# What would you charge...



## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

Dining director at campus has requested 25 images from me and said I can charge what a normal photographer would charge so what would you guys charge if you were me

I am also doing photo editing
And the chef wants to have final say in the images I give to the director so that will mean extra time because apparently if he does not approve them I can't hand it in (which I think is ridiculous) but I'm not going to argue with the chef


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## Designer (May 17, 2013)

Where would you place your skills as a photographer?  Are you as good as the people who photograph food for national magazines?

Also, the responsibility for how the food looks falls upon the chef.  So make good photographs!


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

Wayyyyyyyyy too little information with which to work.  Are you responsible for everything?  Renting gear, hiring assistant, stylist, etc, or solely for walking in and taking the shots?  Food shooting can take a LONG time because the food needs to be carefully styled and if for instance, you accidentally splash mustard on the 'burger bun, you've got to start all over.  

Assuming that all I was responsible for was the shooting and processing, I would probably bank on about two images/hour, so round out to a twelve hour session plus two hours post, I would estimate the shoot at $1725 + licensing.


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

Designer said:


> Where would you place your skills as a photographer? Are you as good as the people who photograph food for national magazines?
> 
> *Also, the responsibility for how the food looks falls upon the chef*. So make good photographs!


:raisedbrow: Really?  Huh...


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## KmH (May 17, 2013)

This was pretty much discussed in - http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-shop-talk/326344-first-paid-gig.html

But you leave out details that would affect how much a professional food photographer would charge, and pricing varies by region, which isn't indicated in your profile.

Visit - http://asmp.org/links/1#.UZZCAqJzji0 They recommend stock image and assignment pricing software like http://www.cradocfotosoftware.com/fotoQuote-Pro/


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## jwbryson1 (May 17, 2013)

Keith nailed it. This is an old story / thread.


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## Steve5D (May 17, 2013)

I remember reading a piece in a magazine ("Popular Photography, maybe?) in which it was shown that many of the food photos you see actually don't contain edible food. They contain food which has been glued in place, sprayed with shellac, etc., in an effort to make it look more appealing.

As for what the chef wants, that's not really your concern. Your agreement will be with the Dining Director. If he wants to give the chef the final say, that's entirely up to him. Unless you enter into an agreement with the chef, nothing he says should matter to you, and I would let the Dining Director know this. He can pay you to shoot the food that's presented by the chef. He, and he alone, should approve the photos. If the chef doesn't like the photos (assuming they are of an acceptable quality) that you provide, then the Dining Director can hire you _again_...


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## Steve5D (May 17, 2013)

tirediron said:


> Designer said:
> 
> 
> > Where would you place your skills as a photographer? Are you as good as the people who photograph food for national magazines?
> ...



Sure.

It's like a portrait photographer having to photograph someone who's ugly. If they're ugly, they're ugly, and it's not the photographer's responsibility to make them _not _ugly. It's the photographer's responsibility to accurately photograph the ugliness which he is provided...


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## CCericola (May 17, 2013)

Steve5D said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > Designer said:
> ...



I just had to laugh at this. Food stylists have the job of turning ugly food into the most delicious things you've ever scene. It has very little to do with the chef. When you see photos of ice cream. It's not ice cream. It's a mixture of plastic and playdough so it doesn't melt during the shoot. Have you ever had a big mac that looked anything like the photo??? 

One of my internships was with a home shopping network in PA. Almost all of the food on display for cooking gadgets was fake. In fact, the same "food" was used over and over. We would have to glue things, paint things, spray things with glycerine, and mold things out of plastina. It was fun but tedious. Oh, and we were also told not to look Joan Rivers in the eye if we happened to be in the same area


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## frommrstomommy (May 17, 2013)

I think everyone's reading much farther into this than necessary right now.. lol she said "CAMPUS director" aka.. it's for the college campus dining room. She is probably a student there, if she's been chosen for this opportunity and been told to charge what "a normal" photog would charge. I've not done any paid work yet, and I'm thinking OP has not either if she has to ask this.. so I'd see this is an opportunity. Coming from someone who would actually be in your shoes exactly if I were in your shoes... lol think about time it will take to photograph, edit, time to and fro, and any extra gear necessary. I'd also consider what the images are going to be used for.. are they for their website? Are they expecting these images to really make them money in some way or do you think they just want some pics of their Wednesday sloppy joes for some random flyer to post on campus? lol


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

frommrstomommy said:


> I think everyone's reading much farther into this than necessary right now.. lol she said "CAMPUS director" aka.. it's for the college campus dining room. She is probably a student there, if she's been chosen for this opportunity and been told to charge what "a normal" photog would charge. I've not done any paid work yet, and I'm thinking OP has not either if she has to ask this.. so I'd see this is an opportunity. Coming from someone who would actually be in your shoes exactly if I were in your shoes... lol think about time it will take to photograph, edit, time to and fro, and any extra gear necessary. I'd also *consider what the images are going to be used for*.. are they for their website? Are they expecting these images to really make them money in some way or do you think they just want some pics of their Wednesday sloppy joes for some random flyer to post on campus? lol


Except insofar as print size (eg. billboards) and viewing environment (images meant specifically to be viewed in a light/dark environment) go, this is irrelevant.  The client should receive the photographer's best work even his intent is only to line his canary's cage.


