Here is a great read on photographers' pricing. :)
Go to: http://www.takeoffyourmommygoggles.com/consumers/about-pricing/
The text from the website:
You probably own a digital camera of some type. The most popular
ones these days are point and shoot digital cameras, averaging in the
$150-200 range. You probably snap some pictures with it from time to
time, download them to your computer, and print them out as 4×6 glossy
prints at Walgreens for fifty cents apiece. So you might have a degree
of sticker shock when you take a look at the pricing of Professional
Photographers, and wonder why it costs so much. I mean after all, you
could take the family to the local Sears Portrait Studio and come out
with a stack of pictures for a hundred bucks or so. Why in the world is
it going to cost you many hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have
a session with a Professional Photographer and get some pictures on the
wall?
Professional Photographers are not chain stores. They are individual
people/familes/couples who decided to pursue their art and start up a
business. Each one is unique and has their own way of doing things and
their own pricing. But some universal truths apply to all Professional
Photographers.
1. We are businesses. That means that all money you
pay your Professional Photographer doesn’t just leave your checkbook
and fly directly into his or her pocket. We have taxes to pay,
equipment to buy, payroll, perhaps studio overhead - a LARGE portion of
the prices that we charge for our work goes toward business expenses.
In fact, an in-depth survey by the PPA (Professional Photographers Of America)
found that the most profitable home-based studios took home just 32% of
their sales as profit, and retail based studios had an even lower
profit rate of 28%. And that’s the *most* profitable businesses.
Let’s say that the ‘average’ Professional Photographer falls short of
the most profitable businesses by about 20%, so the ‘average’
home-based Professional Photographer is taking home about 26% of
sales. In simple terms, that means that if you spent $1000 with your
photographer for the session and your print choices, just $260 of the
money you paid him ends up in his pocket. The rest goes to all the
other expenses involved in running the business.
2. We have a specific skill. If you are a chef at a
restaurant, I respect that you have more skills and experience in
cooking than I do. I can ask you what type of pans you like to use, and
I can go out and buy the same kind of pans, and it doesn’t mean I will
create a delicious complicated 7 course meal tonight. If you are a
hairdresser, I respect that you have more skills and experience with
cutting hair than I do. I can ask you what brand of scissors rocks your
world, and I can go out and buy the same pair, but that doesn’t mean
you should let me cut your hair.
Just because everyone can purchase a camera at a big box store
doesn’t mean that photography is easy. It’s not. Like any other skill,
it takes time, practice, experience – and a dose of talent doesn’t
hurt either! The chef who has proven that he can cook incredible meals
every night for ten years in a row probably commands more per plate at
his restaurant – his expertise means that he doesn’t flip burgers for
minimum wage. The same principle applies. You trust professionals to
cut your hair, operate on your gallbladder, and do your taxes – and it
costs many times more to pay them to do it than it would cost to do it
yourself (and I’m pretty sure you can’t operate on your own gallbladder
no matter what!) You’re paying for the talent and skills that person
has honed. It costs more. Most things that are worth having do.
3. We’re not getting our prints from Walgreens.
Professional Photographers tend to be extremely picky about the product
that they put in clients hands. It’s a reflection of their work, and it
has to look fantastic. All products come from labs and vendors that
cater specifically to Professional Photographers. The prints, canvases,
frames, and other products we deliver to our clients are a higher
quality than what is available to the general public – and it should be
no surprise that they cost more too. Is it worth it? Here’s a test
for you – do you have any pictures of yourself or your family from say
20-30 years ago that were made at a chain portrait studio in a mall or
superstore? Take a look at them. How do they look? Probably green,
orange, or otherwise discolored, and likely faded. Do you know why?
Because those portrait studios print on crappy paper. Using crappy ink
and crappy printing processes. Professional labs produce high-quality
prints that will stand the test of time, and that’s what Professional
Photographers sell to you. I’ll say it again: It costs more. Most things that are worth having do.
