This is Quite a LENGTHY note I read once upon a time, but it has so much merit!! For all of us photographers and for all of my clients and those clients to be :) this is worth a read! Thanks!! So as I sit here contemplating how to start this I am flooded with so much emotion. The issue of pricing when it comes to photography is such a sensitive one for both the photographer and the client. Believe it or not as a photographer we most always hate raising our prices. I first want to address this topic from the standpoint of the client because without them we wouldn’t be able to have a photography business and because that is where most of us started as, the client. I first started photography professionally shortly after my son was born. He was my first baby and I knew from what many others said that the time would fly by and he would grow so fast. I never really knew just how fast until after he was born. Before he was born I started pricing local photographers in the area, as I knew desperately that I wanted to capture his first days of life and freeze these moments for all of eternity. I was disappointed while looking that most of the photographers whose work I loved dearly were out of my price range. My price range at the time was under $150 I knew I did not want to pay more than that and most professional photographers were right in the range of $300 with a $100 or more sitting fee. For me that was half of our paycheck. I spent many nights crying over the fact that I knew my baby wasn’t going to be as small as he was when he was first born for long. I am not exaggerating when I say I lost many nights of sleep over it. I got so frustrated wondering why someone would charge so much for simply taking photos. The reason behind my desire for wanting photos is because I knew that any memory that passed the only thing I had left to remember it by were the photos that we were able to capture during that moment. During any significant event the first thing we pull out are photos whether it is for a graduation announcement, a wedding, a funeral, or to pass down to our grandkids our photos are our legacy and our reminder of the past. Now that I am a photographer I feel so blessed to be able to see both sides and to be able to understand the thoughts and emotions from being both a client and photographer. When I first started out I promised myself that I would always charge less than $300. I knew I wanted to be affordable and wanted people like myself to be able to have these memories for a lifetime and not have money prevent them from having their special memories captured. I started out with these intentions and was able to stick to them for the first few months. Shortly after starting our credit card bill became astronomically from purchasing equipment, props, and so much more. I never once had thought about taxes, insurance, or licensing all major expenses that most never think about, I sure didn’t. I knew that if I wanted to keep doing this I had to raise my prices and was incredibly heart broken, as I knew sticking to my original goal was not possible with my lifestyle. I either had to do tons of sessions at a low cost (which wasn’t possible with an infant) or raise my prices. I am writing this for the photographers who are torn and for the clients that are frustrated. As a photographer it is up to us to educate our clients on why our prices are the way they are because most clients don’t mean to offend us when they say our prices are too high but simply don’t understand what all goes into that cost. Below this article I will post a list of common expenses as well as an estimated price for those to understand why our prices are the way they are. Now this list will not be all-inclusive just a general idea. Now for you photographers, know that not everyone will be able to afford your prices and that is o.k. you have to be o.k. with clients going to someone else. Everyone is different in what they value and what they will invest in. Some may be o.k. going to Wal-mart, JcPenney, or hiring the starting out photographer because they want pictures but it is not something that they want to have to save up for or they have other priorities that come before photos so don’t take it personally. Some may save for vacations, some may save for a new flat screen t.v., and some save to have their photos done but those who value your work will save to come to you. If we really want something most of us find a way to get it by saving or cutting costs elsewhere (like going out to eat I AM SO GUILTY). Know that you can’t win them all and just learn to appreciate the clients you do have by treating them wonderfully and providing them with an ultimate experience. TO THE CLIENTS: Most photographers hate raising their prices as we feel so guilty having to charge more than we originally intended because we don’t want to lose our past clients who we love dearly. We often times get anxiety ridden just from the thought of putting new prices out there. We do this because we love being a part of your lives and sharing in those joyous moments but we know we can’t be the photographer for everyone either. Some photographers may even offer payment plans and accept credit cards to help the client as much as we can in being able to get their photos done professionally. I hope after reading this article you will try to put price to the side and find out what kind of experience the photographer you are wanting to hire can offer you because once money is exchanged and all is said and done the only thing you have left is memories. The money you pay today will be just a thing of the past and will be long forgotten but the photos of your children’s precious laughs, their tiny hands and fingers, and the love between a family will be there forever and frozen in time. Now for the not so fun stuff: Website- around $250 a year Website Hosting and domain name- around $17 a month ($204 a year) Editing Software- Photoshop $700 Portraiture $200 Noiseware $80 (some may use more software such as Adobe Bridge and Lightroom) Cell Phone- $90 a month (1,080 a month) *some may have a business line as well Repairs- $100-$500 depending on what needs fixing *Cameras also need to get cleaned periodically to prevent dust or fungus build up which is an additional cost Internet- around $35-$50 a month ($600 a year) Taxes- state and income tax varies from state to state but is roughly 7.4% for just income tax Insurance- Equipment Insurance about $300-$500 a year Liability Insurance about $300-$400 a year Supplies- these vary greatly so I will just give a common list of supplies needed for a photography business: Paper Ink Printer Photo Packaging i.e.: boxes, tissue paper, ribbons, bags, and cards Education- around $1,500-$2,000 for workshops *plus airfare, hotels, rental car, gas, and food *It is important for photographers to take some sort of educational class at least once a year as our industry is constantly changing with the digital age and we have to keep up with the changes to offer you the most up to date services Lenses 50 mm 1.4 (for portraits)- $450 16-35 mm 2.8 (for lifestyle shots to get a whole room/landscape shots)- $1450-$1700 100 mm 2.8 (for close up shots ex: baby’s eyelashes) $550-$700 70-200 mm 2.8 (zoom lens to give your session variety) $13335-$1500 Plus tax+shipping Cameras- $2,900-$3,500 (for newer models that handle low lighting situations well) *plus tax and shipping *plus most professionals have a backup of the same camera just in case something happens in the middle of your session Babysitter- about $7 an hour Travel- $15-$60 for gas to and from the session *this depends on the car and how much gas they go through Additional costs that can be acquired by photographers are lighting equipment plus all the accessories need to sync your lights up to your camera, computers, tablets, licensing, marketing, props, backdrops, health insurance and so much more. In addition to these costs photographers like many others use this as a way to pay their bills and feed their families. They also don’t get paid sick days or have paid time off and we never even calculated in the photographer’s paycheck. To end this I want to say thank you for reading and learning a little more about the dirty aspect of the photography business (the financial part). This is not just a hobby for many of us it is a career and when you hire us you are helping us to provide for our families if we haven’t gone in the negative from buying all those adorable props you love so much and paying for photo equipment ha ha.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:37:45 +0000
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