How much will I charge for a birthday event? I am just an amateur.

Well if you put it that way you can't really charge much. Maybe pakain lang and then charge for CD output and the pics that they choose to print.
Are they relying on you to be the main photographer? Depending on your skill and experience it might be better to be a back-up photographer. You want to make a good impression and not bite off more than you can chew.

My friend asked to me to take pictures of their baby at their house. I've never done that sort of thing before and I thought to myself "It will be good experience for me but I can't in good conscience charge them a professional fee!" So I just told her that I'd find some free time and only charge her for the prints.

Just a suggestion:

Instead of not charging or not even quoting a fee, why not quote a fee that you feel is commensurate to your work, and will cover all your expenses, and will give you a fair margin. Then offer a guarantee - if they're not happy, they don't have to pay a single centavo.

This way, you still get a chance to charge and earn and you have a commitment to deliver good work. The zero pay if they are not happy is better than zero pay no matter what the outcome is, no matter if you and your friend are thrilled with your photos, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you spend to do the job.

At least this way, if they are happy, so would you. Sure, many photographers say that they are happy just to take photos, but why refuse a second happiness - that of being paid fairly for the work that you do?:)

JAt least this way, if they are happy, so would you. Sure, many photographers say that they are happy just to take photos, but why refuse a second happiness - that of being paid fairly for the work that you do?:)

Is this what you tell John when he tends not to think about ROI? :D

I remember when I was still in college that my friends would offer to pay me even a nominal fee just to shoot their portraits. I believe that one should get paid for what amounts to a professinal job even if the one shooting is a hobbyist.

Is this what you tell John when he tends not to think about ROI? :D

I remember when I was still in college that my friends would offer to pay me even a nominal fee just to shoot their portraits. I believe that one should get paid for what amounts to a professinal job even if the one shooting is a hobbyist.

Yes, indeed. John still needs to be reminded many times that his good feelings about photography will not give him the funds to buy equipment.:Grin:

We were very fortunate to have received good advice when we were just starting. Two very well known advertising photographers then - Danny Feliciano and Sonny Joaquin - told me that if our work is deemed as good as the professionals', then we should be able to charge as much. Which is why we continually invested in training, equipment and facilities so that our clients would think that our charges were (and still are) fair.:)

Thanks for giving your students and fellow photographers the same advice.:)

hirap walang TIP nag hahanap ng ibang racket hehehehe

How much will I charge for a birthday event? I am just an amateur.

well here's a starter reference.
if you work for a studio, it pays around 2.5k to cover birthday parties. thats just for the labor of the photog. tapos, studios charges around 5k more or less sa client. pasok na doon expenses for cd and transpo, client usually feeds the photog. thats labor only, add add nalang for prints and other stuff.

hope it helps.

p.s. sa mga magagalit na its too low. sorry po, reality lang yan sa industry :P

hirap walang TIP nag hahanap ng ibang racket hehehehe

Tama ka! Sana maka sideline ako para added income :D

i think 5k would be a good starter price just as long as the birthday isnt in hongkong or the birthday lasts 1 whole week :)

what i would suggest is listing down all your expenses, also try to put a monetary amount to your shutter count for example your camera is a 30d which can theoretically reach 100k actuations, give or take 10% swing on that number so you spent 75k (kunwari lang) for 90k actuations. So if you divide your 75,000 by 90,000 you get the price per shutter actuation of 0.83 cents. Add a bit more for your battery, flash, CF card usage to come up with some semblance of a depreciation cost for your equipment.

so now you have your out of pocket expense and your depreciation expense. Now add your margin this will now be dictated by your "happiness level". Someone maybe happy just putting a 10% as his margin level some may need to cover a certain nominal number lets say he targets 200 pesos per hour for his work. This is why its called happiness level, its your happiness on the margin to use.

If you do this you make sure that you cover your costs (even the depreciation) and you make sure that you are happy with the return.

hope that helped.

makisabat po ng konti sa usapan.

i was offered to cover a birthday party. take photos and give them a copy (save lang sa cd then sila na bahala magpa-print). 2.5k ang offer nila. is that good enough?


salamat

makisabat po ng konti sa usapan.

i was offered to cover a birthday party. take photos and give them a copy (save lang sa cd then sila na bahala magpa-print). 2.5k ang offer nila. is that good enough?


salamat

It's hard to decide if 2.5K is good enough. Who is the celebrant? How old is the celebrant? Will it be a big or simple party? How long will the party be? Will there be a program, or just lunch or dinner? How long are you expected to be at the party? How many CDs are you expected to submit? How many images, and at what resolution and for what size printing?

