Retouching rates for wedding pics?

[E Maguyon]

Hi,

I am not a "specialized pro retoucher" (im a freelance photog), although I do my own retouching for my own low-budget photography gigs. I know alot of PPing/retouching techniques and consider myself well above medium in skill level at least and im always progressive (always trying to learn new techniques everyday)

Anyways, I was contacted to do retouching for a wedding photographer. I do not have any idea what I should be charging; but of course, we all know the typical wedding photogs' rate when he/she does the shoot.

Should I be charging per hour, per pic, or per project. Any idea on how much? (im NYC based too)

I am well aware wedding photogs have ALOT of "final images". So im thinking this is going to be alot of work.

Any help appreciated.

[kvryland]

One way to do it is to look at your standard rate per hour, estimate the hours involved in retouching, and charge that amount. Ask for 50% up front. This will allow you to recover costs if something goes wrong with the transaction. Get it in writing. I often use this method for Spanish translations, and it seems to work out well.

[jtd131]

I am sort of in the same boat, but unfortunately shot low. So I am getting 1-2.25 per image, which is whatever to me. Honestly, I have only been using photoshop for like a month, took an intense crash course to get the job, so I guess I can't complain too much. From what I know from my photographer friends, you should prob be getting per image, its easiest. Shoot high, don't make my mistake. I could have done 3 per image and with your experience I think if you're worth your salt charge 5.00 minimum and do a trial and make them understand that they need you to get more business. If you do high end stuff, keep it in check and charge up for the best images. Just my opinion, good luck.

What do others think? I am curious to know myself what average pay would be...

[Quantum3Studio]

I used to charge 3 dollars per image to a canadian wedding photographer. He was my second client and I was very happy with the payment. It takes a bit of time matching the client's needs, even if you're excellent, each client has a personal taste. Some of them like plastic doll skin, others preffers a perfect skin but keeping it real, others wants you to remove things that you may think that shouldn't be removed and so on... I usually start by doing 3 free samples, then, I start doing 15 pictures and after that I ask for the payment. If all is okay, I ask the client for the remaining pics.

Conclusion: each client has it own standard and it need some time to matching it.

I just draw a conclsuion in my mind about how much money earns the client by thinking how much the client pays. If the client pays 3 dollars each picture, so, the client earns 80-90% more money, usually.

[Artistic Touch]

Usually wedding photographers aren't looking for you to make the pictures perfect. Meaning you don't have to retouch them like you do portraits. I charge .40 for Raw image retouch touch, which means we only retouch in Digital Raw and then I Charge .65 for regular wedding retouching. Which is just making the picture look really nice. If a photographer wants certain ones retouched such as head swaps object removal or any portrait retouch I charge seprately for that. Usually they just want you to make the photo look good not fully retouched. My portrait retouch is anywhere from 5.00 to 20.00 depending on what needs to be done.

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by Artistic Touch

Usually wedding photographers aren't looking for you to make the pictures perfect. Meaning you don't have to retouch them like you do portraits. I charge .40 for Raw image retouch touch, which means we only retouch in Digital Raw and then I Charge .65 for regular wedding retouching. Which is just making the picture look really nice. If a photographer wants certain ones retouched such as head swaps object removal or any portrait retouch I charge seprately for that. Usually they just want you to make the photo look good not fully retouched. My portrait retouch is anywhere from 5.00 to 20.00 depending on what needs to be done.

Hi bro

Are you chargin 0.40 cents per pic by editing the RAW File? Mmmhhh... I charged 3 dollars per the RAW Editing and the PS Editing. This sounds weird, I see you're from California... Cannot believe 0.40 cents...