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## frommrstomommy (May 17, 2013)

tirediron said:


> frommrstomommy said:
> 
> 
> > I think everyone's reading much farther into this than necessary right now.. lol she said "CAMPUS director" aka.. it's for the college campus dining room. She is probably a student there, if she's been chosen for this opportunity and been told to charge what "a normal" photog would charge. I've not done any paid work yet, and I'm thinking OP has not either if she has to ask this.. so I'd see this is an opportunity. Coming from someone who would actually be in your shoes exactly if I were in your shoes... lol think about time it will take to photograph, edit, time to and fro, and any extra gear necessary. I'd also *consider what the images are going to be used for*.. are they for their website? Are they expecting these images to really make them money in some way or do you think they just want some pics of their Wednesday sloppy joes for some random flyer to post on campus? lol
> ...



This was meant for reasons of pricing.. not quality of op's work. Would you charge the same for a family session whose intended use is personal.. vs a shoot for a billboard ad?


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

frommrstomommy said:


> This was meant for reasons of pricing.. not quality of op's work. Would you charge the same for a family session whose intended use is personal.. vs a shoot for a billboard ad?


Oops, okay, I understand you meaning, but since this is a commercial shoot there's really only one pricing standard to apply to it IMO.


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## KmH (May 17, 2013)

No, I would charge more for the billboard ad shoot because the client intends to make money by using my images, + whatever the use licensing charges would be.

The dining director also hopes the campus food service will make more money by having images made.
The dining director is hoping to take advantage of an inexperienced photographer who will charge substantially less than a actual professional photographer would charge.


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## Designer (May 17, 2013)

O.K., screw the chef.  Who the heck does he think he is, anyway?  

Go ahead and spray the food with glycerin so it looks "hot and fresh".  Salads get glycerin and then misted with water.


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## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

Designer said:


> Where would you place your skills as a photographer?  Are you as good as the people who photograph food for national magazines?
> (I would say I am pretty good maybe not a pro but pretty good)
> Also, the responsibility for how the food looks falls upon the chef.  So make good photographs!




I would not say I'm a beginner I did a photography concentration as an undergrad and have been in a couple college exhibitions, but at the same time I'm probably not as knowledgeable about certain things as a pro so I'd say intermediate level skills.


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## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

tirediron said:


> Wayyyyyyyyy too little information with which to work.  Are you responsible for everything?  Renting gear, hiring assistant, stylist, etc, or solely for walking in and taking the shots?  Food shooting can take a LONG time because the food needs to be carefully styled and if for instance, you accidentally splash mustard on the 'burger bun, you've got to start all over.
> 
> Assuming that all I was responsible for was the shooting and processing, I would probably bank on about two images/hour, so round out to a twelve hour session plus two hours post, I would estimate the shoot at $1725 + licensing.



It's basically a follow the cooks and try to get a food image kind of task. No gear was provided I used my own camera Canon T1i.


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## Designer (May 17, 2013)

Do you have a speedlight?  If so, find a place to make the photographs where there is a white ceiling above.  Bounce the flash.  Probably the best you can do without a softbox.


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## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

Steve5D said:


> I remember reading a piece in a magazine ("Popular Photography, maybe?) in which it was shown that many of the food photos you see actually don't contain edible food. They contain food which has been glued in place, sprayed with shellac, etc., in an effort to make it look more appealing.
> 
> As for what the chef wants, that's not really your concern. Your agreement will be with the Dining Director. If he wants to give the chef the final say, that's entirely up to him. Unless you enter into an agreement with the chef, nothing he says should matter to you, and I would let the Dining Director know this. He can pay you to shoot the food that's presented by the chef. He, and he alone, should approve the photos. If the chef doesn't like the photos (assuming they are of an acceptable quality) that you provide, then the Dining Director can hire you _again_...





Thank you Steve5D that's what I was thinking. I think I will show the images to the chef and if he and I both disagree about certain photos I am still going to show it to the Director.