Why are these questions important? - If the celebrant is a celebrity (politician, big-time businessman, media personality etc.), then they can afford to pay a bit more, and they also expect higher quality service and will probably have longer parties, more guests, etc. If it's a major birthday - 50, 60, 75 etc., then presumably, there would be more guests, and your work will be correspondingly more. If there is a major program, then you also have to work harder/more and shoot more.

On the other hand, if it's a non-celebrity, and the event is not major (not 18th, 50th), and the party is for a short period, then your considerations change.

You also consider what would be fair for you, depending on your expertise, equipment, manpower (are you bringing an assistant).

Always indicate how many images, what resolution (ask them what they intend to do - print 4R? 8R? bigger for some?), and how many CDs or DVDs you will submit, and how much you will charge for additional CDs/DVDs of original images, and for duplicate CDs, DVDs. Don't let your client assume that you are offering an unlimited number of CDs. Define also the hours when you will be there, so that if the guests overstay, you don't have to.

In short, ask client to give you specifics on the job, and give him specifics on your deliverables.:)

if you work for a studio, it pays around 2.5k to cover birthday parties. thats just for the labor of the photog. :P

Curious question: Whose equipment is employed, the studio's or the photog's? :)

Curious question: Whose equipment is employed, the studio's or the photog's? :)

the photog's

makisabat po ng konti sa usapan.

i was offered to cover a birthday party. take photos and give them a copy (save lang sa cd then sila na bahala magpa-print). 2.5k ang offer nila. is that good enough?


salamat

if its your account, i think 5k is the standard rate for birthday parties. 1 location, 3 hours shoot. client feeds you din.

Curious question: Whose equipment is employed, the studio's or the photog's? :)

When I was still employed by a studio I used the studio's equipment.

if its your account, i think 5k is the standard rate for birthday parties. 1 location, 3 hours shoot. client feeds you din.

I agree, 2500 seems small if it is your equipment that will be used... equipment rental lang yun!

Harvey_Chua, Ems Chua & Christian VS Vasquez


thanks . . .

2,500? depende siguro...

i'm sure everyone here has given in one time or another para lang may pang kain...

but if you could help it oo nga dapat naman kahit 3500 man lang...

i don't know how you'll do it.. but you have to let your clients know, one way or another, that a camera is expensive, so are flashes, so are cf cards, so is a computer, so is a mouse, so is a keyboard, etc... in other words marami rin tayong gastos... tsaka kailangan rin nating kumain at kumita ng matino

for me at least the cost of your service would matter most..or the requirements that your client needs e.g. number of shoots,location of event and event transfering it to CD. at least you could cover the cost. then a little bit charge on camera maintenance.mahal yata magpagawa..a little profit would do..wag lang mag mukhang foundation.

our neighbor who has a rent-a-clown busines ang nag-offer sakin ng opportunity na ito. minsan kasi their client/s also want a photographer. Isasama lang nila ako sa mga kontrata nila.

2.5k ang offer nila sakin. ilalagay lang sa 1 CD yung mga picture and that is it.


i already talked to our neighbor regarding sa service ko. ang sabi kung okey lang ba na at least 3.5K ang sa kin. ang sabi nila ay yun ang io-offer nila sa mga clients nila. then they will just inform pag meron kumagat sa price na yun.


thanks sa mga inputs nyo.

by the way, i'm just a hobbyist. . .

Well talagang mahirap kumita. Anyway if you are a memeber of Fuji Photographers club, you should be the one to print it if not yung customer mo na lang. My first job five years ago with Marlon was 3K amin ang print kasi sayang ang discount.

