# Product Shot Pricing.



## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

Going to be producing some shots for a local jeweler for online/social media advertising.  was thinking 20 pcs. shot full and close up for a total of 40 digital images in format of jewelers choosing.  No model, taken at home on white board with primary and fill lighting, he/she hands over the pieces and i return them with images. I want to price this around $100. any thoughts?


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## Propsguy (Feb 13, 2014)

$100.00 for the entire shoot?  $2.50 / image?... Really?!?!?!  You are using your own camera / lenses / lights / modifiers / electricity / fuel / phone / knowledge / software / computer / internet / etc, etc.... right?  If your overhead isn't part of your pricing equation, run away from paid photographic work, because you will lose money every single project that you touch...


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## D-B-J (Feb 13, 2014)

Propsguy said:


> $100.00 for the entire shoot?  $2.50 / image?... Really?!?!?!  You are using your own camera / lenses / lights / modifiers / electricity / fuel / phone / knowledge / software / computer / internet / etc, etc.... right?  If your overhead isn't part of your pricing equation, run away from paid photographic work, because you will lose money every single project that you touch...



Especially if you are printing, that is REALLY cheap. 

Best,
Jake


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

Well that's one way of looking at it.  my camera, lenses, lights, tripods, gels, utilities etc. are paid for and used regardless of they're commercial use.  Compensation would be strictly for my time. thanks for the input. and you may be right. $175 would be more appropriate. realize that though I would be turning over 40 shots, setup would be the same for each peice, i might change a lens for the close ups but that's about it.


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

Thanks Jake, def. not printing.


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## tirediron (Feb 13, 2014)

This job would be cheap at $500 + licensing!


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

TiredIron.  That would bankrupt the Client.  Did I mention I'm located in the south? Do I need to move to Canada?


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## tirediron (Feb 13, 2014)

Sure!   Seriously though, 40 images, let's say that you can produce a fully processed finished image in ten minutes.  That's 400 minutes, or six hours and forty minutes.  You're only at $75/hour.  Knock 1/3 of that off for tax and you're down to $50/hour.  Factor in wear & tear, power, travel, etc and say that's worth $10/hour.  You're down to $40/hour.  If you have NO other costs, then that's not bad.  If you do, well, it doesn't take long before you're losing money.  Just food for thought.


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

Trust me, I'm paying good attention to what you guys are saying and realize y'all have a good bit of experience.  I'm sure you realize this is something I'm doing outside my regular job.  I'm in real estate and used to spending $170 for twenty or so images of a property (if I don't shoot it myself.)  Honestly, this is the only example I have had to work with.  I've taken product shots before and I'm going to be allowing myself around three hours of shooting and editing.  Once you factor everything in y'all are proving I'm coming across too cheap. Is it common to price small product photography differently then what I consider more complicated work like fashion or large weddings?


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## KmH (Feb 13, 2014)

The key is -_plus licensing_.

Licensing is essentially a copyright rental agreement.
The licensing for 40 images for social media and online advertising would be bargain basement cheap at $2000 for just 6 months of use, even in the South.
Figure at least another $2000 for making the 40 images.

How about $20,000 for just 13 images - Case Study: Producing A Successful Estimate | DigitalPhotoPro.com

But it's your job, so price at whatever you think you can get the client to pay.


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## Bitter Jeweler (Feb 13, 2014)

BobSaget said:


> TiredIron.  That would bankrupt the Client.



Then your client needs to rethink their pricing strategy as well.


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

So the guy that's shooting say Ford's product line for web.  what is he taking in?


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## tirediron (Feb 13, 2014)

BobSaget said:


> Trust me, I'm paying good attention to what you guys are saying and realize y'all have a good bit of experience.  I'm sure you realize this is something I'm doing outside my regular job.  I'm in real estate and used to spending $170 for twenty or so images of a property (if I don't shoot it myself.)  Honestly, this is the only example I have had to work with.  I've taken product shots before and I'm going to be allowing myself around three hours of shooting and editing.  Once you factor everything in y'all are proving I'm coming across too cheap. Is it common to price small product photography differently then what I consider more complicated work like fashion or large weddings?


Product work is commercial photography as opposed to weddings which are retail work, and they are priced based on very different models.  If you're happy doing this for a couple of hundred dollars, then fine, go for it, but in my experience the cheaper jobs are much more likely to be problematic.  I always know when I have a good client; they don't ask about prices, they simply tell me what they want and ask when they can expect it.


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## BobSaget (Feb 13, 2014)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> BobSaget said:
> 
> 
> > TiredIron.  That would bankrupt the Client.
> ...


I know right, but I'm realizing not all products are the same. If you're shooting a massed produced Item for say a t shirt shop, that image would go a lot further than a handmade, one off piece of jewelry.


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## pixmedic (Feb 13, 2014)

You can obviously charge whatever you want. Only you know what your actual overhead is. Just remember this before you do a job super cheap....
Once you work at a price, you have basically locked yourself into that price bracket for that client and whoever else they tell.  It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to justify to a client why you are raising your prices for doing the same work for them. You can raise your prices and simply tell them that is your price now, but be prepared to lose those clients.
Or, work cheap forever.


