I know job pricing can vary greatly depending on where you live, but what would might ball park figure be to shoot a hotel room? Also, i have a friend who does high end kitchen and bath design and i need to come up with a price for shoot 1 or 2 shots of a bathroom and or kitchen.
thank you
I've been wondering this as well. Currently I've just been using my hourly rate. I'd estimate how long it will take me to take the shots on site.
My hourly rate takes into account the editing time as well.
Perhaps there is a better way to do this?
so what is your hrly rate?
I'm still pretty new, but I charge $150/hr (Canadian).
I've been most happy with charging on a per-image basis, which is generally all inclusive of any scouting, shooting, retouching, licensing, miscellaneous, etc. The rate varies depending on the intended usage of the images, time needed to scout and shoot, amount of retouching, etc. A name-brand luxury hotel's presidential suite is very different from a low-budget bed and breakfast.
Alternately you can itemize shooting fee (creative fee, equipment rental, half/full day, etc), expenses (transportation, assistants, etc), retouching (per image or hourly), digital delivery, etc.
One big advantage of charging per-image is it sets up great incentives for both sides. The photographer is incentivized to shoot beyond any given shot list, searching for unexpected angles or different ways to show off spaces and buildings. The client only pays for what they choose, and hopefully they'll see a wider range of possibilities (which better promote their interests) and buy more than originally expected. These incentives don't exist on a flat shoot rate, where the client might want you to shoot for 10 hours and get everything you shot fully retouched.
Citing specific dollar amounts is hard, but anywhere from $100-1000 an image will likely cover the entry to mid-level market, depending of course on total volume, usage license, etc.
One more thought - your designer friend is the perfect person to ask about pricing. Ask:
How much have you paid in the past?
What's your general price range for obtaining photos?
What are the variables in shoots that affect cost for you?
What's the ideal deliverable that you're hoping to get from a photographer?
Asking a stranger these questions might not yield the most honest answers, but presumably your friend has been at this for a while. If not, he may have designer friends who he can ask these same questions to - he might know what he should expect to pay and why.
Hope this helps!
I'm with Gustav in charging per image. It discourages clients from unnecessary image counts, which makes your post work way more manageable and the end results higher quality. Just make sure to stipulate a minimum image count. I charge licensing separately and it's in this realm where you can flex to meet the client's budget.
I had a great chat with a marketing director for one of the largest high end property management companies on the west coast that divulged their average photography costs. In Northern Cal, properties are typically captured under $1000 and about $800 in Seattle (which includes twilight photography). My pricing was outside their budget, but these average costs might be helpful to someone.
For those in real estate photography, I also learned the average costs in Seattle are about $350 without twilight.
In my experience, it's best to go after architectural firms as they have larger egos...ehem...budgets for cosmetic perfection. However, they are like the 'hot girl' at the bar and it takes quite a bit more than flyers/brochures to get their attention. I've personally been low balled too often outside architectural firms to expand into other industries. So it would be great to hear of others experiences.
I used to hire a lot of photographers at my old job. Most charged either a simple day fee, or a day fee plus a la carte charges per photograph chosen from a contact sheet.