What to charge

[DamianBPhoto]

Hi, I have been asked to photograph 120 head shots for a school database, so they know who is in each room and what the students look like. The school is a private boarding school that has asked me todo it.

I was thinking about £2 per photo plus rental of lighting if needed but for the amount of photos + time and effort am I selling myself short?

[jt racing]

Maybe. Does it fit in with other commercial sort of stuff you do. Just because ots not going to print, doesn't mean that it should be dirt cheap.
Maybe price your hourly rate for portraits and roughly work that out, remembering that kids can be awkward to photograph.

[Simpo Two]

DamianBPhoto said:

Hi, I have been asked to photograph 120 head shots for a school database, so they know who is in each room and what the students look like. The school is a private boarding school that has asked me todo it.

On the ethical/legal front, did the parents have any say in the matter?

[EmmaP]

How many hours setting up/travel + photographing + processing X hourly rate + materials. Don't sell yourself short. Children can be awkward so allow enough time. School will equate very cheap with poor service.

[DamianBPhoto]

Simpo Two said:

DamianBPhoto said:

Hi, I have been asked to photograph 120 head shots for a school database, so they know who is in each room and what the students look like. The school is a private boarding school that has asked me todo it.

On the ethical/legal front, did the parents have any say in the matter?

I don't know on that side of things. Is that something to consider? or just let them deal with it.

[DamianBPhoto]

EmmaP said:

How many hours setting up/travel + photographing + processing X hourly rate + materials. Don't sell yourself short. Children can be awkward so allow enough time. School will equate very cheap with poor service.

Travel - 5mins
Setting up - 30mins-1hr
Photography time 4hrs - 1hr for breaks
Processing - Not needed

Total: 6hrs

I was thinking for the amount of time and effort that £500 would sound reasonable, I just dont wan't them to go - well for that price we can do it ourselfs and close a door on myself.

[rickybouy]

So you were thinking 240 and your estimate is 500 so maybe go for 350 or somewhere in the middle, you have to be happy with what you are getting!

[DamianBPhoto]

rickybouy said:

So you were thinking 240 and your estimate is 500 so maybe go for 350 or somewhere in the middle, you have to be happy with what you are getting!

Well I gussed 240 but when I looked at thye whole picture like Emma sugguested I thought about how much time and effort it will really take.

[jamieboy]

DamianBPhoto said:

I was thinking for the amount of time and effort that £500 would sound reasonable

I know nothing about pricing in this arena - but as a layman, £85 an hour sounds like quite a lot.

[rickybouy]

85 an hour is ok in this industry! i know it's a little different but in my industry we struggle to get a day to day (events photographer) for 120 quid an hour if your talking high end advertising work then it cost however much you want to pay so i think 85 is ok! as long as it's worth your while it's ok and may open the door to other opportunities?

[V8LM]

Being Devil's advocate, the fact that you are 5 minutes away suggests they know you, that you are a photographer, and easier to ask than get a teacher to do it. The photos are for internal use only and is possibly a new initiative. They may decide to do it themselves if you return with a £250 quote.

How about doing it as a favour, or loss-leader at least? It would be a good way to get them to use you for all photography in the future, and the parents of kids at such schools are more wealthy than the school itself.

[LongQ]

V8LM said:

How about doing it as a favour, or loss-leader at least? It would be a good way to get them to use you for all photography in the future, and the parents of kids at such schools are more wealthy than the school itself.

Because the job then has no value and anything else they may offer is just as likely to be equally valueless. The only 'big money' likely is the traditional annual (or probably bi-annual) school photo and the individual 'portraits' that are linked to it. That's specialist stuff needing, normally, more than most photographers have in terms of kit, sales systems, production and distribution control.

Loss-leaders seem to be a waste of time in the digital age so it really depends on how much financial assistance you would want to give to the (potentially) rich families who send their kids to the school.

