What to charge for pro photography?
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2024
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It's REALLY hard to decide what to charge for your professional photography business. We dig deep into different portrait photography pricing models, discuss the benefits of both low and high price points, and show you how to calculate what you need to make a real living wage from your art.
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As a 15+ year pro, I would add that people will refer you to friends that expect the same price you charged the first person. That means you are very unlikely to get a $300 session fee referral if you only charged $40 to someone “because they have a lot of friends”. Earn your way into the market you want to work in.
I also second the importance of perceived value. I know a studio that wanted out of the wedding business because their wedding clients basically were all bridezillas that wanted to choreograph every shot and were never satisfied . Rather than just stop shooting weddings, they literally doubled their prices thinking that would price themselves out of weddings. As you probably guessed, most of what they shoot are very profitable weddings, and the clients respect them as artists.
What happens is this:
A new, inexperienced photographer cannot with any decency charge a professional rate. So they charge a newbie rate. As they do so, they build up a bit of a client network. The photog then gains experience and expenses increase on gear upgrades, lighting, etc. They know their value by experience and quality has gone up. However, the initial network of clients has no intentions of paying much more out of the range of what they had paid before. They lose those clients. Even though the photog doesn’t depend on photography for a living (thank goodness), their former clientele tends to represent people in their area AND the kind of people they’d like to photography.
So, they (myself included) get caught up in the endless trial and error of pricing strategies that are hit and miss. Every time they attempt to price high, there are no takers. Every time they price lower to get a gig and stay active, it winds up turning out the client was wealthy enough to have paid the high price. It’s Murphy’s law, literally. I’ve been doing this for a very long time and retired from it twice because of the lack of respect people have toward the labor of photography.
So I recently decided I just won’t take anything short of top dollar unless the client has stuck with me from day one. And if that means no takers for a year, it’s better than selling myself short. It’s definitely better to NOT have to do photography to pay the mortgage!
@@PeteTaylorPTI last sentence is what allows you to do that. For some it’s make $300 that day.. or $0.. even though they may want $600
I was impressed with how much you managed to cover at a nice smooth pace. Not too rushed, but also did not drag. Good and casual interplay between the 2 of you. Well done.
Your laptop placement is giving me anxiety.
LOL it looked fine from where I was sitting but when I made a thumbnail for this video I wrote to Justin & Chelsea, "Shit remind me never to use the laptop like that again"
Now that I look it, it does look odd lol.
Lol
Distracted me for the entire video lol
haha
As someone who works with both private and business clients. We have done stuff from shoot weddings, instructional video's to content for live events playing on a screen.
It really can be different to how I try to price. In our case, if it's a brand new client.. I talk to them, find out what they want and what they really need.
Often by talking to the client you can tell how much they can or are willing to spend.
If I know we can deliver the service the client wants, by then I have tried to do a quick 'time spend + how much work ( difficulty ) ' calculation for myself.
For a business I don't mind charging a fair but professional price, knowing that if I spend like a full day shooting + a week of post production. I need to keep in mind that I can't do any other work and need to make enough to cover a 3rd of a months cost.
I also want to make sure that I get returning clients, so I don't want to overprice it, so I often try to probe them to see if they have more potential work for us. And I don't mind to go down a little bit in price knowing I could secure future work if I do the current project to their liking.
For private clients, I pretty much assume a 1 time job. depending on how they reach out I can tell if they know our work, or if they came over someone else that we have worked with.
Those clients are easier in my experience, because they already have an idea of what to expect. I usually suggest a price based on that same 'time + what kind of work'. And by talking with them I can usually tell what peoples financial income is and their is nothing wrong with asking what they are looking to spend if you aren't sure.
If they ask an hourly or daily rate, I give a range ( depending on the work ), but I usually mention that we prefer a "per project" pricing that includes most of everything.
So that they know what they get, and we know they can afford it. No one likes hidden costs.
Of course we try to maximize the price, but we never go too far over what we would be willing to pay if we needed to have the same thing done by a colleague.
Unfortunately we're not big enough to reject work, since every bit of work is always welcome. Even if you might not like the client for what ever reason or the pay isn't as good as you expect. But there are two ways to handle people low balling / not being able to afford your services..
1. Explain that you need to be able to pay for your tools and costs of operation, and that you know your work is worth that price because of your portfolio of previous work.
That people pay for your experience, skill, and time you spend perfecting your craft VS 'some guy' with a camera that does it for a 3rd of your price.
