Fees for an on-site product shoot??

Having never shot something like this before, I thought I might get some opinion on what to charge.

I have to travel to an engineering shop(40mins) and take some product shots of some mining equipment they make for a catalogue to be distributed throughout the world. One mill is about 5metres long and the other is about 30metres long and this last one may be taken to another location for its portraits.

I have no idea what to charge, after processing the images, I will be just forwarding the hi-res images to the client and they will use them and own them from then on.

Any thoughts on what to charge? A friend who works for the company has got me this gig.

Cheers,
Steve

No idea, but i do have a suggestion.
Find a local photographer or two, ring them up pretending to be a mining company looking for the exact same shoot and licensing conditions, and ask them for a quote (then undercut it by about 10-20%, depending on how certain you are of getting the gig).

We also just had a pro photographer in here taking shots of a (coincidentally) mining-system control panel that i designed, I should go ask the marketing girls what they paid. The guy's gear wasn't even that impressive, a DX nikon of some description (old enough to be one of the <15mp ones, not the new 24mp-based ones) and what looked like a kit zoom lens. At least his lighting rig was good, and he definitely knew what he was doing with it, that counts for a lot more than sensor-IQ.

Thanks Doc, would be interested to know what they were charged.
Any other ideas what may be charged for on-site large product photography?

Steve, here are my thoughts.

Figure out what a good lock smith makes by the hour for a service call. Figure in travel time and an hour for PP then shoot them a price. If it is to much for them, cut a deal and have fun knowing your work is published and keep your day job. :p

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Originally Posted by HDNitehawk

Steve, here are my thoughts.

Figure out what a good lock smith makes by the hour for a service call. Figure in travel time and an hour for PP then shoot them a price. If it is to much for them, cut a deal and have fun knowing your work is published and keep your day job. :p

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They are only a mining company, could they afford my rates?? :p

That's a hard one. I did a lot of corporate shots for my work (we're pretty much one of the largest underground mining operations in the country) in my own time but I charged them a fortune because that's what they're used to. I charged them $4,500 for three days of shooting plus about 1,000 processed images delivered. I also charged them for servicing my camera and lenses afterward due to the dust underground (not so bad through the smelters and concentrators).

I'm not sure you'll be in that position with these guys though. It's a hard one for sure. Let us know how you go.

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Originally Posted by Steve U

They are only a mining company, could they afford my rates?? :p

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I think if you can get the $4500 btaylor mentioned then yes they can afford your rates. Cut his rates and shoot them a price of $4450.

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Originally Posted by btaylor

That's a hard one. I did a lot of corporate shots for my work (we're pretty much one of the largest underground mining operations in the country) in my own time but I charged them a fortune because that's what they're used to. I charged them $4,500 for three days of shooting plus about 1,000 processed images delivered. I also charged them for servicing my camera and lenses afterward due to the dust underground (not so bad through the smelters and concentrators).

I'm not sure you'll be in that position with these guys though. It's a hard one for sure. Let us know how you go.

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That is good work if you can get it Ben, well done.

And Rick I love your entrepreneurial skills.

Not sure what you normally charge for an hourly rate, but some things to keep in mind...

-Travel Expense (fuel, travel time)
-Shoot Time
-Gear rentals. Do you know where the mills are located? Will you need to bring your own lighting?
-Will the 30 meter mill be relocated to its shoot location prior to you arriving onsite, or are you going to sit around while they relocate it? Don't wanna be waiting around for free if they're the ones that are unprepared.
-Most importantly! - Licensing of your images. They're getting hi res files? For their use and ownership? To be distributed worldwide? How many copies of their brochure do they expect to print? Are they using the image online as well? Are you licensing the images to them for 6 months, a year, forever? Do you still own the image copyright so you can use it for your own portfolio? This is where you need to put the most thought into your costs.

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Originally Posted by acmojica

Not sure what you normally charge for an hourly rate, but some things to keep in mind...

-Travel Expense (fuel, travel time)
-Shoot Time
-Gear rentals. Do you know where the mills are located? Will you need to bring your own lighting?
-Will the 30 meter mill be relocated to its shoot location prior to you arriving onsite, or are you going to sit around while they relocate it? Don't wanna be waiting around for free if they're the ones that are unprepared.
-Most importantly! - Licensing of your images. They're getting hi res files? For their use and ownership? To be distributed worldwide? How many copies of their brochure do they expect to print? Are they using the image online as well? Are you licensing the images to them for 6 months, a year, forever? Do you still own the image copyright so you can use it for your own portfolio? This is where you need to put the most thought into your costs.

