What is my work worth to you?

[scarlet-rain]

I have recently been given the opportunity to put my design, photography and retouching skills into practise with some local businesses. The problem is, I have no idea what rate I should offer for all of these skills, and the businesses are asking what I charge. Look at my DeviantART gallery (link in my sig) if you haven't seen my work before so you can get an idea of the quality of my work and what I should charge for it.

I have just left school and am trying to earn as much money as I can and get off my feet, but I don't want to come across as too cocky, and I am still fairly inexperienced with portrait photography, which is what people have shown interest in hiring me for :S

[MaDroX]

I'd reckon it'd be safer to be modest

As for rate, got no idea sry

[Aukiman]

Now this is just my opinion .. theres probably a few more qualified people out there who could give you better suggestions.

It all depends on the business and how personalised the service you will be offering them.

When I started out doing freelance graphics and animation I did lots of freebies to get a portfolio together, and then started doing small things on commission.

I think there are a couple of things to look at when pricing your worth if you want to keep that value for money feel with your clients.

1. can you look at the product as a piece with a $$ value or are your clients more likely to be paying you an hourly rate type thing.

2. is your client, personal, small business, large business, how much is the final product going to benefit them ... prices can go up accordingly

3. how much of your time will be expended and can you do any 'you scratch my back and ill scratch yours' deals eg to get yourself more exposure for it.

Don't know the standard rates but some examples of what I was getting when I used to do it freelance ...

I found that for small businesses who wanted a few graphics they could use or some small web art I was usually getting paid $30/hr ish

Companies that wanted one of logos designed for both web and print I was generally getting around $300 for a finished piece.

Largish Companies wanting a corporate image eg letterheads, logos, trademark design etc i could get around $150/hr

Companies / Individuals looking at small webpages (around 5 to 10 pages) with custom graphics were paying about $500 to $600

Companies looking at LARGE web pages ... 20 pages and up, custom graphics etc it was starting to get into the thousands, but keeping in mind I was also doing the domain setup and basic layout coding for these sites as well as the graphics.

obviously you can make deals with these businesses as well if they have something they can offer you for discounts, or maybe if they are charity groups you can donate a few graphics and in return get exposure for your portfolio.

If you're lucky enough to get some design for a govt department you can get quite reasnable hourly rates for a lot of recurring work ... I managed a couple of steady $80/hr jobs for quite consistent weekly updates. Don't know what the market for that is nowadays though.

[Caboose]

nice work on getting into this sorta business, i think freelancing is a bit harder to find work but you will gerenally love working on it. As for pay i'm not to sure keep in low hundreds as your new this area of work and have just finished school, asking for to much is asking for no work.

But yeah if you love doing this sorta work you won't really care about money, rather do something u love for modest pay than something u can't freaking stand for a bit more.....

like me atm getting around apprentice wages, like around $1300 a month, yet work is great. i get to listen to music lol, spam forums and get work on drafting roads, buildings and other urban development. Atm we're designing a whole new suburb in Townsville/Thuringowa. BTW i'm a cadet drafter.....lol

lol its really no different from my hols.....8 hrs in front of a comp but instead of gaming i'm drafting lol

[scarlet-rain]

Thanks guys, sorry my reply is a bit late. I totally forgot about this thread :P I did some research on what I will need to be a freelance designer and made up a contract (which specifies that I can use any work I produce to promote my business), got an ABN and made up an invoicing and quote system by modifying a database I made in my IT class last year. I've decided to charge $40/hour for all work to begin with. I don't think I'll be doing many web pages because to be honest I suck at coding and the only thing I'd be able to do is the graphics. I think bringing in third parties to do the hosting and coding just means more overheads, more communication (as opposed to just me knowing exactly how the layout should be, and doing it myself) and more $$.

[Caboose]

sounds good scar, best of luck