As a "pro" you offer a consistent level of quality and professionalism, this is a selling point for your pricing. The amount of times we have heard and seen on jobs that the 'some guy' didn't have anything that was near acceptable, is too often.
Maybe offer a payment plan, to ease the financial costs of shooting something like a $3000 wedding. You would be surprised how people will be more willing to accept a higher price then they expected.
2. Simply stand you ground, thank them for reaching out to you. Tell them that you understand the situation and would still want to work with them in the future. But that you need to decline their request due to the fact that their budget or exceptions currently don't allow you to provide the services you offer.
And sometimes we accept smaller projects or lesser payed work, because we need to fill in space between bigger / better projects.
Just so we have some extra cash to upgrade some gear or cover some costs that we had to make.
As long as the client feels like they got a good deal for their money and i know i am not heavily underpaying myself for the work you do.. I don't mind being "generous" from time to time.
I found this quite helpful, particularly about standing your ground. I've just been told my pricing was too high for a set job but for the amount of work involved I thought it was quite fair but of course this came with some doubt. This is reassuring thank you
"I have a whole lifetime of experience with dudes underestimating things." Fantastic quote there Tony.
Tearing up the print "sales strategy" is priceless! Interesting how most customers see so much additional value in a finished print (that may only actually cost a few dollars to print), yet they see so little value in most photographer's "time"!
Good stuff (as always). Here in northern Virginia I haven’t had many requests for prints - whether doing a portfolio builder for a model; head shots for clients; or family photos - it’s always a digital delivery. After post I export just the number of jpegs needed, and have an optional add-on fee for extras. I shoot with a Sony Alpha-99 SLT, M2, so even my full size jpegs are ~20-24 meg, so should a client want to print, the image will be great (even at poster size). Most of my work comes in as flat rate (folks find it easier) but I also offer an hourly rate - with a 2 hour minimum for shooting and a 4 hour minimum for post & delivery. Lastly, I have an annual membership at a local studio. If using the studio ($200/year membership fee and $45/hour, min 2 hour fee - my costs), I’ll add a $150 studio fee (per 2 hours). I don’t charge that add-on if shooting at a customer site or in my home studio. Keep up the outstanding work - great Podcast and YT show!
Excellent breakdown, thank you
A friend of a friend called me so I can shoot her wedding. We talked about location, time, etc., we got together to show her my portfolio, she did not have a computer. We talk about my price and she said that it was too much, and counter offered me half of what I asked. She proceded to tell me of her daughters sweet sixteen photos she had a month before, she went to Miami and paid $1500 for them. She traveled 6 hrs, hotel, food, etc., and she wanted to pay me half of my fee. At that moment, I said thank you for your interest, and walked away. I did recommend a person that does weddings for less than $500. I do give discounts, but this was ridiculous. Lots of my photographer friends are no longer doing weddings because of this reason.
I suggest two excellent books. _Accounting for Dummies_ and _Cost Accounting for Dummies_ . "For Dummies" is a publishing company. These books will help a person figure out what it costs to provide services. The books won't replace an accountant, but they will provide a good starting point for figuring out expenses, including hidden costs.
Jacob Roberts Good rule of thumb is 20% net profit/in your pocket in any business.
This is a great suggestion - I read Accounting for Dummies maybe 20 years ago and it seriously changed my life and career.
This is a great suggestion - I read Accounting for Dummies maybe 20 years ago and it seriously changed my life and career.
Yes! looking into those books now. All this starting a business and learn how to set prices is all way too confusing.
Very useful information. I should definitely look into those books.
Thanks for the great video guys! I just booked my 1st pro photography shoot on location today with a deposit and the price I asked. I'm diving in deep to be current and as skilled as possible, considering. Lol
I've been an amateur since forever so taking it to the next level is both exciting and a lil daunting. I appreciate your down-to-earth approach and reasonable pricing suggestions for equipment. -Wish me luck.
A year and more after, this is adding sooo much value to my current business planning process. Thank You 🙏🏾
Yo how is it going
Hey!! Oklahoma guy here!! FYI: It's 3 goats and 2 chickens unless if the bride and groom are NOT related then it's an extra goat but I'll take a Walmart gift card too. 😁
Such a tricky thing, shooting sports is probably the hardest thing.
I have shot a motorsport event (for porsche owners...) in 38 degree+ heat, 8 hours + processing time
When i posted up the gallery, I had one owner say "oh we have to pay? I thought we were giving you a good subject to shoot so they would be free"....
