Hey gang,
A business forum is on our short list, we just need to find a top notch Contributor who will moderate it and answer your questions appropriately before we do though.

Hang tight, we see the need and are working to bring this feature to you.

Cris...

Chris, cool beans and thanks.

All of those components are critical to pricing your photography, but the most important factor is USAGE. HOW your image will be used is a major factor in how it is priced. For example, an image submitted for an inside editorial in a local publication will be priced quite differently than one produced for a national advertisement. Familiarize yourselves with the usage/licensing model. Please keep in mind that as this forum develops a set of business threads that it is illegal to say "I charge XXX for this usage." Any pricing information needs to provided in a "historical" manner--meaning I THINK at least 30 days old, but don't quote me! There are several publications and programs that offer ranges of historical data that might give you a headstart. Pricing Photography is one book and "Fotoqoute" is one program that you might take a look at--I am not affiliated with either product but I have used both.

martinja123:
I'll agree with the seperate 'Business' section idea. I was about to ask, what are some of those questions you were asking? And, how is it we're supposed to charge by? (the day, or by how hard the job is, number of images) I think that's one of the hardest things to judge, how much is your service worth?

I get these calls all the time too, but I get offended when people say "we're a non-profit, give us a price break!" Here's a 5 minute sampling from a Google search of "non profit organization":

The United Way of America, and as they report on their website, they have 10,000 employees, $1BILLION in annual revenues, and 1 million volunteers.

The RAND Corporation, who "delivers a wide range of expertise to clients in need of objective analysis and effective solutions." is a non-profit, and their annual report for 2005 states $409,878,000, an increase of approx $32,000,000 from 2004.

And most convention and visitors bureaus are private non-profit organizations. There are tens of thousands more beyond those!

Don't get me wrong though, if I get a phone call from an organization where the person calling me is a volunteer, and everyone else in the organization is a volunteer, and the CEO/President is being paid a minimal salary, and the money comes from individuals and not corporations, I am then open to discussing a smaller fee. Hospitals too are major corporations paying their staff top dollar, yet are technically a non-profit.

What exactly is a non-profit? It simply means that you don't pay taxes on your profits!

By choosing your own charities, you can easily say "I gave at the office" when these folks come calling. Moreover, when they say "we're a non-profit", I respond "that's great, I try not to be!" and we both get a good chuckle, and then I send along my normal paperwork, and I get booked.

Cheers,
John

'I try not to be". Funny. I have to remember that. Just ordered your book btw. Looking forward to it. Photogs need all the help they can get with pricing.

Cat's out of the bag
For those of you who don't know who John Harrington is, you need to check out his book "Best Business Practices for Photographers"

I'm only a few chapters into the book right now but the information is SOLID and should be a mandatory read for anyone calling themselves a professional photographer.

I'm looking forward to reading a few more chapters today.

John, feel free to post a link to where people can buy your book.

Cris...