Starting into the photography business is kind of hard here in Utah, not gonna lie. Here's my dilemma. Pricing.
I started out reasonably low because
1. I was just starting out and learning the basics to take a good photograph.
2. I wanted to give people a chance to get their pictures taken at a decent price but still better quality than a point and shoot.
3. Photography isn't about the making money for me. I LOVE taking photographs of things and people. It's so fun to capture it all. I thought I may get more clientele so I could just shoot shoot and be happy that I can take photos to my delight. Not the case.
In the photography world, newbies that start out with low prices are labeled as the "cheap photographer". I guess in price and quality.
I know how it is when you're starting out a family and you don't have a lot of moola to spend but would like some great photos of your family. That was my thinking when I set my first price that I did. I thought it would be okay because they could browse through my work and see that I do understand the basics of photography and could give them some good shots for a nice price. But talking to some people, (a lot from my husband and bro-in-law) I guess I didn't realize that having it as low as I did made people think "oh she must not be that good if she only charges X amount." You have to put a lot of time and learning into photography, I was cheapening the talent and time it really does take.
Now I'm not saying I'm amazing by any means! I still have A LOT to learn, and still consider myself an amateur , I do think I have progressed a lot from the beginning and I also know I'll never be done learning.
What are your thoughts as far as all this goes? I wanna know what everyone thinks when it comes to seeing a photographers pricing? I'm beginning to see what my husband was saying about what 'people out there' think when they see prices for photography, but of course sometimes I just want to be the one that's right and not believe him. haha.
I WANNA HEAR IT!! So leave your comments bold and proud, I wanna know what you think.
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deconstructing healing
5 months ago
That's an interesting question. I do think there is some truth to the idea that the higher your prices the more people believe you are "qualified". But at the same time, I am super cheap and I won't hire someone who charges a ton.
ReplyDeleteI would bet it's also hard to establish a clientele in Utah.
You could keep your higher price listed and then run specials every few months giving cheap people (like me) the chance to book you for less. Haha- I just want you to keep your price lower so I can keep hiring you a couple times a year.
i have no idea. sorry! haha, but i want to get family pics here in austin within the next month or two. how much do you charge? that way i could kinda see what people charge around herE?
ReplyDeleteI like Carly's idea. You could charge higher and then run specials. I am also frugal but would like to have some nice pics of the family and can't afford people that are pricey. So I would look at how much a person charged and if I could afford it then look at their work, if I didn't like that one then I would look at the next step up and so on. I really do like the monthly special idea especially since it would make the person hiring you feel like they scored an awesome deal, which they really are because your pictures are awesome! Wish we lived closer :(
ReplyDeleteDo you charge for location? Traveling to places, to their homes, or specific areas not where you normally go, maybe you could charge for that. Time, is always an issue and where you live is a huge issue, cuz if you lived here it would be totally different. Did you hand out business cards at the temple when you were there with Cori? I like the idea of cheaper cuz I'm cheap but I can totally see the whole point of she must not be as good...but if they see your work, they could be their own judge too. Running sales is a good idea too.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know how much you charge so it's hard to say without knowing your price range right now. But, (before you came along) I had another photographer that was great and did our family pictures when Luke was just born and it was $50. AWESOME for cheapy Megan. Then when Luke was about 9 months we contacted her again, her price was at $75. Ok, no big deal (I still wasn't thrilled) and we contacted her to do Luke's 1yr pictures and she was $150. So in like 10 months her price doubled. (I think she's at like $200 now) And I guess people will pay it, but that seems like a lot to me. I am one of those people that probably wouldn't pay more than $100 for like an hour-long shoot and maybe 20 proofs with the ability to print them where I want. I don't even know if that is reasonable in the photography world.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that if I find someone at a decent price that does a killer job (like you - seriously, Luke's pictures are still hanging in our house. I'm about ready for a re-shoot, he'll be 2 soon!) I will be a loyal customer.
I also kind of like the idea of travel expense, if it's more than 20 miles or something add a $10 or $20 fee. Charge extra if they want you to bring props or anything like that.