Dont get me started on the whole argument of should images be put on facebook for publicity to hope drive sales.
Putting a huge watermark over them to stop theft, or low resolution isnt a great ad
Put up decent res and small watermark, good luck selling one!
Hahaha... How about a video on "clients to avoid"?
This would be a great topic.
This would be a great topic.
When someone wants to schedule a wedding and we agree on price and I'll do the photos and everything else. Then a day later they start asking about "photo booths", prints, "are those included". Those people will not be good clients and I usually just avoid at that point.
I agree. Their characteristics etc. Let me know if you need OUR help! I have tons of tips to spot them a mile a way
Clients from hell? :D
Well, here in Brazil all things are to dificult, and my first attempt to set a Photo business ruin, but people like you keep me up to date and with high moral to try again. The simplicity as you do the things are awsome! And you're are like a perfecto couple.
Thanks a lot, for everything!
How is it going
I got lucky getting photos taken professionally in Korea. This was a large photo shoot in a studio with a bunch of different themes, for wedding photos. We asked for the originals because we wanted to post some to Facebook, and they gave us ALL of them (500+) on a CD. At the time we thought it was really nice of them, but now doing some videography I feel shocked they'd give us those. It was really a huge favor.
When our babies were little, we were POOR. My wife went to department store, "penny-a-pound," studios and just got the one free 8x10. Those pics are treasures today.
Terrific video - sound advice that would be applicable to any business. But it was also fun watching you guys interact with each other. I was experiencing a lot of stress when I sat down to watch this and afterwards I just felt GREAT! Thanks.
Takes me at least 1.5hours to do basic (but pro) retouching for only 1 photo. I charge $25/hr. Some people and high-end charge $50-100/hr (magazine “tears”, flagship marketing photos, etc.); and these retouchers take several hours or even days for 1 photo. Don’t sell yourself short people; it keeps our pay higher and helps us all.
@Less Talk, More Delicious You should be charging a lot more than $25/hr if the market in your area can bear it. $50/hr would be a minimum for pros.
People who make websites did that people ended up working for less than minimum wage so how the hell can people compete with that? Thats why I didnt get into computer programming for a career I learned it so I can make my own websites. Sometimes I wish web developers would refuse to work for under minimum wage but theres so many that do. You get what you pay for too, usually amateur photographers or programmers may be able to get the work done for cheaper but they obviously don't put as much care as someone who makes more. People who need wedding photos generally understand that and pay good prices to photographers.
@jimmyfly what are you smoking? Professional retouching can easily take hours and hours for a single photo. You may not know this but retouching can involve more than just wacking around the spot healing brush...
@jimmyfly he said 1.5 hours not days...
@jimmyfly dude your last post literally says if you're spending days something is wrong. 🤔
And I was just creating a pricing list and this popped up lol
haha same I've been trying to figure out rates for a while now lol
MWD games im in the metro atl area so I found 10 photographers and adjust to your worth. So much business here you can't lose. Here the min. Is around 1500
whoa man that's crazyyy I live in birmingham and the rates are no where near that high bro
That much? 😱🤔👨🏾💻🛫
WE KNOW, BRANDON. YOUR WISH IS OUR COMMAND.
I don't care what the subject of the video is. I simply cannot refuse to watch 30 minutes of sassy Chelsea and chill/lit Tony.
Gavin Wade Lol. No joke, a majority of the videos I watch might not even pertain yet I enjoy them just the same. Always first rate and knowledgeable
@Scott Murphy This is a while back, but I think you misinterpreted the OP. It is a compliment - he said he "cannot refuse" to watch them. That's good. :)
why didnt it end at 42 ? tony was clearly right
goodbye and thanks for all the fish
And always carry a towel.
Well, it's a good thing that you have this channel and your audience to back up your book's reputation. We all know it's quality work.
22:05 - Unretouched? No way. You're not getting any product that *I* don't think is finished. :)
Absolutely love you two ! My wife and I started our photography business because of you. Purchased the book a few years ago and love it!
How's your photography business going?
Nice hitchhikers guide to the galaxy reference, Tony.
Tony it’s funny that you mentioned Oklahoma, which is where I live right now. People here are mostly penny pinching and I am struggling to find the right pricing. I am starting as a pro right now and trying to create a business for my retirement with portraits and real estate. Hopefully by the end of this video I will be less confused. Thank you for your great job!
