Are there any photographers in San Francisco who charge by the hour?

Answer 1

oh i see. you only want to pay for the productive time. setting lights, posing the model, darkroom/photoshop, and viewing proofs should all be free. So if the quoted rate is $120/ hour, and you select only one photo that was taken with a 1/60 second exposure, you want to pay $0.0005 for the job.

plumbers charge by the hour, professionals charge for the project plus certain expenses. studio time might incur an hourly charge. if you want the photos to look like they were taken by a plumber, go for the hourly rate.

Answer 2

A lot depends on the type of photography you are talking about. The photographers in different areas of specialization can and often do have different billing structures.

I don't know any pros in San Francisco, where I'm based, that do a straight hourly thing. Usually, where some sort of hourly rate is involved, it is a block of initial time which is the least you will pay. In other words, you will be billed for 2, 4, or however many hours regardless of whether or not the shoot takes that long. If the shoot takes longer than the initial block of time, then you are billed at an hourly rate for the extra time.

If you just want to pay an hourly rate and get your pictures, then, here in San Francisco, I would suggest checking out the students at the Academy of Art. Their photo program is pretty good and so are their students. They tend to be motivated because, bless 'em, students always need money and $30 - $40/hr looks good to them - they don't have the overhead a pro does.

Vance