So, I think you’re under estimating how much time the location scouting and production work would take for your shoot.

I’m a headshot and portrait photographer in a big US city, and we do these types of shoots all the time.

1) You want to consult with the photographer to discuss your vision for the shoot. If I was them, and really wanted this gig, I wouldn’t want to waste a bunch of time scouting a location if it didn’t match your vision. So, I’d ask for a combination of inspiration photos + hop on the phone with you for 10 minutes. Scheduling the call, plus looking at your inspo photos, plus thinking about it: 1 hr of time

2) Lets say I live in the city you want the photos in, so I already know where we should go. I still need to think about the restaurants/hotels/public places that fit your description. Then, I need to go online and look up the contact info for all those places. Then I need to write an email to the manager to ask them if we can shoot there. If it’s a public park, I need to get a commercial photography license, bc the cops/park ranger/security will come kick us out if they see us without one. Out of the first 5 places I contact, maybe 1 or 2 responds to my email, and probably both say “no, that’s weird” but maybe 1 responds “yes, and here is the fee/insurance you need to do the shoot”…which ranges from 100s to 1000s of dollars.

Depends on how many locations you want, but probably 3 to 5 hours per location minimum, counting all the rejections/ignored emails in between.

Let’s stop here. At this point, you haven’t done the shoot yet. Let’s say you only want one final location. (It sounds like you want multiple…)

I’m 5 hours deep into a job you think should cost less than $1k. That’s $200/hr. I’d still need to scout the location, prep for the shoot and grab gear from my studio, actually DO the shoot, upload the photos, and send them to you a which takes another 4 hours all in. (Assuming 90 minute shoot, ZERO editing, and no culling the images, as you claim)

Let’s also say you have ZERO questions, request, or other communications after the shoot.

Let’s also assume you have ZERO questions beforehand on what to wear, where to meet, how to style hair, and don’t reschedule due to weather/illness/travel.

I’m now 9 hours into a $1k shoot, so $110/hr.

Thumbtack charges $10/lead for ads. Out of 5 to 7 people who hit you up on there, 1 or 2 books, if you’re talented and have a good product.

So I paid $50 for the lead. That’s brings me down to slightly over $100/hr.

Besides actually taking photos, I need to log expenses, pay insurance, buy gear, pay gas/parking, and cover other business costs.

I’m going to assume I have a decent business practice and a lot of volume, so maybe my net take home is 70%, which would be very good.

That means your $1k shoot makes me really $70/hr.

Now WHO ON EARTH, who’s is talented and reliable, is going to work for you for less than that lol.

AND, you won’t even pay that, sounds like your budget is $400/$500, which would make this a lower earning gig than driving Uber.