# general pricing for family and senior photos



## kkamin (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm entering the world of freelance photographer and am unsure about some aspects of pricing.  I am a classically trained photographer (BFA) and have some commercial experience under my belt and feel confident in my movement to commercial portrait photography.

Looking for some advise on the best way to charge for the following services.

1. Unique family Photos: I'm teaming up with a friend who owns a Korean dance studio where adopted Koreans attend.  The portrait sessions will allow the girls and their family to take a family portrait in traditional Korean clothes.  The dance teacher will be the stylist and assist in elegant, dance posing.  My idea was to charge around $130 for the 1 hour session and have it include one 8x10 print.  Part of the marketing is to have the family use one of the portraits for holiday cards.  How do I price the release of the photo.  And do I send the computer file myself to the card maker to prevent printing?  Any other ideas on better ways to maximize print sales?  

2. Senior Portraits at the same dance studio.  1 1/2 hour session.  The girls wearing their Korean dance dress.  $150 for the session, 7 set-ups and more art direction than the above service.  Thinking about giving 16 wallets with the sitting fee.  Expecting nice amount of print orders.  How do I get the digital file to the school?

3. I will be giving clients a seven day window, once the proofs are posted online, to place their order.  If they want to order prints again in the future, how much should I charge to retrieve the proofs?


Thanks, everyone in advance.


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## ACrossley (Sep 25, 2009)

I would recommend researching pricing of others in your area. I have been shooting under my own business name for almost three years now. My best recommendation is to start under the market price. The price you mentioned in #1 outbids my pricing, but your area may be priced in that range .... very important to look around and know who you are competing against.

I leave galleries on my site for a minimum of three weeks. I have an online shopping cart where clients can order and pay online. As far as cards, I offer a set of templates depending on the card type. I allow the customer to choose the image and inform them of the text limits. I then design the card and send a small resolution proof for approval before ordering. I do many consults in terms of ordering and delivering pictures. I have found my clients appreciate the interaction as do I.

You can look around my site and investment information for a better idea as to what I charge. I am on the lower end of my market here in Birmingham, AL.

Hope this helps:sillysmi:


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## macclin (Sep 26, 2009)

One other option with holiday photo cards is to go to a third party designer. My company MaccLin Creative designs and prints high quality Christmas cards specializing in photos. I work with many photographers and give them a discount on my prices. I also print their photo studio name on the back of the card. We also custom-design clients to suit their needs. If you're interested, I could send you some samples. 

Take a look at our holiday cards at Christmas Photo Cards, Unique Holiday Photo Cards, Custom

Thanks...


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