# What would you pay if you were the customer?



## animotionphoto (Jul 8, 2012)

*Things to forget/ leave out:*
1. That you're a photographer (very difficult)
2. About the equipment
3. Business admin, insurance, contracts, etc
4. Experience
5. Whether it's been done before

*Scenario: *You and your girlfriend/wife or friends/family are at a 4th of July festival
*Question:

*Would you and if you would, how much would you pay for a group photo printed on decent paper, and quality print on the spot and in hand, by a photgrapher walking around taking photos? 
How much for 4x6?
How much for 5x7?

Thanks ya'll. This has been a number I can't seem to settle on.


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## Trever1t (Jul 8, 2012)

I'd pay his rate or not buy a photo.... Why?


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## MK3Brent (Jul 8, 2012)

2 easy payments of $19.95 and 1 really ****ing complicated payment of $32.50.


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

depends on the quality of the printing.  I think the normal price for this type of service is like $12-15 at events I've seen.


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## D-B-J (Jul 8, 2012)

MK3Brent said:


> 2 easy payments of $19.95 and 1 really ****ing complicated payment of $32.50.



Okay Mitch


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## animotionphoto (Jul 8, 2012)

fjrabon said:


> depends on the quality of the printing.  I think the normal price for this type of service is like $12-15 at events I've seen.



Should I assume $12 for a 4x6 etc? I edited the question to include decent paper and quality of print. Yeah, I'm considering this for those days when money is tight and business is slow (my other business).


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## Trever1t (Jul 8, 2012)

Ahhh... Ok I understand, you are looking to do this. Charge as little as you can to still profit and you'll profit more with volume. Personally I'd pay $5 and not think twice about it but I'd be hella hesitant to spend $10 and would most likely pass.


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## animotionphoto (Jul 8, 2012)

Trever1t said:


> Ahhh... Ok I understand, you are looking to do this. Charge as little as you can to still profit and you'll profit more with volume. Personally I'd pay $5 and not think twice about it but I'd be hella hesitant to spend $10 and would most likely pass.



Would you pay more than $5 if you could see the photo on a 10 inch screen before print?


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

$12 for a 4x6? 

I can get an 8x10 photo professionally printed from a lab online for about that much


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

animotionphoto said:


> fjrabon said:
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> > depends on the quality of the printing.  I think the normal price for this type of service is like $12-15 at events I've seen.
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I think the times I've seen it done, they were 5X7.  Also, they have a really low buy rate, but they take hundreds and hundreds of pictures every game (if not thousands and thousands).  If you're just walking around at random public places, I don't know if that model would work.


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> $12 for a 4x6?
> 
> I can get an 8x10 photo professionally printed from a lab online for about that much



Well, that's an entirely different type of product.  One is a picture you took, with your gear, then handed off to a lab that you drove to.  The other is one someone else took of you at an event, with their camera, and printed on site.


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## e.rose (Jul 8, 2012)

Would I?  No.

Then again I've never been the type to buy photos at theme parks like this either.

If I want a picture of me and some friends at a festival, I'd just have a stranger take a snap for us with my point and shoot, like my husband and I did in Disney.

The quality of the photos taken in those situations is rarely good enough for me to want to pay anything for it when I could do it myself and get the same result.

It's not the same as paying someone to shoot a formal session.

That's just my take as a previously non-photographer, festival & theme-park, going consumer.


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

fjrabon said:
			
		

> Well, that's an entirely different type of product.  One is a picture you took, with your gear, then handed off to a lab that you drove to.  The other is one someone else took of you at an event, with their camera, and printed on site.



True, but it's like paying $7 for a bottle of water right now when you can get one for $.99 down the street a little later. I know very few people who need a photo RIGHT NOW when they can just take one with their 10mp camera phone and have them shipped to them. When people are taking just random family pics at an event I would assume that it'd be pretty hard to convince them that your photos are worth $12 a pop for the smallest size.


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## Kerbouchard (Jul 8, 2012)

$20 for a few digital files seems to be about right, from what I have seen.  Occasionally, I will go out and do some street/cityscape stuff, and just about every time, I get at least 3-4 couples/groups that want to pay me to take their photo and send it to them.  I'm sure if I asked, or was actively trying to get people to shoot, it would be much more.  Just go to any downtown or party area after 10 p.m.  People are drunk with their dates.  You can easily get paid to capture the moment for them.


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## Overread (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> fjrabon said:
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You're thinking of this as a photographer, ie as someone with the base skills in using a camera. The average person does not have many if any camera using skills. They can point and shoot and that is about as far as most of them want to learn those skills. Further most of them won't print the photos; even if they did and even if they did get them "pro" printed at the chemists they are still having their technically and compositionally weak photos as the base.

A photographer can still turn a trade with instant photos - heck just look at how many party events will hire a "photobooth" type arrangement. Sure everyone at the party might have a camera, but the photographer working the booth will likely be the only one taking "photos" and not snapshots.


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> fjrabon said:
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Well, there are entire companies based around the idea that you're wrong about that.


