Quote Originally Posted by Sean Setters
I sent her an email with the quote of $115 (for the entire shoot) for the farther location and $95 for the closer one. I never heard from her again.
<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]That is SO wrong!!! What is your competition charging?<o></o>


<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]My wife is my "manager" as she works for a school system and has access to tons of parents (co-workers) who want portraits of their children. So far she's proven to be pretty reliable at drumming up business. I'm still working on my portfolio so I'm willing to make some concessions on price. As an example, I'm doing a first year portrait session for a woman who usually takes her child to the "studio" at Wal-Mart. I told my wife to let her know that I'd do it for whatever she's used to paying.<o></o>


<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]When I first started I'd shoot for free. I only do free work for family now. What you charge is very personal. I'd recommend that you follow Sean's advice, "Ask whatever you think the job is worth". Remember, when you're done shooting, you're not done working. Processing files (even if it's just basic RAW conversion) can take almost as long as you spend shooting, sometimes longer. If you're giving an hourly quote I'd consider what you think an hour of your time is worth and double or triple that to cover travel time, processing time, etc. That being said, if you're still building your portfolio and that is as important to you (or more) as the money is then I would consider either continuing to shoot for free or for just enough money to make it worth your while.