Life as a Visual Storyteller—Episode 44—22nd November, 2015: How to Calculate Your Fees—PART 1

During the week, I got an email from a student who had a question. Here's the pertinent part:

I'm nearing the end of a diploma in photography and intend doing another more specialised course on food photography once finished. My reason for contacting you is this...One of my last assignments is based on gathering information on the local market and what food/lifestyle photographers are charging in my area. I don't want to undercharge and therefore unwittingly undercut anyone so I'm hoping you can shed light on this for me. There is an awful lot wrong with this question, but that's not the student's fault. The education institution is to blame. The key question isn't what established photographers charge, but how they calculate their fees. So, let's talk about that.