Standard fees for portraiture/boudoirs?

[TigerLord]

Last week, I finally got my own studio. I've been shooting for almost a year now, and had great fun at it. Kept investing in better glass and gear. At the moment I shoot with a K10D and 77mm FA Limited for most my shoots, and have ordered the DA* 50-135mm to go with my Voigtländer 125mm APO-Lanthar.

I've done a few shoots since I got my own studio and set up a temporary website until the official one is done: FCfoto.com

All these are friends of who modeled for me so I could play around with my setup. But already I'm getting e-mails from friends. I have another private portfolio with many boudoir or nude shots and my approach with lightning is something you don't find much around where I live... most studios have very boring and standard lightning on a gray or blue muslin.

In any case I have 10 months left in my sabbatical before I resume medschool. Photog is not something I will ever do professionally but is a hobby I love and would like to keep doing. If it can pay a little and help reimburse the investment, all the better.

But, I am at a lack of references as to HOW MUCH to charge. I would like to keep investing in more studio gear (after I get the DA* 50-135mm, the only worthy upgrade would be to get a K20D probably, since the 77mm and DA* 50-135 are already some of the best Pentax glass out there...). I currently have AB800 strobes (3x of them) and a few modifiers.

People warned me: don't charge too cheap or you will kill the industry. So alright, I don't want to kill the industry. I was thinking 150$ for 45-60min with about 15-20 PP'd shots on CD (in big enough resolution for 8x11 prints say). Too much? Too little?

I'd like to know what the standards are. Clearly I am not a pro and my shots do not reflect pro-level, but I'm better than the average amateur, imho.
I appreciate any tips you can give me!

Best regards,
TL

[TigerLord]

I'd like to add I learned my nude lightning style while I was studying abroad in Germany for three years, so it's a lot more European style than most photographers do around where I live.

[MJB DIGITAL]

I usually quote my self @ 125/hr for portrait sessions. I don't own a studio, so my portrait sessions are always on location. The fee goes toward gas and travel time as well as labor.

You might think that is high, but I'll generally do a couple of hours of shooting, I'll go ahead and give them a disk with a release that says Walgreen sucks, print with me, and I'll give them a large print or a couple of smaller prints as a 'sample' or whatever so that they are impressed with a quality, non-third-party print...

good luck with your business

mitch

[Frogroast]

One of the things I learned from growing up in a family business is to sell at a price that your market supports. I would say look at what you're doing and how much that's worth. As MJB pointed out, his prices are set considering the type of shooting he does.

My prices for a High School Senior session are higher than for a standard portrait session, mostly because Senior sessions usually involve travel to multiple sites, setups, equipment, and at times an extra body or two to help keep everything together.

Also remember that you can work your packages so they include prints, which will make your fee seem more reasonable than separating your sitting fee from your prints fee. Point out how that saves them money compared to just paying the sitting fee and picking individual prints later.

Just don't overdo it - There are photographers in my area who charge $30 for an 8x10 when many find eating at Fridays and Applebees on the pricey side. No point in charging big city prices if you live out in the farmland like I do.