I have about 10 very old family photos a friend of the family wants restored. They are all basically the same. Each has minimal to medium water damage on about 1 quarter of the photo. Most is background restoring. There are 1 or 2 with a couple of hair, face, and/or clothing details to restore. I am unsure what to charge seeing as I usually work with retouching new photos as a side job. Any help with a basic idea would be great. The work is in MI, USA if that helps at all either. Thanks in Advance.

I guess it depends on your experience. If you're good, it shouldn't take very long or much effort (not always true, but you get my drift). If you're new, and it's going to challenge you - give them a generous quote, in case it takes longer than you expect - but let them know it'll be a challenge.

If they're friends you'll want them to know the quality of work they're getting. If they're good friends you'll understand if they go somewheres else... and if they're great friends you'll do it for free! Hah.

Usually we charge a base fee of $20CAD for whatever we're doing unless it's something VERY simple. After that it just depends on the results we expect - if it's a simple tear in the paper or a smudge/stain we'll know what to expect and generate a (generous!) quote for it. We usually charge less than what we quoted, but sometimes things are harder than we expect.

For family and friends I just work it into my schedule and get it back to them as soon as possible.. no charge by me.. usually what happens is, I wind up with a free dinner for me and the wife, a nice bottle of wine, a plate of peanutbutter cookies, or something special for my birthday or Christmas.. but they always seem to find a way of repaying me and besides,.. it makes me feel much better than charging my friends or family for things.. Heck, I might need a favor sometime in the future also...

Lol, I guess I should not have said friend of the family. This is going to be a paying customer. It is a friend of my mothers, that I have never met. She referred them to me for the work. It wont take a long time, but its not a 2 minute job either. medium damage on about 25% of each pic. They look to be about 30 - 60 minutes a piece for fix.

Be that the case .. I agree with Stephen A, it all depends on your experience and expertise.

Pricing has been debated for years.. There are High-end prices as opposed to hobbyist/amateur prices and no one wants to commit as to what should be the right price to charge... including me.. I have seen this pricing question turn into very long and heated debates.. with no real conclusions

The charge should be sufficient to make a profit and within the means of the consumer.. which is the reason professionals target their audiences toward the folks with deep pockets.. another thing to consider is how you are going to present your fixes.. on a disc with a nicely mounted print on real archival paper or just a copy from an inkjet on WalMart paper or just send the pic in an email.. So you see our dilemma.. your simple question is more convoluted than, "just give me a price"..

For 10 pictures You are probably working within a range from $10.00 to $300.00 or $500.00, again depending on the amount of work and the worth/need of the repairs to the customer..

Always have a long conversation with the client to figure out their needs and wants before giving a final estimate, Sometimes the things we want would be nice.. but just not affordable...

I know that this is not a very professional answer but I figure if you work in the retouching industry then you already have a pretty good idea of pricing.. and besides, you are going to charge whatever you want any way.

It is your mom and her friend you need to keep happy, which might lead to high-end referrals, You NEVER know!

Hope this was evasive enough for you to make a decision..

I am unsure what to charge seeing as I usually work with retouching new photos as a side job.

Arrienn, Simply charge the same rate as you regularly would. Charge your regular hourly rate or, if you charge by the piece, figure what that figures out to hourly. Remember, while you are working on those restorations you are using time and resources normally reserved for your other retouch work. Be sure to itemize. Do not include the delivery media, as part of your time. Charge out your labor, prints, digital delivery (including email), and any other materials seperately.

Keep in mind that your mother referred you to this friend. If she is happy she may also refer you. This could develop into a valuable network of customers. A discount may be appropriate but your going to have to make that call.

Also, if you do give her a discount (for being a family friend) ask her to keep the price private.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I appreciate it. I guess I am just indecisive about it. =)