hahaha I charge $32-55 an hr for standard gd work. $300-1000 for just a logo/branding (Pricing depends on what it will be used for and how many people will see it). People tell me now that it is too high, then i look at their work and ask what they charge and reply with "that's why you charge less". I hate fucking under cutting freelancers that have a shit degree from a shit school and no shit about layout, type, design.

Holy shit that is not to high. Man. It is so frustrating. Schools need to teach that shit better. I remember getting out of school, interviewing my FOERST job, and being asked what are you looking to make. I had no idea. Nobody even mentioned that to us. Nor what we should charge for hourly work.

we actually had a whole class just about what to charge for production and print time for basic graphic work like bc/lh/envelopes, logo design, web design, etc. how much to charge on top of the work depending on the amount of people viewing said work and what to expect for a yearly salary depending on job title, amount of work, and type of client. it was an eye opening class and people shit a brick when they would try to pay me hay and water for a job that i would turn down cause i knew how much they should be paying me.

I've noticed the same with photography. So many people will do photography for free and then it becomes the expectation of the consumer to get free photos. It is terribly annoying competing with the flooded market.

Here is my question... What should I charge? I need to respect the pros in the field by charging reasonable prices, but I cannot ask someone for 3 grand and expect to get their business, they will go to the next guy that will charge $250. I have designed logos before and after some research, I discovered that companies will make you a logo for starting price of $100. So I offer that at $50. I really don't know where to go to figure what I should charge and this is a huge question that I cannot get a straight answer on.

every picture i will ever take will be for free
i didnt pay to learn how to take pictures, they dont pay to get them

BandyDesign wrote:I've noticed the same with photography. So many people will do photography for free and then it becomes the expectation of the consumer to get free photos. It is terribly annoying competing with the flooded market.

Here is my question... What should I charge? I need to respect the pros in the field by charging reasonable prices, but I cannot ask someone for 3 grand and expect to get their business, they will go to the next guy that will charge $250. I have designed logos before and after some research, I discovered that companies will make you a logo for starting price of $100. So I offer that at $50. I really don't know where to go to figure what I should charge and this is a huge question that I cannot get a straight answer on.

It's all variable. A logo can take an hour, or they can finger it for weeks. It can be for a small coffee shop, or it can be for a t-shirt company that will depend on that logo to sell everything they make. You just have to base it all accordingly. Always shoot high... unless you REALLY need the money, then shoot mid-ground. Don't ever low-ball yourself.

It's hard to give a real definitive answer. Your skillset also comes into play. If something takes you 5 minutes to do, obviously charge low for what they want. If it is something difficult that will take you a ton of time, charge more. But you can't over-charge and charge 8 hours for a business card because that's how long you spent. It's all weird and screwy.

only people i will shoot for free for is myself and dM.

cheap SLR's make it hard for me to find work. mostly because of the whole "I HAS SLR SO IS NAO PROFESSIONAL QUALITY PICTURE TAKER" mentality. what sucks is that i sell the SLR's to the people that make it hard for me to find work. bleh.

also, most of the photo game seems to be who you know and your skills come second.

POOPscandal wrote: also, most of the photo game seems to be who you know and your skills come second.

Thats about any game though nowadays...

bradt wrote:

POOPscandal wrote: also, most of the photo game seems to be who you know and your skills come second.

Thats about any game though nowadays...

its always who you know, been like that and will always be......

POOPscandal wrote:only people i will shoot for free for is myself and dM.

cheap SLR's make it hard for me to find work. mostly because of the whole "I HAS SLR SO IS NAO PROFESSIONAL QUALITY PICTURE TAKER" mentality. what sucks is that i sell the SLR's to the people that make it hard for me to find work. bleh.

also, most of the photo game seems to be who you know and your skills come second.

sounds to me like we need to find Panda a hook-up at motor trend or something

Wait you work for Honda as an engineer?

My friend is an engineer at Honda R&D. I will ask if he knows you.

andysapp wrote:Holy shit that is not to high. Man. It is so frustrating. Schools need to teach that shit better. I remember getting out of school, interviewing my FOERST job, and being asked what are you looking to make. I had no idea. Nobody even mentioned that to us. Nor what we should charge for hourly work.

I've asked my teachers those same questions before, and they couldn't give me an answer either. It really sucks. They don't know, because they're a teacher, and haven't worked in the real world in years. Technology in our field moves so fast, in result so does the amount of people who knows or can learn it as well, and charge cheap for shit. Pretty awsome. I think i'll have better luck living on farm and growing wool. bbbbllllleeeeehhhhhhhh.

My older designer friend said you should charge say 50 bucks an hour if you make 50k per year doing non freelance design work. But if the company is really big and can make tons of money from your design, jack up your rates tremendously.

I guess if you are coming out of school you should charge around 30 bucks an hour, because most entry level positions are for about 30k per year.

There are books out there that are about this very topic.

EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS WHO YOU KNOW! Thats why people have to get off their ass and network. If I lost my job for some reason, it hopefully wouldn't be too hard to find another one, because I know people.

Those are good points. ^^

I definitely would not be wanting to look for a job in this economy.
It's kinda scary.

andysapp wrote:Those are good points. ^^

I definitely would not be wanting to look for a job in this economy.
It's kinda scary.

Yay for those of us graduating this year....






I need to finish my resume and look for an internship soon/now.