What would you pay to have proffesional portraits taken of your horse?

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Ozzie

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Hiya :D

I'm a young Equine photographer (also do dogs, people, livestock ect, but my heart is with the horses) who has just gone professional :) I want my prices to be affordable verging on cheap, just because I'm starting out and want as much custom as possible. Each shoot has hours and hours of work put in, and up to this point I've been charging just enough to cover costs, and getting more work than I can handle, but really I have to start making a profit if I'm ever to do this for a living :p

Here are some examples of my work:

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The photoshoot is free, pets are usually bought to the studio, I travel for horses, any journey under an hour I don't charge for petrol, I usually get about 10 - 20 photos of the same quality as the ones above in one photoshoot. I then email a low res version of each image (with a watermark) to the owner, and they can pick out any they would like to buy. I'm thinking of charging £50 for a framed and mounted A4 print (the frames are a fair bit bigger than A4, nice and simplistic and in a range of colours) and £90 for a CD with all of the photos on (always more than 10, sometimes more than 20)

I have a professional Canon printer but can only print up to A4, I'm going to look into having professional prints made in a larger size, and I know it costs around £1.90 for an A3 print, but postage is £5!!

Any comments, advice or opinions very much appreciated! Please be nice though, I'm only young (just left school) and am scared of mean comments :p
 
My friend has just paid £650 for a baby photo!!! Very artistic, beautifuly framed and will take pride pf place on the livingroom wall.......but £650!!!!!

Yours are fantastic. I can really see that you love your subect.
 
OMG, they are georgeous, I would love you to come and take a picture of my dog and horse, Please.

I have seen similar, and they charge upwards of £200.

Please pm me, I would love you take my LH weimraners picture, she is the only dog that has not had a proff picture, and my horse has never had one, your photos are just lovely :)

XX
 
Your work is stunning (and I don't use that word often!). You will need to get thick skin because people can be mean with their comments - basically because they are jealous. I can say this because I was once a pro-photographer. I gave up when digital came to be - having used medium and large format 'film' cameras and enjoyed hours in the darkroom - I did not think that digital was good enough - so I bought a new horse instead!
The problem with being in business - of any kind - is that you need to be a jack of all trades NOT just a brilliant photographer (or whatever trade). Find someone to do your books if you are not 'into' that bit because if I had had help in that direction I probably would have done much better. I had the knack at taking good photos, won Kodak awards, gained Licentiate status with a panel of photographs with one of the photographic bodies, was pretty good at handling (most) people and getting that something special out of them (and/or their animals), but I was USELESS at the financial side of things, and that included asking for money. Don't undersell yourself, believe in your ability, develop thick skin and you will go far. Have a look at NRH photography's website (Google NRH Photography). He has had some good advice and knows how to price himself - including selling images on cd/emailing jpgs having sold the copyright to the customer. Aside from the advent of digital another reason for giving it all up was that people blatently used and abused the photos by copying them (as it was cheaper) even with a watermark on them.
I got fed up trying to explain the copyright laws and making people understand that they were stealing from me! But that's me and this is you. Go to seminars and workshops learn what others have to say and pick up useful hints and tips, you can never stop learning.
Good luck :)
 
I have recently had photos taken of my dog (and a few head shots of the horses). Will put some of the photos in at the end of this (they're photos of photos though so ignore the qualiy but you'll get the idea).

She charged £70 for the visit and one free print, then £5 per 5x7 and £10 per ...the bigger one!! And we also bought a book for £60 with most of the photos in it.

The photos arent as good as your ones above and she was a bit amateur BUT I was happy with the price for what I got.

Anyway, here they are!

xxx

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I should add that my dog was going in for surgery for hip dysplasia - there was potentially a high chance she'd die SO I wanted movement photos and happy photos, not "portraits".
 
I think £50 for work like that, framed and mounted is not enough. I would think you could get double that! I was speaking to a photographer at a local show,and he said he used to be able to charge much higher prices a year ago, but the market is slower now.

Could you offer to local riding clubs to cover their shows to get your name known?

I'd look at your competition around you, and see what they charge.

What area are you in? We're all dying to know!
 
Love the top pic! :)

I think you are nuts not to charge something for petroL! An hours journey could cost you £10 - £15 in petrol and not to forget wear and tear on your car! Then your time! the frame! You possibly wouldn't even break even at £50 for one print.

I would definitley charge a per mile rate.

Good luck with making your bsuiness work, you will do well looking at the above pics. :)
 
Those are fantastic photos! I'd really like to get into equine photography, but I have no horses to photograph at the moment, so I just stick with nature shots. How did you get into it in the first place?
 
Thanks guys! :D

I'm looking at doing things like image re-touching and product shots on the side :)

I did photography A level, started working as a photographer's assistant, realised how much I loved it, and then took pictures of the horses up our yard, for free, then these people's friends saw the pics, wanted some of their horse/dog/child, and the rest is history :p
 
Dont, apolotgise for action piccies, I love the more natural ones, and whenever my daughter goes to venture, I insist they are natural.

What is the point in having a picture that does not remind you of how life was at the time.

