There's no rightanswer on pricing. I'm constantly changing sale offers, discounts and offerings to fit what customers seem to want. I can give you some basics for the DFW area.


I try to estimate my time at the actual shoot and get about $150 / hour that I'm shooting. If I'm shooting senior portraits close to home, I figure onehour worth of shooting and charge a $150 sitting fee. For simple portraits in the studio, I estimate about 30 minutes and charge a $75 sitting fee.


My prints run from $3.99 for a 4x6 to around $50.00 for 24x36 enlargements. When a customer exceeds $300 with an order I start applying a discount to the prints.


Using this method, senior portraits usually gross in the $400-$600 range. A quick studio session with prints usually generates $200 in revenue. Weddings always require a custom quote and usuallyrange from $600 for the ceremony to $1,800 or so for a package including engagement, bridal portrait, wedding and reception.


You can do absolutely nothing but make yourself sick worrying about the folks that will undercut your prices. There are 3 photography studios in the mall closest to me and they are in a price war from hell. Last week I saw one of them advertising a studio session with one 8x10 print for $3.99. [:O] I guess they hope to make it up in volume.


Hope this helps...