Advice on how much to pay for photoshoot

[photo101]

I have a cousin who is a photography major (in San Francisco) who is willing to do a photo shoot of my baby girl. We are planning on spending an hour or 2 in the studio and then another couple hours at various locations.

Since she is family, she is of course hesitant to charge for this but I want to pay her for her time and work involved. What is a typical rate for a photo shoot like this? What would be a reasonable rate for a college student?

Thanks!

[SmartWombat]

4 hours shooting, then what?
Do you receive just the images on DVD, unprocessed?
Or a selection edited, printed, mounted, framed etc.

As a starting point (since I can take photos myself) I'd take my hourly rate and multiply by 5.
That's what it'd cost me to do it myself, so that's what it's worth to me - opportunity cost.
Then add a premium if she produces a better result than I can

Your logic may vary ...

[AlannahRose]

I am also a photography major and my instructor recommended $200 an hour. You have to figure that for every hour spent shooting they will be editing for that time as well. I'm only in my first semester and he said that is a good starting price. I'm not comfortable with that so I decided on $100 an hour with no sitting fee. Also, everyone thinks that they should get a discount (I'm not saying that you do) from family, but I think that they should pay equal or more than what they would somewhere else because you should help your family out. Especially if they are in school. Just my thoughts. =]

[photo101]

Thank you for your input.

She will not be doing any post processing work, just giving us the raw files.

[berrywise]

If money makes the situation uncomfortable get her a gift certificate to a nice restaurant that would cover a night out for her and another.

[w.slayman]

My step son performed a legal service for us, and refused payment, he is an attorney who recently passed the bar. He loves photography and wanted a film camera, so I put together a complete all Canon system for him. You could do something of the same nature, say a lens she has admired, as a gift.