Howdy folks, so here’s my situation:

I need to start off and say that I have been told many times by multiple people that I often sell myself short. Not to hype myself up, just that I’ve come to not really trust my intuition regarding charging for my work.

I shoot comedy shows. Twice a month, I get $60 CAD to head across town to shoot a 1-1.5 hour long comedy show. 8 comedians, I deliver 10-15 edited photos of each to the host before 4PM the next day.

I need to stress these aren’t large venues, the shows are a couple steps up from open mics.

Now, since I’ve started with this promoter about a year and a half ago, I’ve greatly upgraded my setup (APS-C to full frame, new laptop and editing software) and I am very proud at the progress I’ve made quality-wise!

On top of that, the promoter I’m working with just let me know he may be securing a contract in the new year to host shows at a larger venue and wants to bring me along, so if I were to ask now would be the time.

Here’s what I’d want to propose to him:

  • At the lower-level shows:
    • $70
  • Larger shows
    • $100 for the shows at the new venue
    • The individual comedians would need to pay $10-15 for their photos on delivery and their approval (as of now the promoter shares the photos to the comedians to use and post, didn’t know he was going to do that when I first started)

I’m a little bit iffy on the last part, I have no clue if this is a standard; I am basing it off of a friend who did videography for another promoter where he would chop up the shows and sell the individual sets to the comedians on top of the base price from the promoter (with the blessing of the promoter).

I really don’t want to come across as greedy, but I want to start taking my photography more seriously and treating like a profession I actually want to pursue

Any thoughts folks?

  • kwmcmillan@alien.top
    BEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    So I’m a freelance Cinematographer and produce a pretty well-respected stand up show as a hobby with 3 of my friends.

    Everything everyone said is right.

    However.

    If it’s a traditional comedy show, the comics are getting paid about $10-20 each. In my case we don’t even pay ourselves, the photographer is the only one we pay and he also gets $20.

    Insane low price, I’d personally never even go near that price as a photographer, but we pay our comics $20 and charge $10 for tickets. We also buy the comics drinks. That puts our daily operating costs at around $200. So if we sold 20 tickets (average for this kinda show) we break even (again, the producers don’t get paid at all). If we’re lucky we sell 30 tickets.

    So here’s the issue, right? Comedy is a disgustingly low-revenue art. If you love comedy, want to see these shows, enjoy helping, and can potentially turn those photos into more lucrative gigs, that’s kind of the best you’re likely to get. If you don’t/can’t, you’re basically going to have to move on to something that pays your rate.

    Again, you SHOULD be charging like… $500 minimum for any kinda gig, just to even start the conversation, but comedy shows are unique in that there’s usually no money anywhere.

    My suggestion is to make the gig as easy as possible for you: shoot jpeg. Have the producer just like, bring you and SD card every show he can take home and those are the photos. Driving an hour and a half is kinda nuts, my show commute is 45 there and 18 back, but yeah. Photographing a comedy show is basically just a way to get a free ticket and make some cool friends.