A Pricing Guide to Photographers
One of the most asked questions on any photo blog is what should I price my photo sessions? And, funnily enough, a professional photographer’s biggest frustration is the underpriced photographer. So, when another photographer contacted me with a similar question, I realised it might be worth an article.
So where do we start?
OK, you received a camera for Christmas, took a couple of family shots and a few people commented on your “good eye”. You decide that maybe, just maybe, you can earn a few bucks from this. You sit down and create a Facebook page with what you’ve got, and you run your first ad for a family shoot at 20% of what the going rate is. But you’re not exactly very popular amongst your newfound photography friends and you don’t really attract the customers you want to attract. Here’s why and what you should do instead.
Get Experience
Before you can even consider charging anything, you need to gain experience. And you need photos. A lot of it. Offer free shoots. All those family members that commented on your natural talents – turn them into models. You need photos of all ages of people in all kinds of environments. This isn’t something that happens overnight. You have to work on it. And you study. Either you enrol in a program, take courses, or watch YouTube videos, but you study. Being a photographer is more than just pushing a button. And believe it or not – you need people skills too. So, brush up on those too. Gaining experience this way will also give you a good and clear answer if you actually want to do this before you get down to business and start creating pages and ads.
OK, so you pushed through and feel like you have ample experience in the shooting and editing part. (Give yourself at least a year before you set a price). You have built a lovely portfolio; you have done your fair share of online courses and are now as ready as you’ll ever be. Now let’s talk about photography as an art.
PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ART
Yes, photography is an art. Photography involves more than just looking through your viewfinder and pushing a button. Photography is about light, timing and telling a story. A photograph contains as much about the photographer as it does about the model.
How you take that photo tells us a story of who you are and what you see. In fact, several studies have been done on this. Put a man in a room and give five photographers a turn to photograph him. I can guarantee you, that not one photo will be exactly the same. Why? Because each photographer comes from a different background and has different feelings and very different ideals.
What you do with your photos is an art. And by underpricing, you not only undervalue your own work, worth and time, but photography or the art that you create, as a whole.
By asking a price below the current going rate in your area, you also attract budget hunters. People that do not appreciate your art and what you are putting into it. They are just looking for a deal. And sadly, word of mouth is still the best way to market your work. So, if you only have a bunch of cheap customers who spreads the word about your incredibly cheap rates, your future customers will expect to pay just as little.
I can hear your doubt in asking if you can ask exactly the same as the photographer that has been doing this for 10 years. Instead, ask yourself these questions.
How good is your gear?
How much training have you done?
How many free shoots have you offered?
Are you paying for legit, professional editing programs?
Do you have insurance on your gear?
Is your work your pride and joy? Your art?
Do you want to attract high-value clients that will refer you to their friends?
Don’t you think all of the above warrants a proper price?
Darling, then it is time to find out what the other photographers are asking and match their rates. You are worth it, your time is more than worth it and the unique set of skills that you bring to the table, make your photoshoot every cent worth it.
MAKING FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY
And then, last but not least. By asking a rate that makes all the other photographers in your area look expensive, you make a lot of enemies. Enemies that need to be your friends. Why? Because somewhere along the line you need a stand-in.
That wedding that you so much looked forward to photographing – suddenly you are ill and you cannot do it anymore. Or your camera breaks and you quickly need another one. Who will you ask if you have no friends in the photography fraternity?
The other side of the coin is also true, no photographer can take every single enquiry they receive and they too need to refer their clients to someone else. You can be that someone else. In fact, you want to be that someone else.
If you found this article helpful, or even inspiring and would like to read more content like this, drop me a line and I’d be more than happy to listen to your questions /suggestions.
