One of the biggest questions I get as a creator is how to price your work. Whether you are a seasoned pro, or a kid just getting out of college clambering for your first paying gig as a creative it's all the same. It's up to you to decide what you are worth but at the same time be sure to stay realistic to the market. Do you want to make $5 an hour, or $500? Obviously that is a large gap but I have been paid both if I am going to be honest. These are a few tips I have learned along the way on pricing your work and also making sure you stay realistic to the clients and market you are in.
The Numbers
In college I first talked with my professors about what they would charge for freelance work and how they would go about charging by the hour for design work. Though their numbers were usually in the $50-$75 range so that was the starting point I tried to hit within the first couple years after school.
Whether you are doing freelance full time or simply doing this as a side income to your full time job it is important to look at each project as a whole. You want to be sure you that you charging for your time and not making $3 an hour when you average it all out. Quoting out how many hours you think you will use in the beginning is key. Then break that out into hours, days, or weeks, while looking to then create goals and milestones to stay on track.
Research
This is incredibly important and one thing I usually spend a large portion of time at the start doing to plan ahead. You want to make sure you are pricing yourself correctly. If you go too high the clients end it right there, if you go too low then you just left yourself open to lost money and less value to the client.
To start, you can simply do a quick search online for forums or other articles about a similar project you might be working on for prices. This can give you a fast reference to pricing that already exists and if it seems to fit within your idea then great. If you want to go into it a little deeper you want to do a bit more research on the company you are working for and make estimates on what they might be able and willing to spend on marketing dollars for creative work. This comes with communication with the client as well but being prepared when talking with clients about pricing is far more professional than making it up as you go.
Sharing/Networking
This is another great way to learn pricing and also help build your local community of creatives up around you. Networking has been a key part to my success as a photographer and designer in the Indianapolis area and always will be. I find great value in collaborating and talking with others in the industry and you can always talk pricing.
Bouncing quotes, project scopes, and hourly rates off each other can create a great community in the area for professionals looking to work with brands it can be incredibly valuable. I get countless messages from friends in the area asking about how they should quote a project and I love that question. I am more than happy to share my experiences and how I look to price each and every job.
Packages
Another very popular way for photographers specifically to make an easy pricing list for clients are packages. You can start by offering something as simple as the small, medium, large
Below is a rough breakdown of how I price out photo packages myself. When it comes to pricing each I simply look to make anywhere from $100-200 per hour but you can start at pricing yourself at $25-$100 and be perfectly set for the average. What you want to do is average out the number of photos they are asking for in each package into an hourly rate based on these numbers and then come up with a package cost.
Package 1: Small
$ (3 Final Edited Selects Supplied via Direct Download)
DSLR and/or iPhone Photos
Rights Usage for Web and Social Only
Package 2: Medium
$$ (10 Final Edited Selects Supplied via Direct Download)
DSLR and/or iPhone Photos
Full shared rights usage for all images
Package 3: Large
$$$ (20+ Final Edited Selects Supplied via Direct Download)
DSLR and/or Mobile Photos
Full shared rights usage for all images
Raising Prices
Each year you want to make sure you are at the very least adding to your rates due to simple inflation. Though you also want your business to grow so making a point to find what you feel you are worth and based on your client sizes don't be afraid to raise them. An average might be to look at raising your prices between 10 and 30 percent depending on how low you might have started.
Now, with all these tips in mind everyone is different and every project is different so be sure to keep in mind your worth and what you believe you can charge and what your clients are comfortable paying as well.
As always if you have questions about pricing let me know down in the comments below.