How much do i charge for my gig/event photography?

Your rate should reflect your experience level and what the market in your area will support. In other words, and I assume you’ve held a “day job”, what you earn working for your client should be no different than what you would earn doing any other job. And a day job would pay you a salary commensurate with your peers, the cost of living in the area where you live, and your individual skill and experience level. So, how good of a photographer are you? Are you worth $ 12/hour, or $ 20? Develop an hourly rate, up to 4 hours or so. If the job is longer, you should develop a daily rate, not including expenses, travel, per diem, post processing, prints, and the like. Create a fee which will encompass your expenses, then add it to the applicable rate. Your competition don’t post their rates because they likely do a lot of work on commission, where the rate varies depending on the job. It basically boils down to what you think your time and talent is worth. Whatever that number, the important part is being able to justify what people are getting for their money. People want to believe that they’ll get their money’s worth. And you’ll find that it is not necessarily how much they have to pay, but that they are satisfied with what they get for it. Your work will justify your rate. Hopefully, that will guide you in determining your worth. And incidentally, it’s not unlike proposing salary requirements to a potential employer during an interview. And the general rule of thumb is, you won’t get what you don’t ask for.