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Thank you for this a lot of good info and a lot more to think about.
Cheers,
steve

The equipment is probably sitting in their yard outside, not in a shop right?

The mills I am familiar with would be very textured, meaning they would have conveyors and such that creat allot of shadows. With a 30 meter long piece of equipment, unless you can get Sean to ship you all his lighting equipment you will have to hit the light at the right time of day.

A tripod, multiple exposures with the light(s) moved around, and using a photoshop layer mode to select the maximum might do the trick. You may want to experiment on something before hand. Do your car at night or something. ;)

Long exposure with a little light painting if artistic is okay.

Nothing of substance to contribute....

But hey Steve...congrats on getting a paying gig!

:cool:

Thanks for the tips JR and Dave.
And thank you Brant I'm off to shoot the small mill today.
Just found an example of what the style these guys like for their brochures and I think it is right up my alley, feeling a little bit relieved. Should be able to tackle this style, all their product images are in B&W.


Attachment 1552Attachment 1551

Can't resize these for some reason??
Let you know how I get on.
Thanks,
Steve

Congrats on the gig, Steve B&W - You've got this covered!! Can't wait to see the results!

Ended up not being a B&W shoot. Not overly happy with all the shots, very difficult lighting in a dusty environment.
The management from the factory said just do what ever you think, move it to where you want and shoot away. Then walked off.
The staff who had to organise 2 cranes to shift the piece of equipment, decided it would be better to put me in a cage and lift me with a forklift. Battled the severe backlighting, but learned a fair bit from the shoot. Here are a couple.


Attachment 1559

Attachment 1560

Thanks for viewing.

These are fanastic shots! Looks like you battled the elements very, very well!

BTW - If the photography shoot didn't go well, you could always have auditioned as a go-go dancer up in that cage!:cool:

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

these are fanastic shots! Looks like you battled the elements very, very well!

Btw - if the photography shoot didn't go well, you could always have auditioned as a go-go dancer up in that cage!:cool:

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lol. :d

Thank you JRW, it is not easy getting a 7 ton peice of machinery to look svelte, they wiped and swept under it and that was about all they could do.
I could have done better with Sean and all his lights there to give me a hand.
I have to go back again and shoot this one in two weeks time, outside in the sun and also in a quarry crushing rocks, it is about 20 metres long.



That should be interesting.

Very nice Steve, a little HDR stacking going on in the last one?

Picked which lens to buy when you get your $4500 for this? :p

Thanks Rick.
I'm thinking a Schneider 50mm/2.8 tilt shift http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_Angulon.html , just for landscape panos. :cool:

Except I might be about $3200 short.:rolleyes:

Handed over the 32 photos today on a "memory stick", the bosses personal assistant took them and uploaded them and what do you think she said????

Yep you guessed it,


"Wow, you must have a really good camera."

Price might have to go up......

:D:D Thanks for sharing ... and yes, the price should go up for that...

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Originally Posted by Steve U

I have to go back again and shoot this one in two weeks time, outside in the sun and also in a quarry crushing rocks, it is about 20 metres long.



That should be interesting.

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Working for an asphalt contractor/manufacturer for over 20 years that also owned a number of quarries, believe me I know how dusty these places can be! How are you going to protect your gear from all of that!? Are trucks going to be hauling while you are there? Definitely work into the price of having to get it all cleaned afterwards. I ended up tarping my car when I got to work every morning. It was so bad I couldn't see out any of my windows at the end of the day. With all the windows up, the dust was still all over my steering wheel and dash. Even blew out my air conditioning vents until eventually the air conditioning wouldn't even work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

Working for an asphalt contractor/manufacturer for over 20 years that also owned a number of quarries, believe me I know how dusty these places can be! How are you going to protect your gear from all of that!? Are trucks going to be hauling while you are there? Definitely work into the price of having to get it all cleaned afterwards. I ended up tarping my car when I got to work every morning. It was so bad I couldn't see out any of my windows at the end of the day. With all the windows up, the dust was still all over my steering wheel and dash. Even blew out my air conditioning vents until eventually the air conditioning wouldn't even work.

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Thanks for the heads up about this Denise, it is a heck of a lot dustier than I ever expected.

Lucky I've got a good camera.....lol.