# FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHY NEWBIE



## ajahaja (Aug 15, 2011)

Hello everyone! I'm new to the business of photography and was just recently hired by an acquaintance of mine to photograph some locations for her real estate company. The thing is, I have no clue what rate to charge her because, frankly, this is my first freelance gig! The requirements are to take at least 10 good photos of 6 different locales in my city and an adjacent town. Now *she was thinking $75/50-60 photos of my city (6 locations) plus another $75 for the other town (undisclosed number of locations).* I thought this was kind of too little considering i'd be travelling all over the place. I came up with what I think is a fair estimate for a beginner such as myself:* $45/hr. of photography + $20/day travel expenses. Also, I get to retain rights to my pictures.* I thought this was fair considering this is my first freelance gig and it's for someone I know. If you guys could let me know what you think about my estimate or if you could suggest what you think is a fairer one, I would really appreciate it. Cheers!






Andrew M.






Here's a link to my flickr account to see samples of my work: Flickr: 3f2692fcec06c763936fb304c0e164fa's Photostream


----------



## tirediron (Aug 15, 2011)

ajahaja said:


> ..*she was thinking $75/50-60 photos of my city (6 locations) plus another $75 for the other town (undisclosed number of locations) ... *if you could suggest what you think is a fairer one, I would really appreciate it. Cheers!





$75? For 60+ final, edited images???  :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:   I would estimate a minimum of one hour per location, so for me that's $75/hour, plus $37.50/hour travel time (if outside of an area about 30 miles from my home), plus editing, plus usage. I would say a conservative estimate for this sort of work would be in the $1500 - 2000 range.


----------



## KmH (Aug 15, 2011)

> I would say a conservative estimate for this sort of work would be in the $1500 - 2000 range.



Which is why the acquaintance wants to take advantage of the inexperienced OP.

The 'plus useage' tirediron mentions is a fee for using the photos.

You may want to visit www.ASMP.org and click on "Business Resources" and look at their pricing and use licensing tutorials.

I also recommend a couple of books:
Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition 

ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th Edition 

Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, Fifth Edition


----------



## orljustin (Aug 15, 2011)

Basically, the industry rule is that you charge $50 x how many weeks you've have your camera, up to $400.  So, since you're ready to go into business as a photographer, you've probably had the camera for about 3 weeks, so that would be $150.


----------



## Robin Usagani (Aug 15, 2011)

Freelance and newbie should not be in the same sentence IMO.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Aug 15, 2011)

tirediron said:


> ajahaja said:
> 
> 
> > ..*she was thinking $75/50-60 photos of my city (6 locations) plus another $75 for the other town (undisclosed number of locations) ... *if you could suggest what you think is a fairer one, I would really appreciate it. Cheers!
> ...



So my typical response of $2000 is applicable here too? Sweet!


----------



## orljustin (Aug 15, 2011)

Freelance Photography Noobie - Photo.net Business Forum


----------



## sierramister (Aug 15, 2011)

free: having no cost for goods or services.  lance: a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior.  So is a freelance a no-cost pole weapon?


----------



## imagemaker46 (Aug 15, 2011)

What are the photos being used for? Are they home listings? If that's the case then owning the right is pointless, where would you ever sell these photos again?  Looked at the samples of your work as well, has nothing to do with shooting homes, which these days is almost a drive by shooting.  Based on your experience, or lack there of, charge her $75 per house, plus mileage, that will get you some decent money for driving to a house getting out shooting a few pictures and driving away.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Aug 15, 2011)

sierramister said:


> free: having no cost for goods or services. lance: a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. So is a freelance a no-cost pole weapon?



Freelancer is from the middle ages, there were knights that would work for one king and there were others that would work for anyone that had the money to pay them.  HAs nothing to do with "freepoles"


----------



## tirediron (Aug 15, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > ajahaja said:
> ...


You had to get it right once...


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Aug 15, 2011)

Once?


----------



## tirediron (Aug 16, 2011)

What, once isn't enough?


----------