Well... The photos I had retouched were so bad taken that I was like 30-45 minutes of fixing each image. You know, bad expossed images (like -4 or -3 stops!), noise, color shift, incorrect white balance, wrong skin colors (like lilac instead brown), bad focused, detail lost in some pictures and the guy wanted them perfect. I also removed blemishes and he also asked me to enlight the face of the subjects (the were hindus living in Canada). I will show you an A&F of a normal pic converted to something more interesting: http://picasaweb.google.es/Quantum3S...48600208993586 Click on the loupe for a better view That picture tooks me around 1 hour betwee ncorrecting and enhancing detail in this unusual manner (and I have to do most of them with that effect, even the really bad pictures). I think this must be a 7.5 usd pic. Let me know what do you think

[Artistic Touch]

I am actually in South Carolina. If that image started out as a Raw file You should have been able to fix it with in about 5min at the most. What program are you correcting Raw files, if you are using Photoshop what version? That time frame seems alittle extreme.

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by Artistic Touch

I am actually in South Carolina. If that image started out as a Raw file You should have been able to fix it with in about 5min at the most. What program are you correcting Raw files, if you are using Photoshop what version? That time frame seems alittle extreme.

Hi

Well... I can tweak 100 images, like the one shown, in about 1 hour in Adobe Lightroom, but, when the picture is a total chaos, it takes much longer and, my PC is not faster enough, so I'm not able to use brushes in Lightroom.

Side note: do you use Lightroom? How fluent works in your PC and what type of size are the pictures you edit in it? Whaty type of PC do you have? 32 or 64 bits plataform?

After the RAW Processing, I must send them to PSCS3 in order to finish the job with ease because the exported file becomes lighter.

Check this B&A example, this took me around 45 minutes to fix (I even had to fix the extreme moiré deffect all around the silluoettes):

Before: http://picasaweb.google.es/Quantum3S...53468478861186

After: http://picasaweb.google.es/Quantum3S...53501033668082

[Artistic Touch]

I was going to purchase lightroom but when I got the new CS4 it has alot of the same features as lightroom so really I didn't need it. the problem with charging that much for wedding retouch is the amount of images you are dealing with the photographer is not going to want to scrafice that much profit. You are talking about for 1200 images your charge @ 3.00 each would be 3600.00 that is alot of money to pay and a lot of lost profit for the photographer. If the photographer work is needing that much retouch someone needs to tackfully talk to him about what he can do to make his images better.

In the before and after sample you just sent again much of that should have been corrected in Camera Raw, or in your case Lightroom.

[Artistic Touch]

Honestly if you you are getting that price for Wedding retouch Kudos to you. I think thats great.

[neosapience]

Hey Quantum3Studio, I took your "before" picture and fixed it up using only CS3.

Here's what I came up with -

http://www.photoshopflux.com/pics/myafter.jpg

What do you think? I've never worked with RAW files before, but I'm sure if I had the original, I could make it look even better.

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by Artistic Touch

I was going to purchase lightroom but when I got the new CS4 it has alot of the same features as lightroom so really I didn't need it. the problem with charging that much for wedding retouch is the amount of images you are dealing with the photographer is not going to want to scrafice that much profit. You are talking about for 1200 images your charge @ 3.00 each would be 3600.00 that is alot of money to pay and a lot of lost profit for the photographer. If the photographer work is needing that much retouch someone needs to tackfully talk to him about what he can do to make his images better.

In the before and after sample you just sent again much of that should have been corrected in Camera Raw, or in your case Lightroom.

Well, these pics where corrected with an old version of lightroom, the one without brushes and I cannot use them though. I have to buy a faster CPU, but this photographer used to sent me around 300-400 pictures per month. He also payed 10 dollars for black and white pictures like these: http://picasaweb.google.es/Quantum3S...y=HpTsPaepmP4#
I did +1200 pictures for him, lot of hard work on some of them. Just look how they look, they're already retouched, the originals, well... you already have seen those...

I gave him some tips, since I'm a photograher, but I didn't want to jeopardizing the relationship with the client. There a re lot of faults in his pics and I would sound annoying for him, you know. Empty Pride is our worst enemy, it doesn't let us grow, but well...

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by Artistic Touch

Honestly if you you are getting that price for Wedding retouch Kudos to you. I think thats great.