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## xj0hnx (Feb 13, 2014)

BobSaget said:


> TiredIron.  That would bankrupt the Client.  Did I mention I'm located in the south? Do I need to move to Canada?



If $500 will bankrupt them, they aren't much of a jeweler. There is no way that I'd price a 40pc shot at only $100. I've done product photography for a local business and it is very time consuming, especially if you are editing each picture too. Granted, if it's all similar items, once you're set up, it's pretty quick going from item to item, but it's still going to be a couple hours shooting, and a few hours editing.


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## KmH (Feb 13, 2014)

BobSaget said:


> So the guy that's shooting say Ford's product line for web.  what is he taking in?


Way more than than the $16,050 the photographer got in the successful estimate for a regional restaurant chain in the example I linked to.
Mostly because it would likely take more than 1 day and Ford would use photos in more media types than just online which would jack up the use licensing fees considerably.
Figure around $250,000 for the photographer for a Ford shoot that produces still images.

This is from 2005, so ramp up to estimate today's numbers:
Online Gets 15 Percent of $1B Ford Marketing Budget - MarketingVOX
Ford planning to spend more on advertising and marketing
Ford Motor Company Annual Reports - Annual Ford Financial Reports


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## Gavjenks (Feb 14, 2014)

> Knock 1/3 of that off for tax


:meh:

Maybe you SHOULDN'T move to Canada after all...



Anyway, @OP, $100 is way too cheap no matter what.  But I completely understand charging only for your time, if you bought all your equipment, etc. without intending to use it for anything other than a hobby. It's just that $100 or even $175 seems like crap pay even for your time.  You also need to account a bit for other overhead for just this project + chances of things going wrong like them keeping you there longer than you think or complaining about images and going all weird on you.

Hour negotiating and writing emails + couple hours driving and shooting probably + 10 minutes per photo = aroudn 10 hours. $20 an hour = $200 + bits of overhead + room for stuff to go wrong  let's say $100, I'd do about $300 minimum.  And if it's just a client not your cousin, however much more than that you can get out of them when haggling a price without losing their business or their advertising of you. Plus have your contract limit the usage to make it clear they can't sell this stuff to other people, etc. Not just carte blanche. With that sort of license, $300 seems reasonable, and maybe up to $500 if you can convince them.



On the other end of the spectrum, people suggesting thousands of dollars seem pretty delusional to me though for a photographer that the business surely realizes is a hobbyist. And who probably doesn't have any brick and mortar business credentials or extensive portfolio or guarantees, etc... And even if you do have those things, maybe add another 2-300 dollars for peace of mind.  But why the hell would I as a business pay 10x as much when there are droves of people out there willing to shoot for 2-300 dollars?  One of them does a terrible job, so what? HIRE THREE MORE if you need to, and still save tons of money... It's not a movie trailer. It's some jewelry on a piece of velvet.


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## BobSaget (Feb 14, 2014)

Gavjenks, thanks for the reply. you've given me a lot to think over. This is the first time I've been approached by a non-relative or friend, which has basically been the reason for my questions.


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## Bitter Jeweler (Feb 14, 2014)

Gavjenks said:


> ... It's not a movie trailer. It's some jewelry on a piece of velvet.



Pro's don't shoot jewelry on velvet.

As a jeweler that takes great pride in my work, and in my attention to detail, I'd gladly pay a few grand for really good professional images for advertising. A movie trailer is used to advertise a movie and entice people to come pay money to see it. Images of jewelry used for advertising ARE NO DIFFERENT. It's your only chance to grab an audience, and entice them to come buy your product. Quality photography for advertising is extremely important!

It comes down to the jeweler though. Is it a fine jeweler trying to convey the high degree of skill, detail, and craftsmanship? Or is it an MWAT (mom with a torch) selling craft jewelry on Etsy? Or somewhere in between. The latter won't be paying thousands for the shoot, and the former wouldn't be well served by the $100 weekend warrior.

Jewelry is difficult to shoot well. It can also take quite a bit of editing to achieve the desired finished product.
Good luck, Bob.


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## BobSaget (Feb 15, 2014)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Gavjenks said:
> 
> 
> > ... It's not a movie trailer. It's some jewelry on a piece of velvet.
> ...



Thanks, Bitter.

I havent seen the jewelry yet, but the work I've done in the past has been, well you would be better to describe it.  usually, antique costume jewelry recreated into new pieces.  Use of stones, but not precious (semi-precious?). Not fine jewelry. Much more casual.

I have dealt with difficulty shooting these.  Some materials are very reflective while others absorb light (contrast issues and clipping).  Arrangement's can be a pain.  Finding small hairs and dust on the piece once viewing at 100% can be annoying.


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## davisphotos (Feb 19, 2014)

I've photographed some jewelry, and it is incredibly time consuming both in the shooting and in the post, plus you need way more lighting than you would think, and a good macro lens. I would be charging probably $800 or so for a shoot like this, and it would take me a good 4-6 hours to do the photography, and probably the same again for post production.


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