Fair Pricing for removing a person

[mikehulsebus]

Well folks, below is a photo of work I did for someone and I've never charged for anything like this before--anyone have input on this, what would be fair? The washed out color cast photo version is obviously the original, others are "proofs" of sorts.

[Asylum Steve]

Most digital retouching is billed by the hour. Of course, by that I mean "functional" work such as what you posted, not large illustration or design projects or campaigns.

So, figure out a fair hourly rate and multiply it by how long it took you to complete the retouch...

Of course, if you ask a WISEGUY the fair pricing for "removing a person", they may give you a completely different price quote...

[mikehulsebus]

True, yet thats part of the problem, i have no idea where that rate falls--well, ok, i know its more than 5 bucks an hour but i mean other than that i'm sorta in the dark. I looked at websites, but they pretty much quoted a flat rate which averaged 30-70 bucks and consisted of removing a person from the background, not the foreground. Everything else: "call for pricing"

[Asylum Steve]

Pricing in photography has never been set by a single emperical standard that everyone always adheres to.

Sure, there are guidelines, but each person has to establish his or her own rate based on skill, experience, and most importantly, what they think they can get in the market they work in.

If you are just starting out in a field, and based on your asking this question, I assume you are, you simply have to make a choice, say (for the sake of argument) $20/hour for basic digital retouching.

Well, you go with that, regardless of whether others charge more or less, and then make adjustmets based on how that goes. If your clients flat out reject that amount as being ridiculously high, well then you know you have to lower the amount.

If they laugh, gladly give the money and exclaim,"wow, I thoght it was gong to be TWICE that amount", well then you know next time to raise your rates a bit.

It's a constantly evolving process based on what feel you should be making offset by how willing clients are to pay it.

[Photo-John]

I'd charge $40-60 an hour for any digital work. That's pretty standard for any kind of professional service - plumbing, carpentry, electrical, etc. Complicated digital retouching takes more skill than color correction, so $50 an hour might be right. If you're trying to figure it out as you go along, charge less. Your customer shouldn't be paying for you to learn. If you're awesome at it and it only takes you 20 minutes, charge more. I'd also have a minimum so that it's worth your time. I'm sure this one took plenty of time, but I'd say $50 minimum to make it worth your while is fair.

[Elysian]

Interesting thread, since my wife has adviced me a few times to make some extra money with graphics design and photo retouching. I know that I have the experience but I always wonder if I should spend the time and money to set up a web site, because I've learned over the years that the internet isn't that much of a gold mine as people always thought. Does anyone have experience with something like this and is it more succesful than just one order a month?

[Photo-John]

Joe-
It's all about marketing. I don't think just puttig up a Web site would be enough. I'd form a partnership with a local lab and let them refer customers. That's your best bet. Make a display with a before/after image and take it to local labs. If the lab charges a premium or takes a percentage, everyone comes out ahead. The little bit of retouching work that I've done was referred by a friend who owns a lab.

[Elysian]

It's all about marketing. I don't think just puttig up a Web site would be enough.

Yes John, but I wonder how much marketing/promoting I have to do to make some profit. I mean, all those hours and days that I have to put into it (and this is a continuous process) are probably more than what I spend on the actual work. See, that's my concern, because I don't want to start this for some 4 assignments a month (I would probably make more money by cutting the grass for my neighborhood )
But then again, I don't have a lot to lose, mostly time, so maybe I'll give it a try.

Thanks John.

[Sean Dempsey]

I have found that no one bats an eye at 60-75 dollars an hour for any labor. That's the standard where I live for almost everything... auto repair, computer repair/upgrades, plumbing and handyman work.... everywhere that skilled, technical labor is involved about 60 bucks an hour.