good morning guys!! (jeesh...i just went to bed! this place is truly the Land of the Sleepless!)

anyway, i'm excited because i've been asked to do shoot another band...a group of young men...two of whom are our crewmates at the restaurant.

they have a couple of gigs a week, but i'm gonna start out by shooting them at one of their practice sessions before actually shooting them at one of their gigs.

they practice at an old abandoned bourbon warehouse, and the prospect of shooting that place is almost more exciting than shooting the band!

anyway, i think kemal and i need to get the ground work laid for establishing ourselves as a freelance photographer-team-for-hire.

if we're gonna start getting offers to shoot, we need to think about the business end of this (yuck!) it might be a bit premature though. dunno.

i was just thinking, we paid for my new cam in Jan. That's a huge expense. if i've already got 2 freelance gigs lined up for us, seems we should be able to claim our cam as an expense come tax time next year even though we will be doing both these pro-bono. (we're not gonna charge this 2nd band either; all we will ask is that they give us referrals as payment.)

i guess i need to check into what kind of business licenses we might need and give our little husband/wife- team-for-hire a name. (any suggestions, guys?) and i guess we're gonna need to start recording mileage and other expenses.

i want to go ahead and get the groundwork laid and out of the way because i'm thinking positive that we will make some great shots and start getting some referrals and more clients.

I have absolutely no idea how to go about setting fees. obviously since we are NOT established as professional photographers, our fees will not be nearly as high.

So let's assume we do a great job and get some referrals. What then? i just have no idea how much we should charge.

i guess we're gonna need to make a portfolio also to show our work.

anybody have any ideas or suggestions? we could use some advice. thanks guys!!!!

Message edited on: 02/15/2005 07:00

Just wanted to update you on the first band we're gonna shoot. right now we're in the idea-formation stage. At this point, we're gonna shoot the band one Thurs. night at one of their practice sessions. Then, the band wants us to shoot them on Harley Davidsons!!! Whoo-hoo!!! They haven't decided on a location yet. For the actual shooting of them while they're performing, i think at this point it will be a gig they're doing down on the banks of the Ohio River. There's a restaurant there that's hired them, and the building of the restaurant is shaped exactly like a huge ferry boat (a replication of the Belle of Louisville). I'll include upload some pics to this location in a sec so you can see where we'll be shooting them at. In the meantime, here's a link to show you The Belle. The restaurant is a cool replication! Click Here!

Good luck with the Shoot...I am sure You will do well :]

:) this is all very exciting, wish you the best of luck. You seem to be pretty organised in the business sense.

Sheila, Charge by the hour and make sure you include the time it takes to process. Add that up, and then tell people the shoot will cost $XXX.xx. That includes, blah blah blah. Don't under charge! That just gets you frustrated and it give the client the idea that if you get too expensive then they can go to the next person and get a cheaper price, hence doing us all an inservice. I charge $125 an hour for the shoot and $100 an hour for processing/printing. I estimate the time it will take to do the shoot and processing and then give them a total shoot cost. BTW, I am considered cheap. Also get and read the book, "Shooting and Selling Your Photos" by Jim Zuckerman. It is a very valueable book. Magick Michael

thanks so much guys for the luck!!! we're gonna need it!!! magick doctor...thanks sooooo much for the great advice! i will definitely get that book!! You're considered cheap???? Wow! sounds like it's some pretty good money! no, i don't want to sell myself short and not charge enough. you're right about that! I think i'm gonna call around...check out some of the local freelancers...and see what they charge. I love your images!!!!!! especially that 1st one! the lighting is HOT, POV perfect and that guy's expression says it all! verrrry soulful! 2nd one is awesome too! same incredible lighting and awesome action shot! i sure hope i can do something this fantastic!!! and i bet you DID have fun!!!!! i'm hardly waiting! can't imagine what it must feel like to shoot to music, especially to a pulsating beat. bet it's an incredible feeling!! do you find it at all distracting? or did the music and excitement enhance your shoot? was it hard to concentrate? i just hope i'll be able to focus on the shoot instead of getting into the music. then again, if i get into the music perhaps that will reflect in my images. never know....:) Thanks a bunch!!! :)

You will soon be on the Cover of the Rolling Stone.