2.5k ang offer nila sakin. ilalagay lang sa 1 CD yung mga picture and that is it.
i already talked to our neighbor regarding sa service ko. ang sabi kung okey lang ba na at least 3.5K ang sa kin. ang sabi nila ay yun ang io-offer nila sa mga clients nila. then they will just inform pag meron kumagat sa price na yun.


usually kasi pag naka tie up ka with studios/and firms, its not gonna be big. i have to admit, its not even gonna be glamourous.
i have/and still jobs that pays me like that, i use my own car and driver to get to the place. my equipment even consist of L lenses. why do i do that? because i owe the work place alot in terms of experience and habol ko nalang frequency ng work. although if its your own direct client, you can dictate your price talaga. :) cheers and have fun shooting, thats whats important. basta have enough to make you happy ok na yun :)

:) cheers and have fun shooting, thats whats important. basta have enough to make you happy ok na yun :)

thanks ma'am

i'll give it a try, malay natin mag-enjoy din naman ako. :)

Me too, I would like to make money out of photography.. I am planning to upgrade my camera.. :D

Just a suggestion:

Instead of not charging or not even quoting a fee, why not quote a fee that you feel is commensurate to your work, and will cover all your expenses, and will give you a fair margin. Then offer a guarantee - if they're not happy, they don't have to pay a single centavo.

This way, you still get a chance to charge and earn and you have a commitment to deliver good work. The zero pay if they are not happy is better than zero pay no matter what the outcome is, no matter if you and your friend are thrilled with your photos, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you spend to do the job.

At least this way, if they are happy, so would you. Sure, many photographers say that they are happy just to take photos, but why refuse a second happiness - that of being paid fairly for the work that you do?:)


... very well said from a businessman's/woman's perspective.:)

yeah, why not? Actually, me and my wife were planning on giving free photo service to the first 4 couples within our community who doesn't have enough budget to hire a pro for their wedding event. The reason being is we need to practice our shooting styles and for us to work on our portfolio as well. Instead of giving everything for free, we'll quote a very affordable fee just enough for the effort we'll be giving, and if the client would not be satisfied with our work, then it'll be free.

Thanks for the advice...:SunGlass:

Just a suggestion:

Instead of not charging or not even quoting a fee, why not quote a fee that you feel is commensurate to your work, and will cover all your expenses, and will give you a fair margin. Then offer a guarantee - if they're not happy, they don't have to pay a single centavo.

This way, you still get a chance to charge and earn and you have a commitment to deliver good work. The zero pay if they are not happy is better than zero pay no matter what the outcome is, no matter if you and your friend are thrilled with your photos, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you spend to do the job.

At least this way, if they are happy, so would you. Sure, many photographers say that they are happy just to take photos, but why refuse a second happiness - that of being paid fairly for the work that you do?:)


... very well said from a businessman's/woman's perspective.

yeah, why not? Actually, me and my wife were planning on giving free photo service to the first 4 couples within our community who doesn't have enough budget to hire a pro for their wedding event. The reason being is we need to practice our shooting styles and for us to work on our portfolio as well. Instead of giving everything for free, we'll quote a very affordable fee just enough for the effort we'll be giving, and if the client would not be satisfied with our work, then it'll be free.

Thanks for the advice...:)

in my case even am a newbie in photography world, we need to get the reasonable price para naman di sayang ang pagbili naten sa ateng mga camera.........

my first photography earned money is P5K for bday shoots....... we need to think that we are servicing our digital camera not on films, digital cameras are expensive, so weed to get back the cost of it.

prices from 2.5K to up is already a reasonable when you only give the photoshoot files in cd (no photo enchancement), but i need to remind you that when you do that plz, plz resize the photos into 4x6 for safe keeping and you need to protect also your intrest.

Just a suggestion:

Instead of not charging or not even quoting a fee, why not quote a fee that you feel is commensurate to your work, and will cover all your expenses, and will give you a fair margin. Then offer a guarantee - if they're not happy, they don't have to pay a single centavo.

This way, you still get a chance to charge and earn and you have a commitment to deliver good work. The zero pay if they are not happy is better than zero pay no matter what the outcome is, no matter if you and your friend are thrilled with your photos, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you spend to do the job.

At least this way, if they are happy, so would you. Sure, many photographers say that they are happy just to take photos, but why refuse a second happiness - that of being paid fairly for the work that you do?:)


... very well said from a businessman's/woman's perspective.

yeah, why not? Actually, me and my wife were planning on giving free photo service to the first 4 couples within our community who doesn't have enough budget to hire a pro for their wedding event. The reason being is we need to practice our shooting styles and for us to work on our portfolio as well. Instead of giving everything for free, we'll quote a very affordable fee just enough for the effort we'll be giving, and if the client would not be satisfied with our work, then it'll be free.

Thanks for the advice...