Assignment Questions

I'd be hesitant to do this strictly on a per bottle shoot. Balance it out with a creative fee somewhere. The reason is that you don't want to get a "oh, well we only got 3 bottles in today so can you shoot the three now and five later on the week and the rest over the course of the next month?" You need something to make sure that you keep them on a schedule and if they try to spread it out over a long period of time you'll be compensated for it. The last thing you want is to have to keep a tabletop set-up prepped full time for it.

This is the sort of job that is easy if you know how to shoot bottles. If you don't, learn. It will save you hours and hours in post. I'm talking white plexi, strip lights, tombstoning, etc. A static brush and lint-free cotton gloves are your best friends.

If they are determined to do a strictly per bottle fee I would require a minimum of 5 or 10 bottles or just add a set-up fee to each shooting day. Call it a "studio fee" or whatever.

Using this method and guessing what the competitive rates are in your area, I would suggest $350 set-up fee and $50/bottle including all usage for a period of time. Truth be told they'll probably find someone to shoot it in a light tent for a fraction of the cost and they'll probably try to talk you down to $25/bottle.

Forces pushing the pricing up:
Your skill and experience. (Presumably, I can't find your website so I don't know if you've shot tabletop before)
Convenience. You're local, make it easy to work with you.
Quality and Professionalism.

Forces pushing the price down:
The $500 tabletop set-up, a tripod, and a halfway decent digital camera, in the right hands, could probably suit most of their needs.
Photography Warehouses. Despite what we like to think, tabletop shots like this are a commodity. You are competing with studios that are designed to shoot hundreds of these a day. Companies ship products to them, they are photographed and returned. The digital retouching is outsourced to India or China for pennies.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure that you protect yourself by a well-worded contract.

Good luck,
matthew

I also agree that you should charge per photo and retain ownership of the photos. Your number seem a wee bit low but I am not that familiar with the Canadian market. I prefer to do unlimited usage for a specific time period - this stops me from being a policeman and checking up on every single client. (I just call them up a few months before the end of the agreed time period and ask them if they still want to use the photos - simple). My usage fee would be in the $100/image range for 3 -5 years. I use usage fees as negotiating points and add or subtract the length as necessary. 

Don't worry about how other photographers have treated them. Go in to the meeting, explain the benefits of your pricing structure and convince them you will give them what they want and more.

How large is the Company in their Industry? Will they use the images in Advertising? Their current photographer hands them images for free? What is the quality of his work?

If they will use your images in Advertising, I would ask what their budget is for Ad Space but will guess that they would not tell you. If it were only website, catalog and marketing materials, I would quote $50-$100 per shot including editing plus expenses. If they need the images for Advertising, I would double that number.

I would be very clear on your Estimate on the usage and get a retainer of 50% before scheduling anything and the balance due upon delivery. I do not grant licensing until I receive payment in full and recommend that you write your  licensing carefully. Good luck in securing the project.