First paid shoot??

So the other day I offered to take some candid shots of a friend's child for his upcoming first birthday. The parents had already has a formal professional session booked, but wanted some shots of their son running around by the water near their house. It was my first time shooting a little moving, unpredictable target, but I came away with some shots I was really happy with. I also came away with some that I would want to do over, but hey, thats why I'm learning. Well I had sent about 4 pictures to the mom, just as a preview to see what her thoughts were. She responded back that she loved them, and that another mother in her baby group is interested in having me take pictures of her daughter. Yesterday, she informed me that two more mothers are also interested in having me take pictures and were asking about prices.

Here's where the tricky part is. My idea all along was to get good enough to be able to work like this on the side. I have a full time job, photography is a hobby that I really enjoy. I am not a professional, or even a semi-pro. I consider myself a hobbyist who's pretty good at what he does. I understand that there's always room for improvement. I also understand that if I can get my pictures out there, it will open doors for me to shoot on the side. I'm just concerned with what I would charge for a session, just starting out like this. A friend of mine has paid as much as $500 US for a "Cake Smash" session from a professional. I'm thinking about half that for a 2hr shoot and then about 3-4 hours of processing. I'm trying to get an idea of what I should ask for. Has anyone been in a similar situation??


PS I'm going to try to post a few shots from the shoot with my friend's child, as long as I can get permission from the parents...

I kinda flinched at your prices, then I saw where you live...

FredKingston said:

I kinda flinched at your prices, then I saw where you live...

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Ah yes, I should have included that I'm in the NYC area...I love the city but the cost of living is ridiculous...


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There's only 1 person qualified to determine pricing: you. Pricing in this business is largely geographical. What you can charge $500 for might only go for $100 in other areas. It would be tough in the NYC area due to competition in both the amateur and pro markets.

Best advice I can give on pricing, and I've given it several times, is this: If you're asking, then you're not ready to start charging for your services. If you have any inkling about getting paid for a service, then you need to do your homework and have a plan.

There's no shame in working for free and building your portfolio.

This isn't a personal jab, but I don't know why everyone who picks up a camera these days thinks they have to earn money with it. If this is a hobby, then keep it that way.

I'm thinking about the same as Browncoat. I have had people ask me to do shoots and ask what I would charge and my answer is always the same. I will do the shoot, contact me to set something up but I will probably not charge. I see this as my hobby and if I started to charge people I believe it would take the enjoyment out of it for me. As it is now I am able to control how critical I am of my "work" because I am doing "favors" and "working" for free. I've also found that people are totally awesome to work with when you are doing it for free, the only stress I have is the stress I put on myself.

TonyD315 said:

My idea all along was to get good enough to be able to work like this on the side.

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Just pointing this out so folks will see it was your plan all along.

As far as the mentions of "free sessions" to build your portfolio and get the trial/error/experience... I'm a fan. Do a few more. Just limit those to people you know. (at least, that's what I did) Inquiries from outside were met with the scenario below:

If the people you DON'T know are seeking your services, have seen your work and are offering to pay, LET THEM. Seeing as how you're not a "professional", though, and you don't have the backlog of experience (portfolio, pricing and business plan etched in gold, etc.), don't charge the going rate that's equal to what others in the area are charging professionally. Come in low, so you're not donating precious time for free, but don't make them compare you to someone who's well established and charging the same price.

Do something like a "limited time introductory offer" and go for say... a hundred bucks paid on delivery of the images. If they don't like the images, they don't pay. (be careful with your previews, so they can't just grab and run) If they DO like your images, be ready with a release to use in a portfolio and get compensated for a little bit of your time. Everybody starts somewhere, and it's usually not the deep end.

Most importantly... GOOD LUCK. It's a nerve-wracking move to get to the point where you charge for your work, especially if you're a people-pleaser like me.

I've never charged but my logic for non friends would be to work out how many hours the shoot and processing would take then multiply by the hourly rate I'm prepared to give my time for. Not a rate based on what others charge, just what I think it's worth donating my time for. I would then add £50 to cover use of the gear as it will wear/break over time.

Be aware that you probably need to think about insurance if you're charging.

Personally I don't want to spend time snapping other peoples kids. We did a studio session for a friend and whilst the shots came out well it's not something I would give up my weekends for.

I shot my grandsons Christening at the weekend at my son's partner's request. After I'd processed them I asked if I should put them on Facebook as most attendees have an account. No was the answer that came back. So now I won't know who's seen them or whether they liked them! Apart from personal memories it was only other peoples pleasure that I took them for. In future I'll ask first and if they want them restricted they can use another tog. Does this sound harsh?


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Show your pics or it did not happen....Also will be honest about if your work is good enough to charge..

Geoffc said:

Personally I don't want to spend time snapping other peoples kids. We did a studio session for a friend and whilst the shots came out well it's not something I would give up my weekends for.

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There is timeless wisdom in these two sentences. This is the bane of how photography transforms from something you love to do, to something you get paid to do. There is a difference.

Personally, (and most pros agree) I think low ball or discount pricing is the wrong way to go. Either charge the market rate, or do it for free. You're shooting yourself and the industry as a whole in the foot if you low ball. Not to mention, you'll gain a reputation as the cheap guy. That may be good for awhile, but over time, it's going to be difficult to get away from it.

