5 Things to Charge Clients for Photography Jobs

Are you charging for these 👇 When I began my photo career I would basically just multiply my hourly rate by how long the shoot was. Easy? Yes. But there was a major problem. I was footing the bill on a lot of things that were the client’s responsibility and it was eating away my profits making my hourly wage close to minimum wage. Not ideal 😵 So these are the top 5 things you need to charge your client for on your next job. 📌 Make sure to save and follow for more photo business tips! 1️⃣ Usage/licensing This is definitely the most nuanced of the list. I have a few videos on my page about licensing, but I’d highly recommend checking out my YouTube channel for a more in depth explanation for how to charge these. 👉 Comment “LICENSE” if you want the link. 2️⃣ Per Diem For local gigs this is typically food and gas and is usually around 35/day for each crew member. If it’s an out of town gig it’s usually closer to $60 and includes things like Uber. 3️⃣ Travel days This one is huge. Not only should the client be comping all travel expenses (obviously) but because you are losing a day of work just travelling, industry standard is to charge half your day rate. If you don’t have one though I’d recommend charging around 600-700 per travel day. 4️⃣ Props Anything used for the production should not come out of your rate. You should make the client aware of the potential prop needs and estimated cost ahead of time and include it in your agreement. 5️⃣ Talent This includes on and off camera talent. I can’t tell you how many times in the early days I would have a job with a low budget that needed additional actors. I wouldn’t factor that into the job and since I hate asking people to work for free, I would pay them out of my own pocket. This should be the clients expense. Not yours. I like to have all these costs estimated and included in the final contract. I won’t start any Prepro work until the client has signed off on the total budget and paid a deposit which usually is 25-50% of the creative fee and all expenses. You dont want to be your clients own personal bankroll lol. Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