This is a recurring question for all independent professionals, especially VR photographers. There is no right or wrong answer here.

I know it is impossible in Egypt to convince a client that charging him/her by the hour is better and is cheaper for him/her and then you must understand my fears that if I give a flat rate for a project, some clients tend to think it includes unlimited number of photography days, creating a website around the VR photos and picking up their children from school at the end of the day.

What I do is that after I get a brief about the project, I calculate how much time is needed to photograph, photo-edit and produce the VR images, multiply that to my guideline hourly rate (running costs + equipment cost + my salary / how many days a year I expect to work) and i get an estimate on how much the project will cost. I send the estimate as a figure (don’t break it down) and write down what they are getting for this amount. Transportation and meals are not included in the estimate and is always quoted seperately.

I read an article about charging by the project versus by the hour which included the following text:

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him. “It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

The complete article is worth reading.