Answer:
Ryan: 25 + 10h Alex: 20 + 11h
Mr. Smith should choose Alex - see below for reasoning
Explanation:
The set-up fee does not change. It has no variable because it's already chosen. However, $/hour has a variable because the more hours a photo session takes, the more this number will increase when multiplied. Mr. Smith provides a good example of this. In his situation, h = 2 because his photo session will take two hours. If he hired Ryan, it would be $25 in set-up fees and then ten dollars per hour (h):
which totals out to $45. If he hired Alex, he would pay $20 for set-up fees and eleven dollars an hour (h):
which totals out to $42. So, Mr. Smith can save a few bucks if he hires Alex.
However, if someone expected hours and hours of photos - say, a fourteen-hour long photo session - then Ryan would be a better choice. His price would be
which totals to $165. Alex's price would be
which totals to $174. But I doubt anyone is going to want a fourteen-hour photo shoot, and I don't think Ryan nor Alex would want to do that either...