[Summerleft]

Not sure if ive titled this right but Ive managed to get on board a couple of local make up artists (one who has worked on london Fashion week) so I can offer portfolio's for models or portraits with makeup and hair included. This wont be til the new year but what kind of prices would people charge or look to pay?

There is such a difference when i look online for instance one guy £3000 and one woman £495 including 12 prints and cd of all images. I wouldnt want to provide a CD for this just prints but studio rental is going to be about £60 then £35-85 for the makeup artist depending on what the client wants

So already the price is quite high before me getting anything. Im more worried about the private portraits as would people pay £150+ for it?

Any advice welcome

[GainfulShrimp]

I think people would pay £150 for it... depending on the results of course!

If you look at some of the big commercial outfits (Venture springs to mind but it's not the only one), they generally convince customers to turn up using a special offer but then do a hard-sell job to get some proper money out of the deal once the photos are ready for review. Not a business model that I admire particularly, but often people pay many hundreds of pounds on prints and frames, etc, I'm told.

[Summerleft]

Yes I ve heard of that, if you google the name lots of threads come up about people being shocked about their prices i think they start at £100 for 1 7x5 print.

Of course people are drawn in by the cheap sitting but honestly i couldnt live with myself If I did that.

[VikingPhotography]

Portfolio shoots servce two purposes - to showcase both your skills and the look of the model. How much you charge for the shoot really depends on these key factors

a) Your abilities and skills as a photographer
b) The level of experience of the model
c) The perceived value of the relationship per the two points above

Imagine an unknown model wanting to be shot by a famed photographer such as Nigel Barker. The balance of the relationship is in favour of the photographer and thus he can charge what he sees fit.

The reverse is also true: an unknown photographer might want to work with an established model so as to better their own portfolio. Here the balance is reversed and the photographer will likely have to pay whatever fee the model's agency charges for their time.

Most photographers that advertise 'portfolio shoots' are targeting aspiring models who are not currently with agencies. The truth of the matter is that most agency scouts will snap polaroids of potential models - preferrably without make-up applied - so they can view the raw potential of the person. They will then organise shoots that play to that model's strehgths. Legitimate agencies will do this for little to no charge to the model.

To get back to your question: I'd suggest that you advertise 'Make-over and Portrait' packages and factor your shooting fee and end product to reflect that. Your base costs look to be in the region of £150 and therefore you should charge at least double that... possibly more if you're including prints.

At the end of the day, you need to be comfortable charging £300 for such a service and your work has to pass muster in the eyes of the client.

[Summerleft]

Thats a great idea advertising as make over portraits, I have 2 more portrait sessions booked in november and I think it would be a great offer for xmas.
So far I ve had good comments, but maybe people are happier to pay more for the print that the work to get it, will see

thanks for the comments