I take it theses are ID mug shots. I'm puzzled why they don't do it internally. After all, they presumably have CRB clearance and 120 kids is hardly a large number to get to know ... with or without snaps.

Edited by LongQ on Sunday 11th July 20:07

[Simpo Two]

DamianBPhoto said:

I don't know on that side of things. Is that something to consider? or just let them deal with it.

I don't do schools photography (a local company offered me a job but I declined) but I'm pretty sure it would need parental consent, private school or otherwise. I don't think they'd be very keen having their children's faces in some security database. Ask the school.

Oh, and don't focus on the background

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 11th July 20:15

[Simpo Two]

LongQ said:

Loss-leaders seem to be a waste of time in the digital age so it really depends on how much financial assistance you would want to give to the (potentially) rich families who send their kids to the school.

He wouldn't be assisting the parents, but the school. I spent years trying to get work from my old school. They were very nice and terribly polite but never ever spent a penny with me, even though I was an old boy. Tight as a bull's arse in flytime.

[LongQ]

Simpo Two said:

LongQ said:

Loss-leaders seem to be a waste of time in the digital age so it really depends on how much financial assistance you would want to give to the (potentially) rich families who send their kids to the school.

He wouldn't be assisting the parents, but the school. I spent years trying to get work from my old school. They were very nice and terribly polite but never ever spent a penny with me, even though I was an old boy. Tight as a bull's arse in flytime.

Yes, I know but since the school would pass in the costs ... in fact probably with a mark-up if they could --- which makes your point for you in a way, and maybe explains why they don't intend to take the mugshots themselves. Much more can be charged on if a Pro has been employed.

I write as a father (not rich) who has been a paying parent, albeit it not a paying parent funding a boarding part of the schools.

[Simpo Two]

LongQ said:

Yes, I know but since the school would pass in the costs ... in fact probably with a mark-up if they could

These are photos for an internal database; I can't think the parents would be charged for them. Otherwise they could refuse to pay and their child would never be on the database, which would defeat the point!

[LongQ]

Simpo Two said:

LongQ said:

Yes, I know but since the school would pass in the costs ... in fact probably with a mark-up if they could

These are photos for an internal database; I can't think the parents would be charged for them. Otherwise they could refuse to pay and their child would never be on the database, which would defeat the point!

It's amazing how much effort can be put into adding little items to bills. Especially if 'security' is involved. Parents will either just pay and accept it or are maybe the type who simply don't pay well for anything - in which case the school has not lost out by extending their bills, they just have to wait long enough for the parents to find the cash. It's amazing how the little extras mount up. Most people accept it. For the most affluent it probably makes very little difference and I doubt they even check the invoices.

But we digress ....

[AndWhyNot]

Simpo Two said:

DamianBPhoto said:

I don't know on that side of things. Is that something to consider? or just let them deal with it.

I don't do schools photography (a local company offered me a job but I declined) but I'm pretty sure it would need parental consent, private school or otherwise. I don't think they'd be very keen having their children's faces in some security database.

Many schools operate an opt-out basis which parents sign only once/ once a year when child joins the school - covers internal photography (incl for prospectus etc), sports days, that kind of thing. It's standard practice these days to link mugshots to SIMS (schools information management system) so much so that the large school portrait photographers have invested in software that allows them to share their portraits with the school for precisely that purpose.

As for how much to charge, you need to devise a standard hourly/ half-day/ day rate that applies to most scenarios. But in this instance don't quote until you fully understand their expectations - you might reckon on 5 hours but I bet it's closer to 8 or even 10. Make sure your rate includes things like your insurance (you are insured, right?), tax and deductibles, gear (camera gear) etc.

Something that's just struck me now having written above about the pro school togs, don't suppose this place of yours is expecting you to do all the integration? If they are you'll need a 100% foolproof system to tie up every child with a name and SIMS ref/ candidate number and keep them in order. Shoot a blank image for each absent child and then when you go back to reshoot the absentees (price for this, too) you can renumber just the new shots and slot them in order within the remainder of the group.