Nice video, guys! The only 'complain' I have is related to overestimation of prints value. Current society is in the state of transformation how the information is shared and perceived as well as level of culture is definitely going down (in average people are less likely to go to see some play in theater then blockbuster movie). Not talking about 'Instagram'-generation. People care about nice social media photos, not 20x30 prints. As well as people are not ready to pay hundreds of dollars for metal printed portraits, that they will definitely want to replace with newer ones in a year (and might need to pile up metal sheets in backyard). I would even say that I can foresee future where digital picture frames will take their place and changing a wall-size picture screens will be the norm. Times when photography (and prints) will become a sign of good tastes and prosperity are not here yet, and might never come. Having said that I think that more agile and flexible photographers will rule the industry and properly prepared digitals are the way to move. Just my 2 cents.
When I first started out the first year I only made 12,000 total. Definitely not livable, but for my skill level and location I couldn’t imagine charging more than $150 for an hour portrait session. Thanks to my sister, who was way more business savvy by the third year I was making way more and charging a better amount
I live in a large city and shoot editorial and advertising. Editorial usually pays a flat rate for the assignment and advertising I look at usage, time to shoot and post process and company size before I price my fee out.
Work with a print maker is smart advice. Prints rarely look like your monitor (even your calibrated monitor will look different to a professional print, imagine someone's £200 laptop screen....).
I used to work in a camera shop, where we also made c-type prints. I was shocked by how many good photographers were surprised (even offended....) that their prints weren't identical to their monitors on the first run.
Oh, and if you do digital delivery with print-licence, be sure the client gets a print release with both their and your name on it (plus your phone number).
They can show that to the print maker to absolve any concerns about breaching copyright and creating unauthorised files.
Photographers who only give out analog prints are a nightmare to me. What am I supposed to do with them? Scan them right back into a digital file of course. The number of memorable moments I now only have as scans with dust and specks on them is depressing, simply because those photographers would not give out digital files. Offer me a good deal on prints, an I'll order some additionally.
I love your podcasts. Your insights have been extremely helpful for me, and when I repeat some of the stuff you tell me to my friends they think I'm some kind of genius. I just want to say, Tony has got a great sense of humor, but somehow Chelsea makes me literally laugh out loud on every episode. I don't know, she just has a direct line to my funny bone. Thank you guys.
42. Perfect! The answer to life, the universe and everything.
You guys are so freaking entertaining. What do you charge for stand-up? No, really...how much?
42
James from Sweden here, Thank you soooooooooo much!!! This was really helpfull!!!!! ❤️😘❤️
I love your books and videos, but 42... you just won me over even more. Especially Chelsea for knowing what Tony is on about! #DouglasAdams
Just last weekend at the Stanford Shopping Center, people were lined up to have their kids' photo taken with the Easter Bunny. This in the heart of Silicon Valley, where everyone loves tech and their phones. But still, there's apparently a demand for a "mall photographer," and not just at JCP.
The Stunning Digital Photography book is great. I bought it a few month ago, and I have been learning a lot, and I genuinely recommend it. The thing is Tony mentions the 14 hours of video, and asserts that others would charge $500 for them. Maybe so, but they probably wouldn't give the same videos away free of charge at the same time. I'm not sure which 14 hours of video are ONLY for buyers of the book because the links in the book I've used go to RUclips videos that are publicly available without buying the book, on this very channel, but with different titles to those linked in the book that go to Tony's channel. So they are not really added value, or exclusive to the book, and shouldn't be used as a marketing argument against what others would charge for them. For example, 'Architecture and Travel' (unlisted on Tony's channel) has exactly the same TUTORIAL content as 'Photographing Buildings and Architecture in Cities-Photography Tutorial' on this channel; and the 'Showing Depth' video linked from the book is the same tutorial as 'Composition-A Digital Photography Tutorial' on this channel. There are other examples of videos that I watched before buying the book that have the same tutorial content. When things are given away to almost a million subscribers with no perceived/market value attached, they cannot suddenly be worth $500 with a book for the same free tutorials.
With all of that said, I still do recommend the book because you will learn so much about your camera and compositions; and all of the photo examples in the book were taken by Tony & Chelsea, so you know the result matches the advice.
Very well articulated and informative. I think many people will benefit from this. Setting pricing is actually more difficult than many realize. Research is key and knowing what your time/expenses/expertise are worth is extremely important. So is presentation... Yup, more difficult than many think...
