How much to pay a friend who's taking pics at "no charge?"

sporada

So, I have a co-worker (I'm technically her "manager") who has worked for a wedding/engagement photographer in the past. She now does photography on the side. When I asked her if she would take our engagement pictures, she said yes. She also said she won't charge us as long as she can use them for her portfolio. However, I don't think that's enough...We already offered to buy her dinner, but I definitely want to pay her, too. I also want to add that we are asking her to drive 1 1/2 hours to and from our first location and will also be shooting on a separate day in the city.

So, I'm now wondering what would be a fair price to pay her? Maybe it would help to know how much an engagement session typically runs?

Maggie0829

I would research how much engagement photos in your area run and then pay her that plus I would give her a bit extra for gas or a gift card to a restaurant that she enjoys and a well written thank you note.

I am not trying to be snarky when I ask this, but 2 days for engagement pictures?  Is that really necessary?  And a three hour round trip for a location?  Is that really necessary also?  Remember these are pictures that you will look at until you get your wedding pictures.  They then will most likely end up in a drawer some where never to be seen again since wedding pictures typically trump engagement pictures.

sporada

Thanks for the reply so quickly! However, I don't want to sound cheap here, but paying her what I could pay someone else plus some seems a bit much since she offered to do them for free in the first place. We're also on a budget, so getting that deal actually means a lot to us. I figure if she's offering to do them for free, she doesn't expect a whole lot, but more of a tip (which she sort of made a comment about another couple she shot for.) But, I will definitely research what other couples have paid and see what is at least reasonable!

And yes, 2 days for engagement pictures. I'm from Detroit and my fiance from a suburb. His family's property that we are shooting on this weekend is on a lake surrounded by woods, so we love that look. Plus that place means a lot to him. However, Detroit means SO much to me personally and also to our relationship. We have many places that are special to us there. Our photog was actually the one who suggested doing two different days if it was a tough decision for us. I understand, obviously, that wedding pictures will trump these, but we still love the idea, especially since she suggested it. But, thank you for that reminder, since I have been over-thinking a lot about these pictures!

Maggie0829

I guess that is why I suggest paying her what it normally costs for one session.  You are getting her for two days at two different locations that are a good distance away from you/her.  Paying her what one session would cost is pretty much still getting a good ass deal.  So maybe remove the dinner cert but I would still pay her more then just a tip.

And I get that certain places are special to you but just remember that the most important thing in the picture is you and your FI, so even if you took the pictures on your couch in your living room they will still be special.

JennyColada

In my engagement photos, 90% of the photo is just us, so you can't tell where we are anyway.

peachy13

That's very nice of her! Chances are she actually wants to do this out of the goodness of her heart and to upgrade her portfolio, and would feel awkward taking your money. I would make plans to take her out for lunch or dinner following your photo shoot. Or at least a glass of wine if she's unwilling to let you pay for a meal. Then also give her a gift certificate or some sort of kind gesture. 

ohmrs2014

One of my really good friends did my makeup for my wedding.   She only charged me for two of the girls instead of all 4.  I ended up giving her an envelope for all 4 of us plus a tip.  I didn't have to, but she was nice enough to even suggest that she couldn't charge me full price because of our friendship.  I, in my right mind, couldn't underpay her because I was still using her services, and she was a guest at the wedding.

I say pay her what the going rate is.  Trust me, she will appreciate it.

Knottie1452799602

If she insists on not being paid, I would suggest not paying her since she probably would feel guilty about accepting It. Instead, it would be a good idea to give her a gift instead of money. She certainly would not be able to refuse a gift if you bought it specifically for her. A gift card would be a good gift if you are unsure of what she would like. You should also thank her wherever you post your engagement pictures and make sure that she receives credit for it. It seems that she wants to expand her portfolio to get her name out there, so promoting her photography will also be a great way to repay her.

annakay511

I had a family friend who does photography on the side take engagement shots where we got engaged. We drove together (it was an hour away) so she didn't have to pay for gas. We were there about 2 hours, she's giving us all the photos but will edit about 100 (basicly the good ones). We paid her $150.

klk111415

I would pay for all of her travel to start.  And meals, sound like she will be with you for a while.  Then I would pay her $50-$75 a day.  Yes, she's using it for her portfolio, but her job doesn't end at the end of the photo shoot. She then has to spend hours touching up the images (assuming she works with a program like photoshop or lightroom) It all takes time.  Then of course, she needs to get the images to you which for hi-res images, will have to be put on a flash drive, so maybe pick one up off amazon and give it to her. 

I'm using an old co-worker (he's a photo editor) for my wedding.  I'm paying for his travel, meals and accommodations for 2 nights. And I'm still paying him at the end of the night for all of his hard work.  He's only offering this because I've referred him to a few friends already who have used him, and I continue to refer him to my newly engaged friends.

lilacck28

I have a friend/ coworker who is not a professional photographer, but has done a few wedding shoots and engagement shoots. I mentioned how we weren't going to do engagement pictures, because we couldn't spend $400 on it. She said she'd do it, that the last couple she shot for she asked for $70. If we take her up on it, I'll probably give her at least $100-- and she lives very close to us. 20 min with traffic drive tops. I imagine this could be an hour long shoot? And we won't pick anywhere that is very far away. I also told her that I could photoshop the images.

I can't even imagine not substantially paying someone who works under you, especially for a service  that is very much out of the ordinary (a two day, long drive engagement shoot). There is a work power issue involved here; don't ignore that. Pay her a good amount-- at LEAST the going rate for an engagement shoot in your area.

arrrghmatey

I'm incredibly late to this post, but I figure I can contribute in case anyone looks to this topic in the future.

My FI's friend/co-worker does photography as a hobby and offered to do our engagement pictures for us. We made it a one day thing, since we wanted to stop by a couple of locations, including two wineries and our venue, all of which are local. He only asked for $50, but we paid for his lunch, wine tastings for the day, and his dinner. In addition, we paid him $100 and my FI also took him out to lunch. We are providing him with a thumb drive to download all of our photos for us. We still saved money on our budget (engagement photo shoots are $500+ here) and he graciously felt well compensated for his time. And we love our photos