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

Overread said:
			
		

> You're thinking of this as a photographer, ie as someone with the base skills in using a camera. The average person does not have many if any camera using skills. They can point and shoot and that is about as far as most of them want to learn those skills. Further most of them won't print the photos; even if they did and even if they did get them "pro" printed at the chemists they are still having their technically and compositionally weak photos as the base.
> 
> A photographer can still turn a trade with instant photos - heck just look at how many party events will hire a "photobooth" type arrangement. Sure everyone at the party might have a camera, but the photographer working the booth will likely be the only one taking "photos" and not snapshots.



True, but those events have the photo booth aspect. Being just some guy with a nice camera walking around taking photos isn't exactly offering anything that the customers couldn't get already from their little cameras except for the prints.

I just honestly don't think anyone will pay that price for the service you're offering. 

They would probably pay that for the digital files, but for a singular print....


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

fjrabon said:
			
		

> Well, there are entire companies based around the idea that you're wrong about that.



Companies =\= unknown guy with camera


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> Overread said:
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Well, people do.  I have season tickets to The Atlanta Braves, and there is a company that does exactly this.  And people pay for it.  Now, do a large percentage of the people who get their picture taken buy it?  No.  But obviously enough do such that this company makes a profit, pays their photogs relatively well, and can afford to pay the Braves a few thousand dollars per game to be allowed to do it.

The kicker?  

They don't even do on site printing.  Thats right, people pay $14 for a 5X7, that they have to go online and order, and get 5-9 days later, in the mail.

So yeah, while you might not understand why people would, in fact they do do this.

And Ive seen similar booths and operations at the beach as well, charging similar prices, some with on site printing, some that don't have it.


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## fjrabon (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> fjrabon said:
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Actually how the operations work, it more or less looks that way, if it isn't that way.  A guy walks around with his camera, asks if you want your picture taken, you say yes or no.  The beach versions of this I've seen, it usually is in fact a one man operation.

And if anything, people tend to be more open to a guy who looks like he's not some drone for a large company, but a regular trying to make a few dollars.


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

fjrabon said:
			
		

> Actually how the operations work, it more or less looks that way, if it isn't that way.  A guy walks around with his camera, asks if you want your picture taken, you say yes or no.  The beach versions of this I've seen, it usually is in fact a one man operation.
> 
> And if anything, people tend to be more open to a guy who looks like he's not some drone for a large company, but a regular trying to make a few dollars.



I guess it depends on the event. I've done the same thing at college football games, but it was mostly in places where cameras weren't allowed, or I had some kind of college symbol for the to hold. 

$5-7 seemed to be the sweet spot for me. Over about $10 and people were like "lol...no..."

And that was for digital files. For one physical copy...I don't know.


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## animotionphoto (Jul 8, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> fjrabon said:
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Ok, then. How many digital files, and how much were they sold for? How was the delivery?


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## rexbobcat (Jul 8, 2012)

Well, it was $5 per file, and I would just take their email and give them a card with mine and I would email them. Like I said, this is what worked for ME in my area. In a different demographic it will probably be different.


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## animotionphoto (Jul 8, 2012)

The reason I'm interested in point of sale, is because from my experience (and others I've seen here), I've walked around festivals and live music shows just shooting randomly, and people just ask me to take pictures of them and sell to them. At that point, they're at the "impulse purchase mode" because they're high from being somewhere evetnful. If I give them a card to go to my website later, the value of the picture is less in my opinion. On a different side, what if you could sell the customer a flash drive for about $15 and 1 file on it edited with captioning on the photo of event and date?


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## KmH (Jul 9, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> $12 for a 4x6?
> 
> I can get an 8x10 photo professionally printed from a lab online for about that much


The online lab is just charging for the ink and paper, not the image printed by the ink onto the paper.

So, if you 're buying ink, paper, and an image - expect to pay more.


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## Designer (Jul 9, 2012)

animotionphoto said:


> Would you and if you would, how much would you pay for a group photo...?



O.K., Wow! So many variables in this equation, and you haven't mentioned all of them. 

Are these proposed to be candid shots?  If so, I personally wouldn't pay anything.
If they are posed, do you have a good idea of what settings will be available?  Any portable backgrounds, lights, etc?
Are these going to be any good?  Yes, I realize some people will buy anything, but it's a pretty slim chance that you will be able to make any money.
Are the attendees feeling particularly happy about being there?  Are they drinking?  Are they flush with cash?  Are they with people they like?

I think we have only begun to ask the important questions.

Now, if you intend to do this, why not simply try it a few times, and you will have a much better idea of what you can charge, and what people are willing to pay.


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## jwbryson1 (Jul 9, 2012)

E. Rose.  GREAT new photo and welcome back!  We missed you.  :hug::


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## gsgary (Jul 9, 2012)

animotionphoto said:


> *Things to forget/ leave out:*
> 1. That you're a photographer (very difficult)
> 2. About the equipment
> 3. Business admin, insurance, contracts, etc
> ...



£7

we charge £10 for a mounted 8x6


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## e.rose (Jul 9, 2012)

jwbryson1 said:
			
		

> E. Rose.  GREAT new photo and welcome back!  We missed you.  :hug::



Haha, thanks


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## animotionphoto (Jul 9, 2012)

Designer said:


> animotionphoto said:
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> > Would you and if you would, how much would you pay for a group photo...?
> ...



You're over thinking it. Plenty was explained in the original post, except, that the photgrapher is carrying around a portable printer.


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