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## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

frommrstomommy said:


> I think everyone's reading much farther into this than necessary right now.. lol she said "CAMPUS director" aka.. it's for the college campus dining room. She is probably a student there, if she's been chosen for this opportunity and been told to charge what "a normal" photog would charge. I've not done any paid work yet, and I'm thinking OP has not either if she has to ask this.. so I'd see this is an opportunity. Coming from someone who would actually be in your shoes exactly if I were in your shoes... lol think about time it will take to photograph, edit, time to and fro, and any extra gear necessary. I'd also consider what the images are going to be used for.. are they for their website? Are they expecting these images to really make them money in some way or do you think they just want some pics of their Wednesday sloppy joes for some random flyer to post on campus? lol




Basically your right lol but I just wanted to know what everyone else would charge if they were me. I had started first paid gig thread but I didn't get a lot of what would other people charge because everyone was reading to much into it.  I know the images are intended to be used in the Fall semester in a slideshow in the dining court to show that the food is made fresh within the campus .


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## Annrive (May 17, 2013)

Designer said:


> Do you have a speedlight?  If so, find a place to make the photographs where there is a white ceiling above.  Bounce the flash.  Probably the best you can do without a softbox.



Thanks for the input I was looking into purchasing one a while ago but couldn't decide on which Canon ones to get.


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

Annrive said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > Wayyyyyyyyy too little information with which to work. Are you responsible for everything? Renting gear, hiring assistant, stylist, etc, or solely for walking in and taking the shots? Food shooting can take a LONG time because the food needs to be carefully styled and if for instance, you accidentally splash mustard on the 'burger bun, you've got to start all over.
> ...


While I'm not trying to dissuade you, realize that this is NOT as simple as it may seem.  This 



might give you some insight into how much effort goes into food photography at the professional level.  Note too that this is one hamburger; not a series of dishes...


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## Designer (May 17, 2013)

Well, it looks like you're going to have to set up a studio, hire a food stylist, and a photoshop technician, and spend a couple of hours on each dish.

By that time, the "chef" will lose interest and go home.  Problem solved.  

O.K., serious now:  Annrive; tell the food service director that you will do it for the price of a new speedlight.  Top of the Canon line.  Go to the bookstore where they sell art supplies.  purchase a couple large sheets of foam core (white) and get some gaffer's tape.  Set everything up near where the food is prepared.  Tape up the foam core above the work table.  Get down close to the dishes, and bounce the speedlight off the foam core.  Give them the JPEG files, and make sure they give you credit on the website.  

Oh, yea, and have fun!


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## imagemaker46 (May 17, 2013)

Annrive said:


> Dining director at campus has requested 25 images from me and said I can charge what a normal photographer would charge so what would you guys charge if you were me
> 
> I am also doing photo editing
> And the chef wants to have final say in the images I give to the director so that will mean extra time because apparently if he does not approve them I can't hand it in (which I think is ridiculous) but I'm not going to argue with the chef



What's a normal photographer?  I don't believe I know too many.  I once knew an Abby Normal, but she wasn't a very good photographer.


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## tirediron (May 17, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> Annrive said:
> 
> 
> > Dining director at campus has requested 25 images from me and said I can charge what a normal photographer would charge so what would you guys charge if you were me
> ...


"_My grandfather used to work for your grandfather. Of course the rates have gone up_."


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## Annrive (May 18, 2013)

so here are the images I only did minor editing I'm waiting to talk with the chef first and see which ones he likes 
feedback would be awesome
Flickr: Photos & Video from riveraeyes

so far my charges are at $135 for 5.4 hours of work but this is w/o editing


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## cgipson1 (May 18, 2013)

Annrive said:


> so here are the images I only did minor editing I'm waiting to talk with the chef first and see which ones he likes
> feedback would be awesome
> Flickr: Photos & Video from riveraeyes
> 
> so far my charges are at $135 for 5.4 hours of work but this is w/o editing



Link doesn't work.. set the image permission to PUBLIC


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## manaheim (May 19, 2013)

I'm not sure if they had specific requirements, but those didn't strike me as at all appealing as food shots.


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## Steve5D (May 20, 2013)

manaheim said:


> I'm not sure if they had specific requirements, but those didn't strike me as at all appealing as food shots.



They may well have wanted photos to illustrate what it takes to put a campus meal together. If so, then those pictures do a good job of that. If they wanted photos which conveyed that the meals served are delicious and appealing, the photos fall far short of accomplishing _that_...


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## orljustin (May 20, 2013)

manaheim said:


> I'm not sure if they had specific requirements, but those didn't strike me as at all appealing as food shots.



Yeah, those definitely weren't "food" shots.  That's "people working in a kitchen".  Most, underexposed and lacking composition.


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## jowensphoto (May 21, 2013)

A lot of exposure issues, but if you have PS or even GIMP you can probably clean them up quite a bit. Cropping could improve the composition.

Untitled | Flickr - Photo Sharing! <-- OP, I'm sorry... but this made me laugh. Given the audience will more than likely be college students, this would have been one for the trash bin. Not because it's technically bad... just, well, you know what I'm getting at.

The photos that show the most promise are the ones with bright color. The cookie dough just looks...sad and gross. I can't imagine what it would take to make that an appealing subject.


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