environment. Daytime shooting on a clear day sounds great, but this is generally considered to be a tough environment to work in: shadows are very sharp and distinct, and the people will be probably wearing sunglasses and hats. Taking off their glasses may lead them to squint. You will want to think about communicating with them about sunglasses, even reminding them that they should not bring photochromatic prescription glasses to the session.

Consider pushing them for an early or late session. If you aren’t familiar with it, look up information on the Golden Hour. Start taking practice shots around the time of day you expect the session to happen so you can become familiar with how the lights and shadows will behave.

fotoman150

Everyone is such a pussy!

You can do it and charge $500 and post them on a site like dotphotopro or Zenfolio and let them download for free.

Get your money up front because no one will go to a site and pay for photos.

Have the client print up some cards with a link to your pics.

You can do it! Don’t be afraid. You’ll never get anywhere in life if you go around being afraid to shoot an assignment.

Outdoor family reunions are easy. If you can’t shoot it manually shoot in program but shoot it. They wont know if you screwed up because most people don’t know a good photograph when they see one.

A good friend of mine told me “ Go out and make a big mess then go about cleaning it up.”

Just do it. Exit strategy later.