Perhaps a better question is: what value do you get from the photoshoot?
I was about to buy a Toyota Tacoma for my son. We agreed on the price and I had a mechanic friend (Angel) come by before we made the deal. You probably know how this ends. In 15 minutes he told me it had a “leaking head gasket ” as well as leaks all through the engine (the ground beneath the truck was clean btw).
He said it would cost us $4k to fix the engine. No Deal.
My friend is paid $40/hr to be a mechanic and he saved me $4000 in 10 mins.
So what? My point is it doesn’t matter how much I paid a mechanic to come- the value was far greater.
So how does this relate to photography? Simple: If your value of the photo is low then don’t pay much.
If your value is very high (or if your liability of a bad photo is high) pay whatever you can afford.
Thumbtack (an online photographer-finder service) has the average photographer hourly rate: National average cost $131/hr Low-end cost range $50-$100/hr High-end cost range $200-$350/hr
Here’s the thing:
I photographed catalogs for Cali and York for several years. The owner analyzed online sales and told me certain, singular, photographs (comprised of poses/models/photos) sold 10,000 units at a time! 10k sales off one photo!
That creates a lot of value for a good photograph. In this case, paying several thousand a day for a photographer (when you shoot 100 outfits a day) is arguably well worth it.
But I just want a simple headshot.
Absolutely understand and I agree that you should look for an economic solution. Again it depends on the value you assign to a photo. I’m not going to tell you what that is.
I have photography rates to suit many budgets. Feel free to contact me via my website anytime for a no-obligation estimate. We can discuss what the photo is worth to you and price appropriately.
If you are interested in seeing more Catalog Photography click here!
Oh yeah And if you need a good mechanic, let me know?