How to Charge for Contracted Photography
For freelancers and people running small businesses, determining a fee schedule that will pay the bills and provide a profit is not an easy task. Many things need to be considered to arrive at how much to charge for a photography job that will support you and provide enough of a profit to grow the business. Fortunately, there are a variety of sources and advice available to arrive at a reasonable rate for contracted photography jobs.
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Instructions
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Determine a basic hourly rate. Search local job listings to find full-time rates of salaried photographers. For example, a salary of $50,000 per year translates to $24 an hour; a 52-week year times five days a week times eight hours a day equals 2,080 hours, and you divide that number into the salary to get a basic hourly rate.
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Subtract vacation days and administrative time. Taking time off to manage administrative tasks such as paying bills, marketing your services and holidays, assume a 42-week work week and recalculate the above number to arrive at $29 an hour.
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Provide for health insurance and retirement funds. This figure is determined by finding the rates for private health insurance and determining how much it will cost you daily. Add that figure into the hourly rate. Retirement funds from 401k plans differ also. Take 10 percent of the salary figure (in this example, $5,000 a year for 401k). Add another $3 and the health insurance to arrive at a new hourly rate. Now you have a figure to work with, but other expenses must also be considered.
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Take into account travel expenses. If you have to fly or take a train to a location, charge the cost back. If driving, the Internal Revenue Service allows 51 cents a mile for business expenses. Use this figure as a separate expense.
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Calculate the cost of equipment and models. If renting any equipment or hiring models or assistants, charge that cost as a straight cost. If a model is needed, the photographer will have to pay her and then charge that cost back to the client.
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Tips & Warnings
Many factors are involved in determining rates. If the deadline is tight or the location is remote, charging a higher rate is acceptable.
Call photographers in your area and ask what their rates are.
Be realistic on rates. Do not charge premium rates when beginning. After you have built a reputation, charging higher rates can be justified.
Do not forget to charge for paper or ink when printing images or any other items you produce for the client.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