Yeah? It was weird... I just received an e-mail saying something like "I have 100 pictures per week to be fixed, I pay 300 dollars, do you agree?).

I did some calculations and of course, I said YES! I DO!!! Like a silly bride HAha... Automatically, he sent me 50 photos, I retouched all of them send those back to the client, after a while, he asked my personal data and he told me "Go to Western Union", I didn't know what the hell was that. I found one and I found those forms you know, then I went to the cashier (don't know the exact word) and the cashier gave me not only the payment for the 50 pictures I did for the photographer, also the payment for the next 50 and the next 100 photos. It was like... WTF!? Was the happiest day of my life (and my first one as Freelancer). I have worked for him for around 6 months, after that, he dissapeared but he paid all the stuff. Weird... Now I have another amazing client from California and another, not so cool from U.K. but anyway, he pays and that's what matters.

Seems I'm lucky. I thought I wasn't.

Will keep all these comments in mind when dealing with wedding photographers then

Thanks lot for the info

Kudos for you too

Mart

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by neosapience

Hey Quantum3Studio, I took your "before" picture and fixed it up using only CS3.

Here's what I came up with -

http://www.photoshopflux.com/pics/myafter.jpg

What do you think? I've never worked with RAW files before, but I'm sure if I had the original, I could make it look even better.

It's nice, but the client asked me to do an excellent job in those pictures since the client was very important and he messed up the photos too much. I did as much as I could.

The client will ask you to:

1) Enlight the faces (something I disagree, but anyway, colored people wants to look like white people because fashion, that was he told me).
2) Remove the haze from the subjects.
3) Paint a natural color to the skin.
4) Remove the moiré all around the subjects.
5) Remove blemishes.
6) Recover detail.

And of course, color balance.

These items would require lot of selections, a very painstaking job but, if you turn the pic into Lab, would be easier. Unfortunately, in that period of time, I didn't know how to work with Lab ^^

Have a nice day, bro

[neosapience]

Originally Posted by Quantum3Studio

It's nice, but the client asked me to do an excellent job in those pictures since the client was very important and he messed up the photos too much. I did as much as I could.

The client will ask you to:

1) Enlight the faces (something I disagree, but anyway, colored people wants to look like white people because fashion, that was he told me).
2) Remove the haze from the subjects.
3) Paint a natural color to the skin.
4) Remove the moiré all around the subjects.
5) Remove blemishes.
6) Recover detail.

And of course, color balance.

These items would require lot of selections, a very painstaking job but, if you turn the pic into Lab, would be easier. Unfortunately, in that period of time, I didn't know how to work with Lab ^^

Have a nice day, bro

I had no idea what your client wanted, I just tried to make the picture look as normal as possible. I'm by no means a retouching pro, as I've only been using photoshop for a few months. I just wanted to know if the photo looked alright to you or not.

Anyway, I'll try altering the photo further and see what I can do with it.

[Quantum3Studio]

Originally Posted by neosapience

I had no idea what your client wanted, I just tried to make the picture look as normal as possible. I'm by no means a retouching pro, as I've only been using photoshop for a few months. I just wanted to know if the photo looked alright to you or not.

Anyway, I'll try altering the photo further and see what I can do with it.

Well, it was a simulation. The client will think "Where are the retouchings?" and he will point those items.
This pic is one of the hardest ones. Honestly, the pic doesn't look like processed.

At the very first of the relationship, client and freelancer will have some discussions but remember this: discussions are the product of bad communication, and bad communications means that freelancer didn't put a "base of work". I mean, statements.

Because this one was my first client, I didn't put any statment and he started asking more and more adjustments, like the thing about the face enlightening. And he also asked not to use glamour look, you know, that cheap effect of blurring a bit the scene by using blenings and opacities, but firstly, he wanted. Anyway, I keep my self quite and relaxed and did what he wanted.

What I have learnt from that? Always set a basis, a method of work or you will end: 1) fighting and loosing your client and reputation; 2) working much more than expected for the same money.

Have a nice day, bro