Decide on an hourly rate, and calculate based on that. Its usually the simplest way to go for anything, but especially with events. I generally do both, I let I client know I calculate by the hour, and I give them a reasonable ball park for the time that it should take for their project. This give you a little more control if say, they suddenly want a bunch of edits on the photos, you can come back with "I'm about at my time limit on this project to still fall within our original estimate, did you want to readjust?"
A lot of folks charge by the hour with set hourly packages. So for example you have a baseline 5 hour wedding package which covers X,Y, and Z with one hour before the wedding, two hours during, and two hours of setup during the reception. Another is a 6 session baby photo package every two months of a baby's life with the parents from the hospital to the first birthday.
It allows clients to see what services you can offer and what sorts of things they might want to think about (and suggests they buy more rather than less without saying that), and also ensures they treat your time as valuable as they see you won't just show up for two clicks, five bucks, and get out of here.
Also: AT LONG LAST I AM FREEEE! FREE OF THE JAIL THAT BOUND ME!
I've gotten better results from flat fees, but I've done this for so long that I know exactly how long it will take me to do a flyer/ad campaign/logo/what ever.
This gets me more clients than hourly rates model, but at times A client delays projects with too many changed (which you could enforce with a revision limit).
$500 is my lowest fee.
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I guess what I've seen is more of a hybrid really. It's a flat fee for service but time is limited at 5 hours (etc.) beyond which additional charges may be negotiated.
That's basically my set up. And its more of a protection than anything else. I can go over my estimate a bit and not charge, but if they come back with a bunch of shit, it makes it a lot easier to say "this will add more time to the estimate" if you establish the hourly fee on the onset.
It also sort of depends on the client and how familiar they are with paying for creative work. Generally if you're working with other professionals its not that big of a deal.
Agreed with everyone so far - If it's just a family shoot I normally charge around $200 ($100hr - one hour of shooting, one hour of editing). If it's a location further than 30 minutes from where I live I add another $50 on to the cost, per hour of driving. But yeah my normal charge is $100/hr. I wouldn't do any less than $150 (that's what I started with) as it's not worth the time. That's even for friends, I always feel bad charging friends that much, but man... time is money.
That all said, I've seen some successful photographers, who aren't very good photographers charge a lot more because: business.
HHHHHHoly shit. Saw a shooting star tonight, and the meteoroid must have been really close to my location because I could literally see it burning, not just as a light getting fainter, but as in I could see flames crackling and fizzing as it went out. Mind you it was still far away, but god damn I've still never seen a shooting star that close.
Sometimes I've tried to take ref photos of myself for drawing poses, but it soon occurred to me that my usual attire (baggy 90's jeans and thermal shirts) were way too form concealing to be useful for showing what's really going on, body-wise.
And I really don't want to take any pictures of myself in the buff, or even in my undies, because ew.
So I bought some grey (hopefully makes for a good wide-latitude midtone when photographed) cycling apparel in an attempt to strike a happy medium between demonstrating body-shape, while leaving me some amount of modesty (dignity, is another matter).
I think they'll work for that purpose but...man, I sure am not used to wearing clothes that put the precise location of my nipples right on front street.
Sometimes I've tried to take ref photos of myself for drawing poses, but it soon occurred to me that my usual attire (baggy 90's jeans and thermal shirts) were way too form concealing to be useful for showing what's really going on, body-wise.
And I really don't want to take any pictures of myself in the buff, or even in my undies, because ew.
So I bought some grey (hopefully makes for a good wide-latitude midtone when photographed) cycling apparel in an attempt to strike a happy medium between demonstrating body-shape, while leaving me some amount of modesty (dignity, is another matter).
I think they'll work for that purpose but...man, I sure am not used to wearing clothes that put the precise location of my nipples right on front street.
Dudes so homophobic they don't even want to see themselves
Hey if you can find a way to Freaky Friday me into Chris Pratt's current ab-riddled body, I'd be a lot more open when it comes to displays of my physique.
As it stands my body looks like a burrito that's been rolled through a bunch of cat hair, so I'm a bit more demure about it.
HHHHHHoly shit. Saw a shooting star tonight, and the meteoroid must have been really close to my location because I could literally see it burning, not just as a light getting fainter, but as in I could see flames crackling and fizzing as it went out. Mind you it was still far away, but god damn I've still never seen a shooting star that close.