Frankly, internet forums are not a good source of info on running a photography business. Join ASMP (or other trade association) and go to a local meeting in your area.

Just a few thoughts that may or may not be of use:

- Don't sell yourself short.

- Charge what your time is worth, regardless of the endeavor, but do bear in mind market conditions, apparent willingness of potential customers, etc.

- Charge more for work you do not want to do.

- Charge less for work you enjoy.

- Don't like / don't pay is always good for family/kid stuff.

- Whether you are a pro or amateur is in the eyes of the person with the checkbook.

- There is a significant cash flow in taking photos of small two-legged creatures.

- The best photo of a child is 95% child and 5% photographer. (might be giving the child too little credit)

- i need a better signature line.

Pretzel said:

Just pointing this out so folks will see it was your plan all along.

As far as the mentions of "free sessions" to build your portfolio and get the trial/error/experience... I'm a fan. Do a few more. Just limit those to people you know. (at least, that's what I did) Inquiries from outside were met with the scenario below:

If the people you DON'T know are seeking your services, have seen your work and are offering to pay, LET THEM. Seeing as how you're not a "professional", though, and you don't have the backlog of experience (portfolio, pricing and business plan etched in gold, etc.), don't charge the going rate that's equal to what others in the area are charging professionally. Come in low, so you're not donating precious time for free, but don't make them compare you to someone who's well established and charging the same price.

Do something like a "limited time introductory offer" and go for say... a hundred bucks paid on delivery of the images. If they don't like the images, they don't pay. (be careful with your previews, so they can't just grab and run) If they DO like your images, be ready with a release to use in a portfolio and get compensated for a little bit of your time. Everybody starts somewhere, and it's usually not the deep end.

Most importantly... GOOD LUCK. It's a nerve-wracking move to get to the point where you charge for your work, especially if you're a people-pleaser like me.

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Pretzel hit the nail on the head and seems to understand my situation exactly. Maybe I wasn't clear enough when I first posted. When I first picked up a DSLR years ago and started shooting, did I think I was ever going to turn it into a paid career? No. But over time it became something the I really enjoy. My outlook on life is that you should always be happy with what you do. If you find something that you enjoy and you can get paid doing it, then thats even better. If you show up every day to work miserable, life is going to be rough. I will have the opportunity to retire when I'm in my early 40's with the career I have. I could work longer, or I could move onto something else. Why not start now to set myself up with something that 1. I enjoy and 2. I can get paid doing?? I don't feel that I HAVE to earn money doing this, but that this could turn into a decent side job. Does that mean that I still won't go out and shoot for myself? Absolutely not...I'll always do that. They are essentially two different things.

I shot some photos for a friend. She really liked them and showed some of her other friends...they in turn stated that they would be willing to pay me to shoot some photos for them. As Pretzel said, these are people I do not know. They are not family or close friends. They are simply people who have seen my photos and inquired about having me take some for them. I have some shoots set up with family that obviously I'm not charging them. Would I be actively seeking paid work had it not been offered to me? Probably not, but if the opportunity is presenting itself why turn it away?

Again, like Pretzel said, you have to start somewhere...I'm at the very beginning...the shallow end...Why not test the waters and see if it's for me? If I'm in over my head, then I'll back off a little but I won't give up. Along the way I'll continue to gain experience. I really don't see anything wrong with that...

Running a photography business is 10% photography and 90% business.

The quickest way to ruin a hobby is to turn it into work. I used to love coin collecting and my collecting got so large I went into the business of buying and selling rare coins. I did very well financially (the jump in silver/gold prices certainly helped) but I don't actively collect coins any longer. This dynamic may only apply to me but if I were to turn photography into "work", I would quickly become an ex-photographer.

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I still wanna see these pics...Don't be shy man...

Geoffc said:

After I'd processed them I asked if I should put them on Facebook as most attendees have an account. No was the answer that came back. So now I won't know who's seen them or whether they liked them! Apart from personal memories it was only other peoples pleasure that I took them for. In future I'll ask first and if they want them restricted they can use another tog. Does this sound harsh?

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No, it's not harsh. The exact thing happened to me, and it was very disappointing. A couple invited me to their big Christmas party, but also asked me to bring my camera. (They had seen pics I shot at my own party.) There were at least 60 people at their party, and I shot all of them multiple times. I spent hours on PS cleaning up blemishes and such. Then I put the best 50 pics in a Flickr photo set and sent the couple the link. They didn't share the link with anyone, nor did they ask for the full-rez files to make prints. After a few months, I took down all the pictures and they never noticed.

As you said, other people's pleasure was one of the reasons for taking the pictures. This was all free work.

Lesson learned.

ShootRaw said:

I still wanna see these pics...Don't be shy man...

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It has nothing to do with being shy and everything to do with posting pictures of a friend's child online...if I can get permission from them I have no problem posting them.


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I've been away from the game for a while and maybe this is a given method these days and may have been said many times.

Had the thought that if/when I go back into photographing people, for informal shooting around a kids party or similar activity, I would simply upload the pics to a gallery site that allows the customer to pic the pictures they like and buy the prints they want or buy digital downloads. You can create gallery for each customer with password sign-in. Take a guess as to how many pictures the average customer will buy and set prices to cover your actual costs, plus a little profit.

The business side of things is important and comments related are good advice, but as long as it is not your primary source of income, profit is called mad money, or happy money, depending on how you use it.