Photography/Videography is a pretty cheap way to become a small business owner with the potential to make well above the 6-figure threshold! If you don’t have the cash you can finance $10k to $60k and have every single thing you need from a multi cam setup with a vehicle and at least one powerhouse computer to process your images and a nice printer for beautiful prints. If you create a well thought out business plan and don’t mind putting the time and patience in you really can be your own boss and have more fun in life.
Upvote just for Tony's "42" answer
This video came out at the perfect time for me. I'm just starting out and just booked my first paid session 2 days ago. I'll definitely follow your suggestions regarding the pricing.
I always enjoy your videos, Thanks for making them.
Another highly beneficial video! Thank you Tony and Chelsea! The quality of your relationship shows through this video and it is invaluable. Thanks again for your hustle!
“I’m shook”. Chelsea you’re the best! 😂
I know this is late in the game - but don't forget Olan Mills. I think most of our family pictures growing up had an Olan Mills logo stamped in the corner. And apparently they are still in business.
Chelsea's sense of humour is priceless :-)
cheers
Love you guys :)!! Love how you're both so full of information and support and the way you're both so loving and gentle with each other :)
What a wonderful couple of professionals sharing always something valuable. Whit you is always easy to understand where to go and where I am stand up. Thank you very much for share. 😘🙏🤗
I think the current going rate in West Texas is Half-a-Goat with a One-Goat minimum (thanks to PITA).
So long and thanks for all the fish!
I wish I had watched this a few weeks ago, I wouldn't be scratching my head to figure out how I will be able to get the job done without ripping myself!
How is it going
I have a great management job and make good money. I got into photography. 9 months ago. After working 8 hours a day I'll study photography for at least six hours everyday. For the last 9 months whether it's watching tutorials on RUclips. Reading books or practice practice practice. I've done a few events and did a great job. I've also got pretty good referrals but my photography has grown so much so fast that I even shocked myself. I'm now working with a three light Studio and the second living room in my house. The expenses are astronomical. From the computer software to the lenses to the backdrops just strobes then you got to get your soft boxes in your Beauty dishes. Just my computer was on a $2,000. I'm acting using the same computer as Tony. I have the HP Spectre 360 gym cut with 16 gigs of RAM and two terabytes of storage. Then I had to buy an additional external hard drives. So the list goes on and on and on I know what you mean
Chelsea looks more and more like actress Katey Sagal (Peg Bundy) from "Married with Children" as I watch more of their videos.
15:00 mark, tearing the photo in half, reminds me of something i was told, that you should wrap empty gift boxes for kids around christmas and when they misbehave grab them from under the tree and throw them in the fire to teach them a lesson LOL
What if i run out of kids?
Lol I now know where you are I grew up getting family photos at that jc penny in the crystal mall. Oh and the clam chowder in the bread bowl.
Absolutely useful video. When it comes to taxes and deductables, it varies from country to country. In the Netherlands for example, you can NOT deduct a percentage of your housing costs for running your business from home - unless a part of your home is exclusively for your business, with its own front door, it's own bathroom, kitchen etc.
Klopt! And please tell that to every sales person on the phone that tries to sell you a 'business' energy contract.
That actually opened my eyes to many issues. Thanks!
Hey guys great stuff! Wondering if you guys can make an updated pricing video with todays trends and changing genres such brand shoots for small and big companies, or even editorials with some insight as to how to approach it coming out covid lockdown.
Love the placement of the Photoshop book, very nice touch. Suggestive selling.
Where I live there's an association of professional photographers and they stipulate the rates, so photographers can't charge below but I'm sure there are many who do.
That was funny "did you go hell for a very small amount of time" - Chelsea lmao I am stealing that
great video .. realy liked the tv studio style camera angles.. must be hard to get used to
this past Saturday , i done prom photo session (around 130 fully retouched photos) for $100 , it only took me about 2 hours shooting time plus around 15 hours post edit time !
As an Oklahoman... Yeah, that sounds about right.
Dylan Perkins I was thinking the Thinking what should I change in Oklahoma and then he said that and was like. Yep sounds good.
Am in Oklahoma and need product photography
I lived in claremore for about 8 months coming from Seattle and I hated it
You guys should go to JCP for a portrait, then take your own shots and compare - pose and backdrop/props stay the same, but lighting and composition can change.
Also would be taking JCP shots and retouching them yourselves to show the value of the retouching.