I once saw one explode in a green burst at sunset. One of the coolest things I can remember seeing.
Hey if you can find a way to Freaky Friday me into Chris Pratt's current ab-riddled body, I'd be a lot more open when it comes to displays of my physique.
As it stands my body looks like a burrito that's been rolled through a bunch of cat hair, so I'm a bit more demure about it.
One of my biggest motivators for going to the gym regularly is to get where I can take reference photos of myself without immediately throwing my phone down the garbage disposal in my sink.
Also, does anybody have any experience with the Adobe creative cloud? I see that they have different plans but I'm really only interested in flash, after effects and Photoshop. The way they're set up though it looks like it's either only one app for $20 or all the apps that I really don't need for $50. Is there a way to just pick a couple and pay an adjusted price or is it more cost effective to buy it outright?
I'm freaking out a little right now because we've just been told the second year of our course won't be running next year, which is really shitty. My portfolio is nowhere near ready to start looking for work, past me what have you dooone...
No, there's a bureaucratic issue that's stopping them from running it next year. They should have figured this shit out before they spent 8 months telling us it would run.
They say it'll run the year after but I can't wait that long. At 24 I feel like I'm already behind schedule. Apparently the point of second year was to help us make industry contacts and build a strong portfolio, so I felt like I could justify another year. I'm sure I can figure something out on my own, but it's frustrating.
That is frustrating, man. The work you've been putting out with the program has been really nice, but then again, you can still continue to work so I wouldn't get overly discouraged. I cant remember where you are based out of? There maybe other opportunities to network, and you could take the money and combine it with online courses and maybe hitting up a industry con?
Yeah, I feel like I probably know enough to keep learning on my own for a while, even if it's slower. It was making contacts that I was really looking forward to, because I'm based out of Sydney and the games industry here is butt.
So the schoolism stuff is now open for you to subscribe. Have any of you taken that plunge? I jumped into the Caricature class as I've been interested in improving my confidence and I'll write up a review to put up in the class masterpost
I was thinking about taking a schoolism course but not sure where to begin.
I also got a membership in the Stan Winston video library thing recently and that's been pretty cool. (I got it sale priced, the regular price is kinda ridic) they're more focused on movie and media stuff, sculpture and mold making and so on, which is my language, I guess
Just got a call from the place I applied at a while back. All I need to do is complete the physical and I've got the job.
This kinda threw a new curve into my plans but it's more money and a more stable schedule so I should have more time to draw and stuff like I had originally hoped.
So I've been doing these cartoon portraits over the last year, as a favour to my sister. Someone saw them and wants to commission me to do some for him and his team. Fine, no problem, sent him a cost estimate for similar work (probably a lowball but wev).
And now, after sending him the estimate, my sister says "oh but can you do them in a different style to the ones you did for me?" which well, yes, I could, but the cost estimate I gave was based on a very simple, b&w cartoon lineart - something fairly iconic, quick and easy. Changing that up noticeably would probably end up meaning more work per portrait, not to mention the initial design and sketch work as I try to figure out what the hell I'm doing (because I have no idea what I'm doing). Also I got the commission based on that image style, and in my experience clients don't like having their expectations fucked with.
Made an art news thread so I can dump "Oh I found this cool shit and need to put it somewhere" links over there. Good place to link rando animations you find, articles, and industry news, If any of you have some sites/blogs you follow and want to add it to the OP, post a link over yonder: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/200546/art-news-and-inspiration?new=1
I figure this will be good for pointing to when telling new artists to consider expanding their pallet.
Is there any way I could talk to one of my teachers about how they're structuring their classes without sounding like an asshole? Some of the classes I'm taking have started to get a bit vague. Granted the school is pretty new and they're still figuring out the kinks.
At mica, I had a few courses in my last year that I asked the teacher if we could work together on making the course work more relevant to my thesis. Teachers were usually pretty flexible about that, since thesis is all consuming and its the last bit of your time there. With school closing(?) you maybe able to pull the same thing.
I'm getting really discouraged using a tablet/photoshop to "ink" comics because my lines always just seem so...bleh. Should I be using different software? Brushes? Or just move to traditional media altogether?
Ah. Illustrator sort of depends on the workflow you are used to. For a lot of people, working in vector is a huge change and breaks up the flow of just drawing naturally. It has some more freehand tools now, but its still a lot different in feel.
