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Custom commercial pics for $20 a shot

 
This business looks like it is geared to online/catalog photography where the client needs lots of boilerplate shots of their products (thus cannot be stock) to post online or print. The photos are taken assembly-line style, same lighting, minimal styling and same model by someone making low bucks. I'm sure they can upcharge for retouching, color-correction and other extras, no prints involved.
 

I remember 20 years ago when I was an assistant working on product shoots. The photographer worked on a day rate plus expenses. If I remember correctly, I think he worked for about $500-800/day. With product prepping, the best we could do was about 4-5/hr. A day was a standard 10 hours. Within the day, there was an hour to build white seamless set and an hour to strike the set. So there was a solid 8 hours of shooting. But back then, photographers had film and film processing markup too.
 

Depending on the subject/situation that can be low by today's standards. Often there are hours of PS if there are multiple different images.

On the other hand, "hobbiests" have always given work away. Happily, if the client survives, the hobbiest mediocrity leads to serious business for real photographers who demand professional rates.
 

sounds about right for 20 years ago
these days $500-800/day is about 1/2 what
someone without a reputation and knowledge might charge
( depending on the market )
for years now clients ask for a CD/DVD before they leave
so the photographer can't even edit out the less than stellar ...
and the retouching/editing is sent to the guys+gals in india
i keep getting marketing stuff from .. like 25¢ / image for a total blow-out...
it is not easy to compete with people who charge less than a competitive rate ...
its the same for portrait + architectural and site work imagine
someone local who charges nearly nothing for portraits ( like a mill portrait studio in a mall )
i mean how does someone who takes taxes out of their income compete with someone who
does everything under the table for cheeps? also the retiree who just charges for gas, to drive
300 miles, doesn't charge a day rate, doesnt' charge for processing or printing silver prints ..
its nearly impossible to compete with somone who charges IDK $150 for $3,000 of work ...
so when i see petrapixellll ads $100 product shots or $19 product shots makes me cringe at what they feed their hungry pros,
or $10 portrait sheets, it makes me think that the age of a skilled and knowledgeable and seasoned
photographer are pretty much over and done with. unless of course, you do some 19th century/antique or
hand made or dangerous process .. but even now they can be mimicked by PS without a problem
 

I think the challenge for working commercial photographers is to find the right clients that don't go for the bargain shot. I think the market is shaped like a pyramid. The $20/shot shooters are at the bottom of the pyramid and there are a lot of them. The difficulty is to try to market yourself above them and offer a style that can't be done simply. Also, offer other services which make your client's life easier. I really like Chase Jarvis' view on pricing.
 
There's zero relationship between "bottom of pyramid" and professional commercial photography.

Rates are regional except with big brand advertising agency-driven projects. When the client/agency wants a superstar photog that suggests a bigger project down the road.

Work done in Dallas has a higher end than work done somewhere inconsequential, and work done in Los Angeles has a higher end than Dallas. .

My little city (Albuquerque) still seems to pay the sort of rate Maincoon experienced..but often per project rather than per shot or per day AND that rate is rapidly rising due to booming local creative economy, including many "Breaking Bad" style productions being shot here. If one doesn't work in an appealing region, one is toast.

It would take a deeply stupid commercial photographer to fail to at least propose, and/or do/team-up-for video as well as still, during normal "still" shoots. That professional is by definition already shooting a camera with remarkably good video capability (i.e. digital), .

The cost of a photo project (including video) has a lot to do with what a photographer proposes. The photographer often drives that bus as much as the client does, which has always been the reality.
 
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In the end it's always tough to earn money in a profession, that many folks passionately pursue as a hobby. The good thing about this factory catalog outfit is, that it won't attract hobbyists, so after some initial knock out fight between pros sustainable prices should establish.
 
LOL or it will ONLY attract hobbiests !
it seems to be run using the same idea that
the goofballs who tried to lowball me on a multi national
multi platform high visibility advertizing gig for an internationally known client
for ... $150 bucks
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/huuuuge-opportunity.162067/
 
Well, that's $150 more that what was ever offered to me ...

These days people almost beg you on their knees to take a look at their images, so quite a few photographers would have jumped at an offer to end up on a bill board - even without compensation. There are competitions here in my place, where people submit their best images, and if they are lucky enough that their pics get chosen, their pic ends up on one leaf of a calendar (one leaf fir each week), and they then even have to buy that calendar! These contests receive hundreds of entries, and yep, not even successful submitters get a free copy.
 
The difference between a hobbyist and a professional is not necessarily the level competence. Hobbyist don't practice business standards of an industry and their living isn't dependent on income on income from creating images. I find some hobbyist have professional level photographic skills. Coupled with not caring or not knowing the value of their work drives the value of photos lower. I assisted a naturally talented and driven photographer years ago. He didn't go to photo school either. He got his first break in 1984 during the summer Olympics in LA. He was the swim coach at UCLA and had access to athletes. He told me that Coke paid many thousands for 2 images of swimmers. I was really stunned when he told me that. I was a young kid from a small town that didn't think that way. He was a great mentor and is a successful photographer. He thinks big and built his career on valuing his photos.
 
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