BTW, I love your doggie pics x
 
SuenRoux said:
Your work is stunning (and I don't use that word often!). You will need to get thick skin because people can be mean with their comments - basically because they are jealous. I can say this because I was once a pro-photographer. I gave up when digital came to be - having used medium and large format 'film' cameras and enjoyed hours in the darkroom - I did not think that digital was good enough - so I bought a new horse instead!
The problem with being in business - of any kind - is that you need to be a jack of all trades NOT just a brilliant photographer (or whatever trade). Find someone to do your books if you are not 'into' that bit because if I had had help in that direction I probably would have done much better. I had the knack at taking good photos, won Kodak awards, gained Licentiate status with a panel of photographs with one of the photographic bodies, was pretty good at handling (most) people and getting that something special out of them (and/or their animals), but I was USELESS at the financial side of things, and that included asking for money. Don't undersell yourself, believe in your ability, develop thick skin and you will go far. Have a look at NRH photography's website (Google NRH Photography). He has had some good advice and knows how to price himself - including selling images on cd/emailing jpgs having sold the copyright to the customer. Aside from the advent of digital another reason for giving it all up was that people blatently used and abused the photos by copying them (as it was cheaper) even with a watermark on them.
I got fed up trying to explain the copyright laws and making people understand that they were stealing from me! But that's me and this is you. Go to seminars and workshops learn what others have to say and pick up useful hints and tips, you can never stop learning.
Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Thankyou! :D Yes, I do struggle asking for money, luckily I have a very nice 'proper photographer' whose been a lot of help!

I must say I am very jealous of your appies :p
 
Fantastic photos, you are clearly very talented. Just to add another idea, what about offering an all inclusive price that people could buy as a gift, say to include one large print and maybe the CD? I have no idea what the charge would be but others have given you some ideas on that. I know you say you are young but from the photos above you seem very good, don't undersell yourself!
 
Ozzie said:
Thankyou! :D Yes, I do struggle asking for money, luckily I have a very nice 'proper photographer' whose been a lot of help!

I must say I am very jealous of your appies :p
Click to expand...

Ref my appies - I bought the stallion as a weanling instead of buying a digital camera!!
He does earn me a little money though and I have never regretted getting him. Apps are great to photograph and they change colour regularly too!

Hope I helped a little with regard to the business. My gran always used to say to me "never be afraid to ask for money" I should have listened to her.
Now I work for a print company making up magazines and using my creative streak there. If you looked at my profile you will have seen the Appaloosa Calendar I have just produced, a couple of the photos were taken by me but mostly I encouraged others and really enjoyed putting it together and making new friends. Tomorrow I am going to an Appy Event near Banbury where hopefully I will sell a few to a 'captive' audience. I did learn a great deal from being in business and it helps with 'projects' like the calendar.

Very best of luck and if you need any advice or have any questions you think I could help with please PM me.
 
Wowzers they are fabulous!
I think you need to ask a bit more though, you will be busy at those prices but I think they ae worth SO much more!
I am an equestrian artist, and in the last 2 years have over doubled my prices. I was spending 20 + hours on a painting a couple of years ago and was only charging from £45 :O
Of course you cant make much money working at less than half minimum wage, so I bit the bullet, found some confidence and set my prices at what they are really worth.(starting at £140) It didnt alter my business one jot. I have super clients and am busier than ever. People will pay for quality so dont be afraid to ask for it. In fact, I find that asking more money people treat me more like a professional than before.
I would deffo add mileage too. petrol is so dear I cant see how you would make much money out of the £50! Dont forget the wear and tear on your camera too.

Anyway good luck!
 
if i were you i would charge something like £70 call out with one free framed photo, that way if they call you out and get you to email them the proofs then don't buy anything you won't be out of pocket.

lovely work though
 
I am a professional photographer (mainly weddings) and I think you are seriously undercharging. I don't see at prices like that how you can make any money. The quality of you photography is very good and particularly if you can develop a unique style (the first hose image would be my choice) you have an excellent product that people will want to buy. The more natural shots are easier to do so done by more photographers so worth less.

I would focus on developing your style, I am sure you will have no shortage of volunteers!

If I were not a photographer, just a horse owner I'd be happy to pay around £200 for a shoot with images like the first one and a framed a4 print. I'd expect to pay way more than £1.90 for an A3 print!!

I amsure you have it in place but I'll say itanyway - make sure you are fully insured for public liability, it is not worth takinganother photo unless you have it.

Good luck and if you want to PM me any time please do, I'd love to see more of your work!
 
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Ozzie said:
Thankyou! :D Yes, I do struggle asking for money, luckily I have a very nice 'proper photographer' whose been a lot of help!

I must say I am very jealous of your appies :p
Click to expand...

Another person here who doesn't like asking for money.
Can I suggest you get yourself some price lists done. Keep some in your car, some with you at all times and 1 by the phone. That way when people ask you to do some photos you can say 'I'd love to, theses are my prices'. Or if someone rings you have the costs to hand and won't waiver. Means you're not actually asking for prices, just stating your cost.

Think 'L'Oreal moment'.....'cos I'm worth it' hahahahahaha :)
 
My friend owns a framing business and actually makes the frames. The price of glass is expensive and no I dont think you are charging enough for the framed ones.

Lovely photos btw.
 
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