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A lot of folks charge by the hour with set hourly packages. So for example you have a baseline 5 hour wedding package which covers X,Y, and Z with one hour before the wedding, two hours during, and two hours of setup during the reception. Another is a 6 session baby photo package every two months of a baby's life with the parents from the hospital to the first birthday.
It allows clients to see what services you can offer and what sorts of things they might want to think about (and suggests they buy more rather than less without saying that), and also ensures they treat your time as valuable as they see you won't just show up for two clicks, five bucks, and get out of here.
Also: AT LONG LAST I AM FREEEE! FREE OF THE JAIL THAT BOUND ME!
This gets me more clients than hourly rates model, but at times A client delays projects with too many changed (which you could enforce with a revision limit).
$500 is my lowest fee.
It also sort of depends on the client and how familiar they are with paying for creative work. Generally if you're working with other professionals its not that big of a deal.
That all said, I've seen some successful photographers, who aren't very good photographers charge a lot more because: business.
My Portfolio Site
I just hope my copy of Manga studio has one more activation on it.
And I really don't want to take any pictures of myself in the buff, or even in my undies, because ew.
So I bought some grey (hopefully makes for a good wide-latitude midtone when photographed) cycling apparel in an attempt to strike a happy medium between demonstrating body-shape, while leaving me some amount of modesty (dignity, is another matter).
I think they'll work for that purpose but...man, I sure am not used to wearing clothes that put the precise location of my nipples right on front street.
Twitter
Dudes so homophobic they don't even want to see themselves
As it stands my body looks like a burrito that's been rolled through a bunch of cat hair, so I'm a bit more demure about it.
Twitter
I once saw one explode in a green burst at sunset. One of the coolest things I can remember seeing.
One of my biggest motivators for going to the gym regularly is to get where I can take reference photos of myself without immediately throwing my phone down the garbage disposal in my sink.
Also, does anybody have any experience with the Adobe creative cloud? I see that they have different plans but I'm really only interested in flash, after effects and Photoshop. The way they're set up though it looks like it's either only one app for $20 or all the apps that I really don't need for $50. Is there a way to just pick a couple and pay an adjusted price or is it more cost effective to buy it outright?
That describes my body type perfectly, I'm going to steal that.
I'm freaking out a little right now because we've just been told the second year of our course won't be running next year, which is really shitty. My portfolio is nowhere near ready to start looking for work, past me what have you dooone...
They say it'll run the year after but I can't wait that long. At 24 I feel like I'm already behind schedule. Apparently the point of second year was to help us make industry contacts and build a strong portfolio, so I felt like I could justify another year. I'm sure I can figure something out on my own, but it's frustrating.
I also got a membership in the Stan Winston video library thing recently and that's been pretty cool. (I got it sale priced, the regular price is kinda ridic) they're more focused on movie and media stuff, sculpture and mold making and so on, which is my language, I guess
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
This kinda threw a new curve into my plans but it's more money and a more stable schedule so I should have more time to draw and stuff like I had originally hoped.
This year has been crazy, man.
My Portfolio Site
Also found out I have 11 days of paid time off built up so I think I'm going to put in my two weeks and then just have a chunk of that be vacation.
And now, after sending him the estimate, my sister says "oh but can you do them in a different style to the ones you did for me?" which well, yes, I could, but the cost estimate I gave was based on a very simple, b&w cartoon lineart - something fairly iconic, quick and easy. Changing that up noticeably would probably end up meaning more work per portrait, not to mention the initial design and sketch work as I try to figure out what the hell I'm doing (because I have no idea what I'm doing). Also I got the commission based on that image style, and in my experience clients don't like having their expectations fucked with.
so now I'm pissed off.
Tell your sister "no".
Twitter
I figure this will be good for pointing to when telling new artists to consider expanding their pallet.
Anyway, yeah Tynic, I'd be pissed to and say no.
At mica, I had a few courses in my last year that I asked the teacher if we could work together on making the course work more relevant to my thesis. Teachers were usually pretty flexible about that, since thesis is all consuming and its the last bit of your time there. With school closing(?) you maybe able to pull the same thing.
I would say SAI or manga studio. For manga studio you'll want Frendens brushes: http://frenden.com/post/41066125217/manga-studio-5-brushes
if you want to stick with photoshop, I would get kyles brushes: https://gumroad.com/kyletwebster or try lazy nezumi http://lazynezumi.com/
Wrong week to quit coffee