Thank you for keeping you book so affordable. Let's say I'm on an extreme budget. Whereas I could never imagine spending $300 on each of the various courses offered on fstoppers, I can absolutely spare $10 for your book. Haven't done it yet, but as soon as I have money I swear I will.
Time is so tricky... Some days it will actually go faster than others. It might seem set to a certain speed, but it's not. XD - But yea, you never know how long something will take and it usually takes longer. - The way I calculate something is very generously, like when you'd expect something to take an hour, perhaps add half an hour or fluff, and then... add a day.
You guys are simply the best, this is why Pros watch your videos.
Woah, 2-4 retouched photos only? I retouch all of the best pictures (that shows their face) and send it, then again, I'm still improving and expanding my brand but I did notice that everyone else I see posting senior portraits would post like 1-3 pictures while those who would share the ones I took post 5-8 pictures. On average I send around 20-30, depending on how well the shoot went. Right now I'm charging $80-$100 but I am primarily doing senior portraits and for the most part, it's students I know so I do love working with them and making them look amazing in pictures.
Are you even making minimum wage for your time at those prices? Not to mention making absolutely nothing to cover the cost of your gear.
@@michaelclark9762 I believe so, I live in Hawaii so most locations are pretty close by and it doesn't really take me long to edit unless there's like a few pictures that are really amazing that I want to make look even better but this is completely a freelance thing since I have 2 jobs right now so I'm fine right now with not charging that much.
I am a student and i was saving for a new camera but i loved you guys so buying your book will come before the sony a7riv😊❤️
Still have a lot to learn✊🏻
An employee gets roughly one week off for legal holidays and two weeks paid vacation, so also remember your hourly rates need to cover at least 120 "vacation hours" in every year. Lots of things like that really impact your overhead.
I can't imagine leaving home for less than $350. Packing, unpacking gear, setup, and travel can take 3-4 hours alone. Plus another 3-4 hours for all the other stuff. Pretty much a full day's work.
Would really like to hear more of your pricing thoughts and strategy
@@damianranko9740 always charge the highest rate possible you need to make $1000 a day considering you will never be fully booked.
In person sales require two things:
A. Belief in your work. Do you truly believe that your work will enhance your clients' lives? Will they be pleased every time they see your work on their walls? Will it make them happy in their old age? Will it make their children happy to inherit it? If you believe that, you can sell what you believe. If it's commercial, will it actually solve your clients' problems? Will it enhance their profits? Will it make their businesses run better? Whatever you are selling as the business of photography, you have to believe in it, and that belief is what you can enthusiastically sell. Otherwise, let it just be your personal hobby...and a lot of photographers dream of being professionals, but they don't really believe their work will do anything special for anyone.
B. Don't think of IPS as "upselling." Upselling is kind of a bait-and-switch tactic: You pretend up front that you're only going to cost the client a little, then you push them to buy a lot more. Done properly, you should up-front about what you're really selling, what you really expect the client to purchase. Proposing products and their prices should be part of the very first consultation. It's also a good rule of thumb to balance the session fee against the total hoped-for sale. People will be comfortable with paying up to three times the session fee. If your session fee is $25 and you try to sell them $500 in products, they will feel it's a "hard sell." But if your session fee is $400, they will feel it's still a fair deal if they wind up spending $1000 in products.
15:00 Photographer way back in my kindergarden actually did this. He took the pictures of every child there and actually give everyone finished prints to take home where the parents could decide if they want them or not and most of them did.
I do like Tony’s strongman tactics on ripping the prints up if they don’t purchase them. I’ll have to give this a try! Lol
Golden video! Thanks guys!
Love this video! So informative in a fun and entertaining way!
Love listening your podcast while editing photos.
Very helpful!! Thank you for posting. Im in the process of getting this in place.
Again, another very helpful and informative video. Thank you very much for your wonderful books and Affordable educational materials!
Very insightful guys! Thanks for sharing. I love all of your videos.
Guys thank you so much this helped me a lot I struggled so much on this pricing thing it is a great blessing thank you.
lol. I'm going to buy your book. DON'T change the price. The price is affordable. I'm a stay at home mom who is trying to start a photography business. Please keep the price as is!
For the context in Bangladesh, a country right beside india The top of the top Photographers charge just 2000 dollars for a 3 day wedding. With a lot of assistants and editing panels. And fyi gears costs double with no official warranty . And the official ones cost 6 times the us price. Like a sony a7 iii runs for 3000 us dollars here from unofficial retailers.
