http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges An entire Lightstalkers thread via RSS/XML. en-us Hey all, I'm a student so starting out. This may seem like a quite childish question and you'll all scoff at the project as well but... ... photographing a small time band on their 2nd Anniversary gig, they asked me to come and record it for them (stills). How much should I charge for my time and/or prints?? Cheers for your input. P.S. I have a fair bit of gig photography experience already if that affects anything. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:54:32 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges There's no right answer--only the amount of money they will pay and you'll be happy with. Figure out all your costs, then add in how much you want in profit. Mon, 08 May 2006 15:06:24 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25779 Why would any of us scoff? We probably all started out in similiar ways. Think Annie Lebowitz! Work out your costs, work out what you would make at a casual job doing something equivalent in terms of skill and experience and then stand by your decision. Everyone wants something for nothing. Also there is a photogs association in the UK can't think of the name (I am sure Sion Touhig would know) where I am sure you could get some kind of idea of rates for services. If they give you a hard time just start with a daily rate first and then work down to a half day rate. Also usage etc etc need to be worked out. Are they going to use these for PR or a they just vanity shots? Mon, 08 May 2006 19:09:57 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25822 It is a good question and of course there is no right answer. Whatever you do, don't undercharge! Remember you have invested in your skill set and equipment and have a service to offer: don't let someone talk you down on price just because they think you are 'taking some snaps'. And license the images to them for usage. Tue, 09 May 2006 00:03:00 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25910 It is a good question and of course there is no right answer. Whatever you do, don't undercharge! Remember you have invested in your skill set and equipment and have a service to offer: don't let someone talk you down on price just because they think you are 'taking some snaps'. And license the images to them for usage. Tue, 09 May 2006 00:03:09 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25911 I agree with Lisa 100%. Work out the casual rate for a resonably skilled worker and add a resaonable amount for the depreciation of your equipment. Seriously I think the bes thing you can do is work out a reasonable shooting fee and then agree to various usage fees. If they want to use it on a CD cover then $x00.00, if they want to use it on thier web site then $x0.00, to supply to magazines then $X0.00 and the like. That way they wont feel as they are in a position that they have to pay you a fortune but they will be obliged to pay you due fees whenever and for whatever purpose they want to use the images. Tue, 09 May 2006 08:27:48 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25965 No idea what you should charge...but here's some suggested figures from the NUJ Fees Guide. If its just photographing the gig, you could try going for an editorial rate for the better paying nationals, which is about £250.00, but it depends on the usage - for example a similar job for PR use would be anything from £430.00 to £830.00. If the band is signed to a record company, perhaps you might be able to push for that...but confirm the usage and don't sign anything : ) I suspect its a middling band with perhaps a modest but devoted following? So maybe they don't have a huge budget to throw around...perhaps the smart move is to charge a decent editorial type rate (for their personal print use - NOT resales - and web only), and get the band to put a link for print sales on their website. If they have a decent fanclub you can arrange automated print sales via PhotoBox. http://www.photobox.co.uk and might pick up a reasonable chunk of change that way over time. A friend of mine at college in Newport did some pics of Tom Jones - we all scoffed...until he contacted the Tom Jones Fan Club and made 2000 quids worth of print sales from five minutes work. Nice! Tue, 09 May 2006 09:11:28 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25970 Thats it! I am ringing Barry Crocker (better known to you poms as 'Bazza Mackenzie'-er look up the history books!) and seeing if he has an online fan club. Elliot believe me I won't scoff, you'll probably make more than I do! Thanks Sion! Tue, 09 May 2006 09:18:52 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#25971 Cheers guys, and girls, you've all beena great aid and cheers for not scoffing. I'll leave a post on the ed of this to telll you all how it went and how much I squeezed out of their muscial sponge :P P.S. Talking about Newport thats where I'm studying, lol. Nice to see a following around here. Tue, 09 May 2006 13:30:56 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/charges#26021