Charging per face a birthday parties......???

I am a slow painter--I've mostly worked festivals, but recently did a birthday party. I was a little nervous knowing I was working per hour. It took me 2 hours to paint 12 full faces. I would have a hard time not painting all the children that wanted to be painted.

Does anyone charge per face for birthday parites?
For example:
10 children = $XX.00
15 children = $XX.00
etc.........

I would think this would decrease my stress level.
Your input would be greatly appreciated!!

You could. No reason why it wouldn't work... but when more kids show up than expected then it involves adjusting the fee, etc. but it is do-able.

I don't. I actually never charge per face, ever.

So you are taking 10 minutes per face - that actually is okay for a beginner ... how long have you been painting? Speed increases with practise so generally most of us gain speed with experience.

Have you streamlined your designs to speed them up? Have you considered making a menu/display of designs that you have that you CAN complete in 5-7 minutes?

I had been thinking about the same thing. But I have decided on a combo, sill per hour, but being very up front about how many poeple I can do in that time and in what detail the parent wants. I have the tendency to want to give everyone the best I've got, mostly cause I really get into it, but I realize that's not really necessary all the time.

I did $8.00 per face for a while.... I am now going to start an hourly fee. I am pokey too... I pay too much attention to detail and just keep adding stuff which slows me down!! LOL

I charge a "package" fee for birthday parties and the rate covers "up to 15" faces in a 2 hour booking ... additional are extra cost. BUT... I have never had to charge extra. Birthday parties here are not huge.

Birthday bookings for me are where I get to paint the fancy faces so I spend more time on them! If less than 15 kids (and it usually is around 10) I really take my time add lots of extras, etc.

So at birthday bookings for me, speed it not really an issue. The festivals really need the speed though.

That makes sense. I like it!

Shannon Fennell wrote:You could. No reason why it wouldn't work... but when more kids show up than expected then it involves adjusting the fee, etc. but it is do-able.

I don't. I actually never charge per face, ever.

So you are taking 10 minutes per face - that actually is okay for a beginner ... how long have you been painting? Speed increases with practise so generally most of us gain speed with experience.

Have you streamlined your designs to speed them up? Have you considered making a menu/display of designs that you have that you CAN complete in 5-7 minutes?

Thanks so much for your reply... I've been painting for four years, BUT just recently became more active in trying to get gigs. So, I would say it is only probably equivalent to 2 years, maybe!! I started out painting murals and still do some, but, I think face painting is for me!
I have a menu board but I'm always changing it because I like to do different designs. But, I guess I shouldn't be trying out new designs at birthday parties! I draw out my designs on a face templates for my board. Makes sense to stick with designs I've done alot for b-day parties. I think I will try charging a package deal for parties and see how it works. Thanks for the great advice Shannon. I really love this forum!!

SuzySparkles wrote:I am pokey too... I pay too much attention to detail and just keep adding stuff which slows me down!! LOL

I do the same thing!!

JBax wrote: I have the tendency to want to give everyone the best I've got, mostly cause I really get into it........

I do the same thing. I am also my worst critic. I always look back at my pictures and find something wrong....but I need to just remember the smile on their face when they looked in the mirror.....priceless!

I'll let everyone know how the package deal works for me. I do not have any current bookings for parties right now. I have a fundraising event and two corporate events in March. I need to get busy finding some work, I can't go three months without face painting!

Thanks for replying. I greatly appreciate everyone's advice.

by working on a smaller set of designs more often, you will be able to get much faster. Of course, painting new things is always more fun, but I'm sure most of us could paint spiderman faster than some of the little simple designs... just from repeated practice.

Shannon Fennell wrote:I charge a "package" fee for birthday parties and the rate covers "up to 15" faces in a 2 hour booking ... additional are extra cost. BUT... I have never had to charge extra. Birthday parties here are not huge.

Birthday bookings for me are where I get to paint the fancy faces so I spend more time on them! If less than 15 kids (and it usually is around 10) I really take my time add lots of extras, etc.

So at birthday bookings for me, speed it not really an issue. The festivals really need the speed though.

I agree with this- this works for me (I have up to 20 kids since birthday parties are big in our area).

~Michelle

I charge in a way that is similar to Shannon's post for parties.
I have a small party rate (up to 10 faces), a meduim party rate (up to 20 faces), and a large party rate (up to 30 faces). There is an additional charge for each face over the limit for that party size. The "Party Rate" is slightly less per hour than my normal hourly rates since the amount of faces is limited. This allows me the time to pay more attention to each design at a party rather than just having to churn out faces every 2 minutes.
If it is an event where the number of faces is unknown, they have the option of hiring at my hourly rate (with a two hour minimum in most cases).
Most go for the party rates since they know how many people they have invited and usually know how many to expect.

Exactly Lisa... that is my reasoning too.

My "Birthday Party" rate is also my "Small Group" rate for up to 15 faces. Then I have "Medium Group" rate for up to 30 faces, then "Large Group" which is my Hourly Rate with a two-hour minimum booking OR "Half-Day Rate (4 hours)" OR "Full-Day Rate (7 hours)"...

I have divided my rates on : Package # 1 up to to 10 faces and package #2 up to 15 in a 2 hour gig. I also explain the people why I charge like that and why I only have 2 packages. My charges are really cheap now, but I'm a begginer (I dont say that to possible clients) I just explain that the packages give me the freedom to add details and spend a reasonable time with each kid. I rarely have any parties of more than 12 kids...Thank god..and once I'm done with 10 or 15 kids I'm gone...unless they ask me to stay longer then I apply my hourly rate..(still cheap , though, I rather have payed gigs than none)

I just tell parents it is my hourly rate with a two hour minimum. They can count on doing one child every 5 minutes and any time over the hour is charged in half-hour increments.

I feel like this discourages them from adding more folks at the last minute, but if it happens, a 30 minute charge isn't so bad for them.

-Metina