I actually have quite a strong opinion on the topic and since I'm up with Jack at 4am here it is... :) Here's how I see it- you get what you pay for (most of the time) with a photographer HOWEVER there are oodles of newbies to photography especially in Utah who aren't as good as they think they are and are inundating the market heavily. So the "she must not be good if she doesn't charge much" isn't true unless you were ridiculously lower than your competition. Remember your an artist, let your work speak for itself. Look at your work compared to other artists (you know the ones I mean- not girls who are jumping on the photography band wagon- the real talented photographers) and decide your price from there. You can tell immediately by looking at a portfolio/gallery if the individual has raw ability or not. I would normally say not to compare yourself when it comes to art but once you charge it's a business even if it's just something you love and your not doing it for the money.
ReplyDeleteI recently got infant photos for Jack and was SO dissappointed with what people charge here for an infant shoot ($350-$550 w/rights), I ended up going with an inexpensive photographer ($150) who clearly had amazing raw talent and am really pleased. I did wonder "why is she so much cheaper" but once I confirmed she didn't have any hidden fees and I saw her photos I was sold. I would tell anyone about her.
I would expect A LOT from a more pricey photographer (with the proper experience)- you want to find a medium where you say "I'm not this perfected ($$$$) yet but I'm not this untalented ($). You can more easily lose clients from being too pricey than being too cheap (this is especially true in practical, family oriented populations). You have an eye for it, you have incredible talent and so much potential, your work looks tremendous!!!! Don't lump yourself with the other trend photographers, you are much better than that. Base your pricing off of your real competition and that's photographers with similar talent, knowledge and experience.
I would stay conservative in your pricing but don't sell yourself short. Remember you could always offer more later and charge more with it as you get more and more refined in your media.
Oh and I would say have fewer "fees" lumping them together is very appealing because then there's no wondering what the final cost will be.
There's your book! Lol hope this helps a little. Good luck! Love you!!
oh and I don't know your friend Joanie but I'm 2 hours from her here in College station, Texas and the photographers are VERY expensive here compared to Utah/Idaho area. Like I said the cheapest I found was $350-$550 for an Infant shoot before I found the $150 one I used. Infant shoots can be long but still it shouldn't be as much as some people charge- in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend here who is excellent and does family shoots for $350 (for 3 hours with rights).
I am nowhere as knowledgeable as your other friends on here :) but here is my experience trying to find a photographer. I ALWAYS look at quality of pictures first, not price. If I find someone whose work I love, then I check their prices. Usually they are too expensive (I am so cheap!), but occasionally I stumble upon someone who is very talented and reasonably priced, like the lady who did my wedding/engagement pictures. I was so happy when I found someone who did a really awesome job, for not a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteI think you are amazingly talented, so I would not count you out just because your price was lower than others! In fact I would be thrilled.
There is my two cents, hope it helped :)
When we get family pictures done, I ask around to see who my family and friends recommend, then I look at the photographer's work, as it speaks for itself. If I like what I see, then I check price, and if it's too much I have to look elsewhere. For us it does come down to price. I LOVE beautiful family photographs, but compared to buying clothes or food or gymnastics classes, awesome pictures end up low on the totem pole. If I were lucky enough to find someone like you, who is AMAZING but not too pricey, I would be ecstatic! So that's my thought process in looking for a photographer. The last family photographs we had taken were nice, but I didn't like them as much as I like yours. She was just starting out. From what I remember, we paid about $150 for our family of 7, for roughly an hour of her time and a cd of all the shots. I don't know how that compares to your prices. It is pretty typical for photographers to start cheaper and then increase their prices as they gain experience, people pretty much expect that. If I were you, I would look at other photographers with a similar style/skill level and try to hit the middle of the road as far as price. Don't be the cheapest, and don't be the most expensive. When it comes down to it, I think you would turn away more families like us by being too expensive, than by being too cheap. That's my 2 cents. And if the Utah market is flooded, you could always move down here!!
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