Photographer's rate:
Have you ever shopped for a dentist or doctor? Ever decided to go with a doctor who charges half the going price for a procedure? Think not. Ok, how about a house painter, electrician, plumber, or repairman? Do you really want the results of the cheapest price?
Simply requesting a photographer's "rate" won't help you select a photographer for your project.
• Before you look - define your needs and your budget.
• Discuss your needs when you meet to review the photographers portfolio.
• Hire someone whose skills fit your needs.
By matching your needs with the commercial photographers strengths you will create the greatest possibility for success. The experience that someone brings to your job, or the equipment and capabilities that he/she has available to properly execute your assignment, represent value which may more than compensate for the differences in price.

REQUEST ESTIMATE

In order to be able to prepare an estimate for your shoot,  it's quite important for me to have a comprehensive idea of the work you require. Please send me an e-mail with as much information as possible about your requirements.

If you are unsure about the kind of information that it's useful for me to have in order to prepare an estimate for your photography, read the following summary.

1) SHOOT DURATION
How long a shoot lasts, needs to last, or can last, depends on a great many variable, including how many products or combinations of products you have to photograph, how many locations you want to feature, how many variations in lighting, background, propping, etc. you want to see, etc. etc.

2) STYLE / TREATMENT
Do you have an established style of photography for your brand, or do you want to try a different approach?
Can you describe the kind of products you have to photograph?
Can you give me a brief description of your brand's image?
Can you give examples of what styles / treatments you like?
Do you have any specific (e.g. seasonal) themes that you want to include in the images?
Do you require a studio or location shoot? (Sometimes, establishing a strong image and look is much easier to do by shooting at a location outside a studio - this might be literally outdoors, or it might be at another interior location, like a bar, cafe, launderette, or other place. I'm happy to suggest locations for your shoot, but to do so I'd need to know a little more about your brand and the products you have to photograph (see above).

3) IMAGE DELIVERY
How would you like the images delivered ?
Rates for post-production and retouching are affected by the format we shoot on, the degree of retouching you require, and your timescale. It may only be possible to supply you with an estimate for retouching AFTER the shoot has taken place.

4) FINAL IMAGE USE
Your final use will dictate our minimum technical spec requirements for the shoot (larger final uses require higher spec image capture). What is the largest use that the images might be put to?
If your images are to be used in a printed environment or in advertising, which countries will the images appear in?

5) TIMETABLE
Please let me have your deadline for receiving the images.

Please be aware, on a typical job, I might have 1-2 hours conferencing with the client, 1-2 hours of location scouting, time obtaining props, time arranging for models, packing gear, unpacking gear, post processing, paperwork, etc.
Oh, and the shooting time too. Sometimes that is a small part of the job. So a one hour shoot might actually entail 6-10 hours of actual work !