Would LOVE to see a video of Chelsea playing the piano.... :-)
I think it's worth mentioning that others can be a good indicator of the value of the product you are producing. If you are completely buried with work at your current rates, people are obviously valuing your work above what you're charging. At this point it's probably wise to incrementally keep raising your rates till they match the value that clients are recognizing.
Once upon a time before everyone became a photographer, pretty much everyone had a "sitting fee". In short, let's say you had a sitting fee of $75.00. All that meant was they pretty much had the pleasure of getting to spend one or two hours with you while you took their portraits. Or, that was your fee or rate to take their portrait. They didn't get anything for it. It was an expectation. I knew photographers that were anywhere from $50 to $200 for their sitting fee. This was in the late 90's into the mid 2000's. I know it was happening before then as well.
It stopped once everyone became a photographer because they got a DSLR for Christmas or DSLR's came down in price and everyone could buy one.
Just think how much better todays photographers could do if they started to actually charge a "sitting fee" again.
“Just think how much better today’s photographers could do if they started to actually charge a sitting fee again.”
This is an out of date point of view that doesn’t make any sense for the progress and continued growth of the photography industry. The extreme shift in supply / demand of the market for photographers with the introduction of the DSLR was a major disruption because of the groundbreaking technology and accessibility it gave to the masses. It created massive supply so the prices were driven down and pricing structures started to change. The same thing is currently happening to cab drivers with Uber, hotel companies with Airbnb, etc.
The change of pricing structures isn’t a bad thing. It’s a natural effect of the supply and demand of the market. There may be more supply now, but there is also more demand than ever for brand photography for social media, etc.
The sitting fee would not make sense in the market today because its a completely different industry with different needs than it was back in the day. So why not look toward the future and think about the positives to being able to price yourself in different ways.. rather than living in the past?
Rude asf.
Your use of nostalgia clearly shows you’re better than everyone else
I do IPS and offer a low res digital versions of purchased prints with my logo in the corner for them to share on social media with instructions and in the contract not to edit or print them
Christopher O'Grady probably won't stop them trying haha.
Scriptosaurus rex yeah some people are determined, but it’s the compromise I’ve found to work pretty well
Glad it has been a successful strategy for you so far.
My cynicism on it, fwiw, only comes from being on the other side. I used to work in a place where we provided (moderately) HQ prints. The crap some customers spewed when we noticed they were asking to print copyrighted material hahaha.
My personal favourite is the customers who claimed to have a print release. Right there, on their phone. 'Looking at it right now' and all. Odd how they refused to show it to me though (I am not even kidding - I think the answer was something like 'I don't have to do that'). I was absolutely creasing after they left the shop and I had wished them 'good luck' (admitedly a bit passive agressive - wasn't intentional I promise) as they were telling me they are taking their business elsewhere. My name got taken and I was promised a big complaint would come my way - never happened obviously!
did you know it was copyrighted because of the watermarks?
It is copyrighted from the second you've created the image. The watermark is just another safeguard to deter people from stealing.
Informative and entertaining, great video.
Hi tony and Chelsea
The price factor is difficult to achieve..... potential clients are asking why pay where their iphone / Huawei and Samsung photo can do the job ....
And in Asia where I am ppl are not willing to pay for photography they expect free ....
Can you discuss how to determine if you should conduct business as a sole proprietor, doing business as, limited liability corporation, etc.?
Though I’m retired I’ve always had two passions. Playing the guitar and photography. I have played in a band off and on through the years. During the pandemic the band has not been able to play with all gatherings being postponed / cancelled. I’m now saving money because we’re not Playing gigs. I see now I should have chosen my other passion to make a little extra money.
I'm from Oklahoma, Tony. How dare y...actually, quite funny lol. Much love to you two, thanks and keep up the good work!
Excellent info. I subscribed. Really instructive! Thanks!
Thanks, great stuff! You covered a lot of area with great tips.
Thanks for sharing, it does help me to know how to approach responsibly for commissions with photographers and illustrators alike
Most fail because even if they are good photographers, they are usually lousy sales people. For the most part, this is a sales job. Those that make it believe in their prices and have no problem asking for it AND getting it. In other words, they are good SALES people. Taking a great images isn’t enough. It doesn’t sell itself.
Great advice! Good lessons for all levels of professionals and beginners.
Another great and informative Video, all of this applies to every business