Photography costs

Slipp

How many people have worked this out for themselves? Admittedly I've only calculated the figure for myself recently. Most likely a common/stupid beginner mistake but the figure I arrived at is a bit higher than I would have thought. Obviously it's not something that the client cares about but it's something the photographer sure has to know. And it's not a bad starting point for figuring out what to charge for certain jobs.

I used the calculator on this page https://nppa.org/calculator


Edit: Only turned pro back in November so feel free to guide me along

pete4130

What constitutes turning pro? Did you have a regular job before November or how does it all work? I'm curious.

the_doctor199

pete4130 wrote: »

What constitutes turning pro? Did you have a regular job before November or how does it all work? I'm curious.

Most people consider a pro to be full time. Although, some would consider a pro to be someone who makes the majority of their money through that profession.

Corkbah

professional means 80% of your income is directly from your profession....I believe that was the advice the NUJ used to give a number of years ago.

you simply couldn't become a member unless you were a full-time working professional...of course, over the years they have relaxed/bent the rules so...now ... you simply need to give them money, have one person who is a member nominate and another second the nomination and hey presto you are an NUJ member (for what its worth)

as regards the costs involved - clients don't know, don't care and simply are not bothered by the costs incurred by the photographer, becoming a photographer costs money ...something which is absorbed by the person....all that a client wants to know is how much the job can be done for and if you can do it cheaper than the other photographer !

In general, many people starting out try to underprice themselves into the market - thinking that if they charge less than the professionals they will get loads of work, this also applies to part-time photographers (of which there are many).

the problem with part-time photographers and those starting out on a full-time basis is that they don't see the costs involved or they can absorb them by using their other income...and since they are charging less than those working for years ...clients opt to use them because they are cheaper so they get more work and before you know it ...the photographer works out they must work more or charge more because all the money they need to invest in order to keep their equipment and their knowledge/skills upto date.

long and short of it is ... its tough to be a professional, in many cases it requires working 6 or 7 days a week...maybe a couple of nights too, forget about holidays unless you can afford to turn down work.

most people these days think they can become a professional by buying camera gear, creating a website and advertising themselves as a professional ...and to a large extent thats all thats needed.

Lyaiera

Professional and how it relates to photography is meaningless. There are as many definitions of professional as their are professionals . It's not a protected term because in lots of jobs, the title itself presumes your professional. There are no hobbyist solicitors, plumbers or cleaners.


I've looked at quite a few industries, and the costs of starting up in them. A method I've seen be quite helpful is to look at time scales and costs. So you walk through what would happen in a day and count what you'd spend on an average day, the same for what you'd pay on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Quite a few people do that when they're starting out, and it's where a lot of people fail despite doing serious work. When you're doing these exercises one year isn't enough. If you're talking about running a studio there are expenses that aren't even yearly. You don't need to replace the carpets on a yearly basis, or paint the walls. Still there could well be a point five years in where you're doing reasonably well and you have to spruce up your entire studio's physical space. Not even the lights or technical equipment but the fixtures and fittings. Now there's suddenly a quite hefty bill that's come up that has to be paid that you didn't think of before. What happens if this occurs while you're waiting for payment on a few invoices and then your primary body stops working?

I've read estimates for a fair amount of businesses and there's evidence that shows that businesses that generally last 18 months, will continue on for a bit. By that point chances are you have a sound business that can run well day to day. It's that there's a big fall off at the 3 and 5 year mark, as the really long term costs of business comes through.

So yes, looking at the cost of business over a month or year should definitely be done. If you're in things for the long haul you need to look even further to the five year mark. And that's before you even get into the idea that the market changes. The film to digital change was a small change, the practice of doing business changed, and some of the expectations of the consumer changed, but the fundamentals didn't. You were still snapping pictures to publish things. However there were huge changes for the camera manufacturers a whole new manufacturing process came into the mix for them (developing and building with digital sensors in mind.) Thinking at that level of future proofing is how generational businesses are built.

Effects

Lyaiera wrote: »

There are no hobbyist solicitors, plumbers or cleaners.

I'm a hobbyist plumber actually.

pete4130

I'm more interested in the OP's turn to professionalism than opinions. No offence to your opinions.

Corkbah

pete4130 wrote: »

I'm more interested in the OP's turn to professionalism than opinions. No offence to your opinions.

have you asked him/her any questions about it ? or are you just hoping they will suddenly decide maybe I should tell the people's on the internet about how/why I started as a professional photographer.

Lyaiera

pete4130 wrote: »

I'm more interested in the OP's turn to professionalism than opinions. No offence to your opinions.

That's wonderful for you. You don't get to dictate the course of the thread though.

pete4130

My post came across dismissive to your posts. Apologies.