How much for a dance shoot?
Well, isn’t that the million-dollar question? I’m asked this all the time, I mean, literally, that question, constantly!
The trouble is, there isn’t one answer. It’s a bit ‘how long is a piece of string’, so, I thought I would give a more comprehensive reply.
Every shoot is different, every dancer is unique, and each dancer has specific requirements. Some are after new headshots for auditions; some want a nice set of location images to share on social media. A dance school may want a full school shoot and images for their website and social media, or I may be required to set up a mobile studio at a competition and take action shots to make available for parents to buy online.
My pricing is worked out, according to time, post processing and travel.
Am I the most expensive? – No! One of the benefits of having a (very) northern based photographer is that there are no crazy London prices, and I only charge travel if the Location is more than a certain distance away – bonus!
But…. do I offer value for money? I absolutely believe I do :)
Example 1
This half day shoot with the very talented Jessica had two locations, three different lighting set ups and a costume change. (There was also me nearly falling over a few times and some decent sunburn because I forgot to use sunscreen, but I don’t charge for the extra entertainment )
Location one, lighting set up one, costume one. With the glorious Cumbria landscape in the background.
Location two, lighting set up two. On the beach in the water with the sun behind. This was a more challenging lighting set up, done specifically for this shot.
Location two, lighting set up three, costume two! Making shapes on the beach with the sun behind me.
Example 2
This 2-hour portfolio shoot for performer Martins took place in a studio setting, and was to highlight his skills and physique. One lighting set up with various tweaks, three costume changes (if you count removing a shirt as a costume change?) Four and five if you count
changing hats.
Example 3 – Dance School Shoot
Sparkles dance school owner and teacher Emily wanted to surprise her Dance World Cup team with their uniform and a photoshoot. We set up the backdrop and lights and each team member had one image in their uniform and then some action and group shots. This shoot was very specific and Sparkles paid a fixed fee.
Example 4 – Dance School Shoot with prints on site
Free Spirit Academy are a fantastic school from Barrow in Furness, that we work with quite frequently. They wanted to offer their dancers ‘mini shoots’ with images available to purchase on the day. It doesn’t cost the dance school anything for us to be there. Parents are able to purchase prints as soon as their dancer has finished shooting.
Example 5 – Dance School on location
This shoot was fantastic, we had so much fun! KD dance is a school from Millom, Cumbria. We have photographed with them for over three years at shows, school shoots and with their individual dancers. One of their dancers, Jessica, is one of my ambassadors. KD decided they wanted a full school shoot with a difference, so we organised a whole school shoot on the beach! Each dancer had a time slot and images were made available for parents to purchase from an online gallery in the following few days after the shoot.
Feel free to send me a message on any of my social media platforms, or via the contact form. If your question is “do you do weddings?” that’s a whole other blog, but our wedding work can be found on here.