4. Professional Photography is a very time intensive business. For
every client that I work with, I spend time on: a phone consultation
to determine their needs, doing paperwork to track the client and their
session, driving to the session, shooting the session, driving home,
downloading the images and choosing which ones I’ll show the client,
processing those images, creating a slideshow and online shopping cart
for them, an in-person sales appointment, designing custom items,
ordering their products, unpacking and inspecting the prints when they
arrive, packaging up the order, and either shipping or delivering the
order. If a photographer has staff, that’s great, they don’t do all of
those tasks – but they have to pay someone else to do them.
In an informal survey amongst Professional Photographer friends, we
estimate it takes between 6-10 hours of time for ONE session with ONE
client. Which means that maybe we can only handle 4-5 clients a week
and give them the top-notch customer service we pride ourselves on.
What if a Professional Photographer only charged what the chain studios
do, and each of those clients could get everything their hearts desired
for $200? So the photographer would bring in $1000 for those five
clients. Going back to the previous formula, remember that only 26%
might end up in the Professional Photographer’s pocket - $260 take home
pay for that week of work. That, my friends, comes out to $6.50 an
hour – or less than minimum wage.
5. Professional Photography is an experience. Been
to the doctor lately? They have about 7 minutes set aside per patient
these days. You might not even be able to adequately explain your
symptoms to your doctor before the clock winds down. Got a newborn?
Want pictures of that newborn? Well, babies fuss and cry and poop and
need breaks to eat. Those things all take time. You don’t want the HMO
version of a portrait session. You don’t want to feel rushed, worried
that your baby will cry during your alloted 15 minutes and the pictures
will be awful because THE CLOCK IS TICKING. Professional Photographers
know that the best portraits are created when everyone is relaxed and
unrushed. Many Professional Photographers that I know set aside up to
an hour and a half for each session – more for newborns. We’ve got
time, so don’t be stressed. There is no need to tell the kids that
Santa won’t come if they don’t behave RIGHT NOW. After the session, you
may be treated to an online slideshow, a personal ordering appointment,
home delivery of your order, or many other perks. We want you to have a
wonderful experience with your portraits. We want your kids to think
it was fun. We want everyone to enjoy the entire experience, which is
why we allot a nice chunk of time especially for you. The results will
speak for themselves. I’m going to have to say it one more time: This costs more. Most things that are worth having do.
6. Professional Photography is a matter of priorities. I
want to tell you a story that many Professional Photographers will be
able to relate to. A client came into my studio to order her prints.
She parked her very expensive SUV in front of my studio. She wore
designer shoes, and carried a top-dollar handbag. She apologized for
being late, she was waiting for the contractors who were building their
new deck – they had enlarged the plans for the deck because her
husband’s bonus check ended up being much higher than expected. She
then proceeded to complain about the pricing of every.single.item on my
price list. She was in a huff about an item that she wanted to give as a
gift, but it cost $100 and she ‘just can’t afford that!’
Of course she can afford it. That’s obvious. It’s not about what she can afford, it’s about what she values.
She loved my work, but she didn’t VALUE it. It can be a real challenge
for Professional Photographers to find clients who value our artistry
and understand that our pricing is not arbitrary – and certainly not
designed to rip them off. Most Professional Photographers I know
agonize over pricing, wanting to be profitable but concerned about
scaring off clients.
Certainly, not every client is as well-off as the one I mentioned in
that story. In fact, I have been fortunate to have clients that believe
enough in what I offer that they save up to come to me. It’s important
to these clients to have artistic, thoughtfully created images of their
children, and they truly value the experience and products that a
Professional Photographer can provide for them. It’s a joy and an honor
to have a client think so highly of what I do.
For many families, spending $1000 or $2000 every year or two on
portraits is definitely an investment. Professional Photographers do
understand that. And we believe it is a worthwhile investment in your
family. Between lattes, video games, and countless other ‘small
purchases’, most families fritter away far more than that $1000 or $2000
each year on intangibles. Investing in high quality portraits that
will be part of your family’s legacy is within reach for many families
if they value Professional Photography and make it a priority.
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