Photography is no different than any other profession when it comes to determining an hourly rate. There are some good online forms that will help you find out what stuff you HAVE to charge for in order to cover your overhead, then you add a profit margin for what you need to make a living from the work. What the shooter down the street charges, should not be used to set your price, they may have very low overhead or may have higher expenses than you. Too many people start a business thinking they can charge just a little more per hour than what they are currently making at their regular job only to find out that they now have ALL the expenses coming out of their pockets and are soon broke and can't understand why. You also need to figure in the time it takes to "run" the business not just the hours you spend at your photography. I have ran a graphic design business for 47 years and I can tell you out of a 5 or 6 day work week, you will spend about 8 to 12 man hours just doing the business routines of bookkeeping, ordering materials, taking phone calls and a thousand other things that crop up in order to keep your business going. Most cities/towns have a local Chamber of Commerce, contact them to see if they have a business mentor program, your mentor doesn't have to know the first thing about a camera but they can give you some invaluable tips on how to create a rate sheet and run a successful business.
Here's some food for thought:
In a 'normal' job you work 40 hours a week, with a two week vacation and a few days thrown in for sick days. That relates to about 49 weeks per year, so multiply that by 40 and you work 1,960 hours per year. If you now spend 10 or more hours per week 'running' your new business that's 490 hours or more off the top of that 'normal' year of work that has to be paid for by someone (your clients) or else you're taking money out of your own pocket to operate a business and that's not a successful business. I would say for the first couple years your 'running the business' hours will be much more than when once you get established, lots of things to consider.
Now, if you're just going to be shooting part time, charge what the customer is willing to pay to put a little spending money in your pocket every now and then, but if you're serious about a career in photography, you need to learn business management as much or more than learning to push a shutter button or you'll end up hating your job.
Sorry to have gotten off track on your original post, but to answer those questions, you should charge by the hour starting out to get a feel for the number of hours for the different type shoots you do. Once you have an idea of the amount of time for certain type shoots you could do them at a set price for the initial shoot plus extra for prints. The only problem I see with doing shoots at a set price, the customers usually want to start adding demands for shots that you didn't charge for, you'll have to be a very slick businessperson to be able to stop their demands before they get out of hand and without making them mad. As long as the customer knows they are paying 'by the hour' they are a LOT more aware of not tying up YOUR time, if it's by the job, they have a tendency to be late, take forever changing clothes, wanting to stand around and talk or waste your time talking on their cell phone.
skinFNP wrote:
I'm starting to take photos for graduates, families, etc. and uncertain about how much to charge. I've gathered some information and kind of have an idea, but I would be interested in hearing from the group. Do you charge by the hours, does it depend on # of locations or # of dressing changes, etc. Please advise and thank you.