There is still another side to this price business. That is the man who uses his home for his studio, has no rent to pay, works his whole family if he has one, cuts prices unmercifully and then thinks he is making money. Alaybe he does for a while, but in time he cuts quality, possibly not intentionally, but he does, for such a man generally has plenty of work, he has no time for out side interests and never takes his place in the business world. He never knows his brother photographers, and is a bad actor from start to finish. What could he not do and what could he not make by maintaining a good scale of prices? If he is a good workman, as many of them are, he could make money and make it easy, because of that very small overhead. He could specialize on some one branch and get top-notch prices. As his outfit is generally a one-man affair, he could get very close to his customers, for he both makes and delivers, and could give real service if he would only stop and think. But, I am sorry to say, very few of them do, with the result that the whole profession suffers.
Business concerns, really worth while, are commencing to find out that such an outfit seldom does give them real service. He has no really new ideas, nor has he the equipment and organization to give real bona fide service, so that part is gradually taking care of itself.
For a scale of prices, it is hard to lay down any that will fit all places and conditions. The following prices are average—averaged from studios both large and small, and are only meant to serve as a guide: 1. For photographs in the studio; that is, negatives made in the studio. the prices are as follows: (Including objects, posters, etc.) 5 x 7, $2.25; 8 x 10, $2.75; 10x 12, $3.50; 11x 14, $4.50; 14x 17, $6.00; 16 x 20, $7.00.
Of course, there are many photographers who specialize and get much more in cases such as photographing cut glass, stoves and work on which there is much preparation, when at least 50 cents more a negative is charged, but, on the other hand, there are some who make 8 x 10 negatives for 50 cents to 75 cents. I .know it sounds ridiculous; however, it is a fact. Again, there are some who get unbelievably high prices for one negative and one print, with possibly no more work than the first fellow, but quality and brains, with a good dose of common sense mixed in, spells the difference.
2. For black and white copies, the average price runs about as follows : 5 x 7, $1.75; 8 x 10, $2.25; 10 x 12, $2.75; 14, $3.25; 14 x 17, $5.00; 16 x 20, $6.50.
Where color plates and filters are used, from 25 to 50 per cent. more should be added. It is the custom in some shops to give a discount on quantity negatives of copies where all are in the same focus, of approximately 10 per cent., which is really quite right.
3. For negatives made outside of the studio, the prices run about as follows : 8 x 10. First negative made within a limit of one mile from the studio, $4.00. Additional negatives made at same location and on same trip, $3.00 each. Beyond one mile limit, add 50 cents for each additional mile to cost of first negative in the mile zone. Extra negatives, same location and trip, $3.00. For 11 x 14 size, $6.00, with additional negatives at $5.00.
In connection with outside negatives, there is a question that comes up which is hard to settle. A customer will want you to go out of town to be gone two or three days. How much will you charge? There are many dif ferent ways of determining this. Some photographers insist upon a guarantee of $25 to $50 worth of work a day. Others make the customer pay the expenses from time they leave studio to time of return. It depends upon the customer.
if for a railroad company, I believe transportation and per diem basis is good, together with a negative charge for each negative, while with other companies it is possibly just as well to get a guarantee of so much work and paying own expenses outside of railroad fare.
Again, another matter often coming up is when you go on a job and the customer will keep you waiting, sometimes for two or three hours. A time charge of not less than $1.50 per hour should be made. The plumber, the elec trician, as well as the dentist and many others do it, why should not the pho tographer? 4. Circuit are made on a basis of 10 cents per square inch of film exposed within the three-mile limit. For work beyond the three-mile limit, add 50 cents for each additional mile traveled from the studio. A minimum charge of $15.00 should be made for any circuit panorama.
5. Multiple plate or film panoramas. A straight charge of $5.00 for 8 x 10 negatives is a good gauge for this work. In other words, a two-plate panorama would be $10.00, a three-plate $15.00, and so on.
6. Graf/ex or Press IVork, within three miles of studio, $5.00 per assign ment, including two or three exposures; $1.50 for each additional exposure made at same time and place.
th 7. On all outside studio work, where flash and electric lights are used, there should be an extra charge, which runs about as follows : Open flashes, $1.00 and up extra to cost of negative. For one artificial light, such as electric lamp,-each exposure 75 cents extra to cost of negative. Flash bag work for banquets,etc.,$5.00 per bag, with minimum charge of $15.00, which includes cost of making 8 x 10 negative. For 11 x 14, $4.00 extra. Five bag work' or over, no extra charge for 11 x 14 or 12 x 20.
The surrendering of negatives, or letting the customer have the negatives, has always been a little point of contention between many commercial photog raphers and their customers. This should never arise, as the negatives should always remain with the photographer who has made them and will do so, if the invoices rendered with the finished work read so much for one photograph, with so mtich for additional prints, and not so much for the negative and so much for the print. To make it short, if you bill the customers for negatives, they belong to the customer, but if you bill prints, the negatives belong to you. That is a very important point and will save much controversy, for then you can make an additional price for surrendering the negative, if this is insisted upon, and such a price generally runs about 50 per cent, of the charge made for the first print.
Quantity print orders should never affect the exposure charge and quantity negatives should not reduce the price of prints per negative. There is also no logical reason why prints from a furniture negative should sell at a different price than that charged for prints from, say, an automobile negative.
Negatives should not be made at a loss, or at no profit just to obtain the print order.
• 8. Price for prints is as follows : Plain. Backed & Hinged.
8 x 10 or smaller 1 to 11 $0.35 $0.40 12 to 25 .30 .35 26 to 50 .28 .33 51 to 100 .25 .30 101 to 500 .23 .28 500 to 1,000 .20 .25 10 x 12 1 to 11 .45 .60 12 to 25 .43 .50 Larger quantities correspondingly decreasing.
• 11 x 14 1 to 11 $0.600• 70 25 to 50 .55 .60 Larger quantities correspondingly decreasing. 14 x 17 1 to 11 $IM 20% more for muslin 16 x 20 1 to 11 1.25 Sepia prints 25 per cent. additional, and these quotations refer to prints ordered at the same time from same negative.